1 3 6 AUSTRALIAN PICTURES. 



day, and at night throw out a stone, which served them as an anchor, and 

 lie at these primitive moorings till daylight. Many were their narrow escapes 

 by sea and shore. 



Once they were upset near the shore ; their powder was wet, and they 

 lost their supply of fresh water. On reaching land and righting the boat, a 

 body of natives came down upon them, and, as the savages were well armed 

 and were hostile in their demeanour, it looked as if the defenceless party 

 would be sacrificed. But after a hurried consultation Bass spread the powder 

 out on the rocks to dry, and went off to a creek to fill the keg with fresh 

 water, while Flinders, trading on the personal vanity of the blacks, and their 

 love for hair-dressing, trimmed the beards of the chiefs with a pair of 

 pocket-scissors. He had no lack of candidates. Long before he had 

 finished his task, Bass had repacked the dry powder, had loaded the 

 muskets, and the two friends with a rush regained their boat, leaving 

 many would-be customers lamenting, and disappointing probably some would- 

 be slayers. A few weeks afterwards a vessel called the Sydney Cove was 

 wrecked in the unsurveyed Tasman seas, the escaping boats were thrown 

 ashore in a storm near Cape Howe, and this very tribe massacred most of 

 the crew. 



Ingenuity and boldness rescued the adventurers from one peril after 

 another. As their exploits attracted attention, their friend Governor Hunter 

 helped the discoverers to some small extent. Flinders had to sail with his 

 vessel to Norfolk Island, but Bass obtained a whaleboat and a crew of six 

 men, and with this aid he pushed boldly along the coast of what is now the 

 colony of Victoria, discovered Corner Inlet and Western Port, and proved 

 that Tasmania was an island, and not, as was then supposed, a part of the 

 mainland. The separating strait rightly bears his name to this day. 



On the return of Flinders, Governor Hunter placed a small sloop, the 

 Norfolk, at the service of the friends, and with it they surveyed the entire 

 coast of Tasmania, Flinders preparing the charts. Their discoveries were 

 numerous, the river Tamar being among them. This, alas, was the last joint 

 expedition of the gallant comrades ! Bass was tempted to join in some 

 trading speculation to South America, and unhappily his vessel was con- 

 fiscated by the Spaniards for a breach of the customs laws. Bass was sent 

 as a prisoner to work in the silver mines, and was never heard of more. 

 Well can it be imagined that many a hope, many a bright career, many a 

 noble aspiration, have perished in those living tombs, but surely they never 

 closed over a bolder or more unhappy victim than Bass. 



Flinders for a time continued his successful career. He visited England, 

 and was raised to the rank of lieutenant, and he was authorised to proceed 

 with his surveys in a vessel called the Investigator. A passport was obtained 

 for him from the French Government, exempting him from capture during 

 the time of war. At the same time, however, the French Government sent 



