SEA BIRDS' HAUNTS 61 



From Penguin Island we cruised to Albatross 

 Island, where the big sea birds nest. But waves were 

 spouting high on the granite cliffs, and the skipper 

 refused to risk a boat, though we thought that there 

 was a forlorn hope of landing. We had to be con- 

 tent with a distant view of snowy-plumaged birds, 

 sitting serenely on nests among the heights. Few 

 naturalists have been on Albatross Island, and the 

 birds are fairly safe there, even from plume hunters. 



Three Hummock Island, the home of a lonely 

 family and a herd of cattle, was our next call. The 

 islanders were delighted to welcome us, and bestowed 

 generous hospitality. We dined on fried Mutton- 

 Bird eggs, not exactly a dainty dish, but most accept- 

 able when one's appetite had been sharpened by sea 

 air. Close to the cottage, on a slope fronting the sea, 

 was a Mutton-Bird rookery. Borrowing crooks, we 

 explored some burrows, and gathered a score of large 

 white eggs, which were handed over to the cook on the 

 steamer. 



The eastern islands of Bass Strait are in some re- 

 spects more interesting than those of the west. Cape 

 Barren Island, visited in the course of our ornithologi- 

 cal cruise, is the home of a remarkable people. 

 Truganina, the last of the Tasmanian race, died in 

 May, 1876, at the age, it is believed, of seventy-three. 

 The tribes of Tasmania were terribly persecuted, and 

 their story is one of the saddest in Australian history. 

 Those who wish to read it can do so in Bonwick's 

 pages. In the early days many of the native women, 

 chiefly Tasmanians, became wives of white sealers and 

 sailors, who made homes among the islands. Some 

 of their descendants live at Cape Barren. There is 

 more than one type ; some of the natives possess woolly 

 locks, and others long, lank hair. Many of the 

 children are handsome. One boy especially caught 

 our fancy. He had abundance of curly hair, a finely 

 moulded face, and large, intelligent eyes. The skin 

 colouration of the Islanders varies considerably. Some 



