168 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



spirits on our journey, enlightened by the kindly greetings of 

 Messrs. Fielder, C. French, jun., G. A. Keartland, Gillespie, 

 and other friends, who had come to see us off. After a pleasant 

 passage down the bay, calling at Portsea and Queensclifif to land 

 cargo, we passed the Heads at 5.30 p.m., encountering the ocean 

 swell and a nasty choppy beam sea, and about midnight the wind 

 freshened from the eastward. 



I2TH November. — At daylight that inhospitable island 

 Curtis was passed, which looked cold and misty through the 

 drizzling rain. Curtis is a conspicuous landmark, rearing its 

 almost perpendicular head 1,100 feet above the sea. Soon after 

 Pyramid Rock was in view, but our artists were, like their instru- 

 ments, prostrate. Pyramid is a most peculiarly shaped naked rock, 

 standing solitary 300 feet out of the water, and the captain told 

 us that on a moonlight night it could easily be taken for a full- 

 rigged ship. Soon after passing this rock The Hummocks, of the 

 Furneaux Group, began to loom up, and behind these Flinders 

 Island. We were informed that smooth water would soon be 

 reached, and we began to feel much better on receipt of the 

 intelligence. Passing Goose (with its lighthouse), Badger, and 

 Chappell Islands, we cast anchor off Green Island, where, through 

 the kindness of Mr. Carstairs, a fellow passsenger, and whose 

 boat was lying here, we were soon put ashore, when we received 

 a most hearty welcome from Mrs. Robinson, the lessee of the 

 island. This welcome was a very pleasant contrast to the recep- 

 tion from the weather, it being a misty, drizzly day, which would 

 have been very unpleasant to us if we had elected to go on to 

 Fhnders Island and pitch our tents at once. It happened, also, 

 that we got excellent advice from our kind hostess, which somewhat 

 altered our plans. Green Island was of interest to us, for here 

 the great ornithologist, Gould, lost one of his attendants, a fine 

 young man, assigned to him by Sir John Franklin, and who was 

 accidently killed by the explosion of a gun he was removing from 

 a boat when landing. Since Mrs. Robinson has leased the island 

 900 snakes have been killed ; their places are now taken by 900 

 fat sheep. It being Sunday, and also raining, we remained quiet 

 indoors, passing the evening very pleasantly with sacred music 

 and recitations. 



13TH November. — After a good night's rest we strolled over a 

 portion of the island, taking two clutches (one with three eggs) of 

 ' the White-breasted Oyster Catcher, and three clutches of the Red- 

 capped Dottrel. After taking a few photographs, and bidding 

 good-bye to Mr. Gundersen, who, with his son, elected to go to 

 Pat's River, we left for Flinders Island about 10 a.m. Mr. 

 Carstairs again kindly granted us his services, and after placing us 

 on two outlying rocks, where we had barren results, landed us 

 near Trousers Point. We soon had our luggage ashore, being 



