DIEMEN. 
tached land, De Witt’s ifles, fo named, probably, by 
Tafman, which are twelve in number, and of various fizes. 
that of 
main, age ae feveral 
places of {maller note, they entered Herdiman’ 8 cove; abov 
which they went up the Derwent river in a boat. As they 
advanced, Mr. Bafs and his companion found the ftream was 
open, and 
able opinion al - difpofition of the inhabitants of the 
country in gen From various appearances they con- 
cluded, that oe aot drew the principal part of thetr food 
the woods ; ca ae of fmall animals, fuch as opof- 
8, rats, and ban git were 
wo 
ew Sout 
regard to anit ‘of 
to 
er in being amply furnithed. with water 
na of life; but in being deficient with refpet to thofe 
larger freame, which ferve to facilitate the operations of 
man, and convey commerce to the door of almoft every in- 
land farmer. 
oS baal a. his ¢ egg hemged on the Coatt of 
n Diem > fays, that the capes are 
eal bafaltic, oi i cela. the * Fluted Cape 3”? the 
metimes fingle, fometimes rteed like 
Upon the ifland of ‘* Cape Barren’? 
are found kanguroos, and the new animal, called womat by 
the natives near Port Jackfon, eabiie a little bear. 
«* Furneaux’s iflcs’? are moftly of a coarfe quartz, and | 
wife * Wilfon’s ry,” S les; while 
Van Diemen’s land prefents am 
inbofpitable fhore, mottled with rocks of white quartz and 
black bafalt. 
north coaft, which feems the moft fert 
Labillardiere, in his “ Voyage in Search 
—1794,” (vol. i.) furn ee ae interefting details 
with se Sele to this ifland. He obferves that, in the mont 
of May, the fummits of the bighci m mountains were whitened 
with {now ; and that thefe mountains form part of a chain, 
which extends from fouth-eaft to north-wett ; whilft 2 an- 
other chain of great extent runs from north-eaft to fouth- 
a 
coal, ceeding in its greateft iieses 34 feet, but ex- 
tending ce a diftance of more than 209 fathoms; it refts on 
free-flone, and is covered with a deep brown fe - ftus. In 
thefe rocks were alfo found beautiful pieces of eaiie, of 
a red copper colour, and of tripoli. The forefts are thick, 
and not ealily penetrated; and they confit of many very tall 
a eee and the 
Port Dalrymple is the ne harbour upon the — 
of La Perils 
which lives in burrows like the rabbit; the fea-calf of the 
the 4 ethan of Cape en: anothe 
bed by White. Labillardere s account of the inhabit. 
ants is very fimilar to that of Ca They did not 
oo 
— 
a 
ce 
er 
a 
ir beard grow; the upper jaw of children p 
je confiderably over the lower but au back oa increafe 
e, fot adults it is in the fame line: their fkin is - 
nee a da “ “pat to ner its blacknefs, they cover 
themfelves with charcoal duft, principally the upper parts of 
the body. They eat mufcles, oyiters, the Jarge lobfter, and 
crabs which they broil: the women are ae ss ae idee in. 
os food and preparing it. ey do not appear 
have any chiefs: each family feems to hve in eae inde. 
bideices but the children are very fubordinate to their 
parents ; and the women are fo to their hufbands. They all 
appear unacquainted with the bow. ‘Thofe of Adventure’ 
ay have their body tattooed, and their hair powdered with 
oker. heir domeftic utenfils afford but an unfavourable 
{pecimen of their kil andinduftry. There are bafkets clum-- 
a large piece of fucus p 
circular form, and moulded into the fe They 
underftand the art of procuring fire by ftriking two pieces of 
flint together, in which refpe& they differ from the other 
arene of the South Sea iflands, and even fome of thofe 
of the e eafterly part of New Holland; whence our au- 
thor ncines to peal that they are defcended from a differ- 
Their thinly fcattered huts indicated a very” 
heaps of fhells found near the- 
fea-fhore fhewed that thele favages derive their principal 
means of fubfiltence from the thell-fifh which they ales there. 
the 
made by the natives. a thas pony of the peli 
he difcovered by eed form to hav n part of the fke 
ton of a young wom om a. were wl covered eh 
pieces of broiled fleth, Our author, however, is ferupulous’ 
of ranking the natives of this country with the canmibals :- 
s there is aioe: Van "Diemer, land, Mr. Pinkerton’ 
seh 7 papel hee that the above do ed land, which 
of the ifles of New Zealand, fhould be called Ta/mania, 
in ee of the Giles een and thus the confufior arifing 
from a duplicate of names would be prevente 
Diemen’s Land, the no orthers part o New Holland, 
utch navigator, named Zeachen, who be- 
wed upon it this appellation in i honeas of Anthony Van 
Dien. governor-general in the Eaft Indies, who returned 
to Europe with incredible treafures in 1631. We ma 
conclude that this governor,encouraged {uch difcoveries, as 
is name was ne ed u ee 0 various regions in this part of 
the wor EW 
went “ imegue 
through that and the Falieving years, "Freely cane the 
inhabitants who were affiited with the plague, which raged 
with 
