290 ELIZABETH BAY — POSSESSION ISLAND. [1828. 



Possession Island is three miles in length, and near one mile in width ; 

 forming, on the east side, a concave curvature, in which ships will find 

 good anchorage in from seven to four fathoms, sandy bottom, and 

 smooth water. The landing is also good in front of the anchorage, 

 near the centre of the island, half a mile from the beach. At this place, 

 in the months of August, September, and October, any quantity of pen- 

 guins' eggs may be collected ; and fish of an excellent quality may be 

 caught in great abundance about the shores. 



On the surface of this island I saw the effects of a pestilence or 

 plague, which had visited the amphibious inhabitants of the ocean with 

 as much malignancy as the Asiatic cholera has the bipeds of the land. 

 The whole island was literally covered with the carcasses of fur-seal, 

 with their skins still on them. They appeared to have been dead 

 about five years, and it was evident that they had all met their fate 

 about the same period. I should judge, from the immense multitude 

 of bones and carcasses, that not less than half a million had perished 

 here at once, and that they had all fallen victims to some mysterious 

 disease or plague. 



There are a few sunken rocks lying off the south point of the island, 

 about three-quarters of a mile, on which the sea generally breaks. There 

 is also a reef running off the north-east end of the island, about three 

 miles, on which the breakers are frequently very heavy. These reefs 

 both incline to the eastward, which promotes the smoothness of the 

 water in the harbour. Between the island and the continent, or rather 

 between the extreme points of the reefs and the mainland, the channel 

 is three miles wide, with from fifteen to ten fathoms of water, sandy 

 bottom, and free from dangers. Ships intending to anchor at this 

 island while the south winds are fresh should approach the anchorage 

 from the south, and leave it by the opposite passage. 



A Hottentot village, of limited dimensions and population, is situated 

 about twenty -five miles east-by-south from the bottom of Elizabeth 

 Bay ; and another, somewhat larger, will be found on an east-by-north 

 course, fifteen miles farther inland, containing about seven hundred in- 

 habitants. Between this village and the seacoast is a dreary sandy 

 waste, destitute of water, soil, and vegetation ; with the exception of a 

 small valley, in which there are several fine springs, where cattle that 

 are driven from the interior may renew their stock of fresh water. 

 Forty miles on an east-by-south course from the landing, on the south 

 part of the bay, are several small villages, inhabited by a very civil in- 

 offensive race of Hottentots, who raise a considerable number of cattle 

 and sheep. But seventy -five miles farther inland the cattle and sheep 

 are almost innumerable, and may be purchased at a very low rate ; say 

 twenty-five cents per bullock, and five cents for sheep ; besides the 

 skins of other animals, ostrich feathers, and ivory. At that distance 

 the land is very fertile, and would produce any thing put into the 

 soil. 



But the farther you advance into the interior, beyond one hundred 

 and twenty miles, the larger and more numerous are the herds of 

 cattle, which may be purchased for a still lower price, to be delivered 

 and paid for on the seacoast. There is no more danger in travelling 



