122 A VOYAGE TO [South Coast. 
I802. and we had the satisfaction, at daylight, to find the ship had gained 
ThuTs. a 7i. considerably. It then blew a strong breeze at south-west-by-south, 
and we stretched in. under Waldegrave's Isles ; and finding the 
water become smooth, the anchor was let go in 7 fathoms, on a 
bottom of calcareous sand, at half a mile from the north-east end of 
the inner and largest island. We were here sheltered from the 
present wind, but exposed from west-by-south to north-north- west ; 
the master was therefore immediately sent to sound the opening of 
one mile wide between the island and the main, by which alone we 
could hope to escape, should the wind shift to the north-westward 
and blow strong ; but the opening proved to be full of rocks and 
breakers. 
The press of sail carried in the night had so much stretched 
the rigging, that it required to be set up, fore and aft. Whilst 
this was doing on board, the naturalists landed upon the island ; 
where I also went to take bearings with a theodolite, and observa- 
tions for the latitude and longitude. The island is about two miles 
long, and connected by rocks with the small, outer isle ; and they 
extend four or five miles from a projecting part of the main, in 
a west direction. These islands form the southern boundary, as 
Cape Radstock does the north point of a great open bay, which, 
from the night we passed in it, obtained the name of Anxious Bay. 
I found the island to bear a great resemblance to the western 
Isle of St. Peter, in its cliffy shores, granitic basis, and super-stratum 
of calcareous stone ; in its vegetable productions, and in its surface 
being much excavated by the burrows of the sooty petrel. It had 
also been frequented by geese at some preceding season of the year, 
and there were marks of its having been a breeding place for them ; 
but at this time, the vegetation was too much dried up to afford any 
subsistence. Crows of a shining, black colour were numerous; and 
in two which I shot, the bill was surrounded at the base with small 
feathers, extending one-fourth of the length towards the extremity. 
There were no appearances of the island having been before visited 
