Cape Catastrophe.] TERRA AUSTRALIA. 133 
and the prospect of making an interesting discovery, seemed to have iso<?. 
infused new life and vigour into every man in the ship. February. 
Early in the morning, I went on shore to the eastern land, Sunday n. 
anxious to ascertain its connexion with, or separation from the main. 
There were seals upon the beach, and further on, numberless traces 
of the kanguroo. Signs of extinguished fire existed every where ; 
but they bespoke a conflagration of the woods, of remote date, 
rather than the habitual presence of men, and might have arisen 
from lightning, or from the friction of two trees in a strong wind. 
Upon the whole, I satisfied myself of the insularity of this land ; and 
gave to it, shortly after, the name of Thistle's Island, from the 
master who accompanied me. In our way up the hills, to take a 
commanding station for the survey, a speckled, yellow snake lay 
asleep before us. By pressing the butt end of a musket upon his 
neck, I kept him down whilst Mr. Thistle, with a sail needle and 
twine, sewed up his mouth ; and he was taken on board alive, for 
the naturalist to examine ; but two others of the same species had 
already been killed, and one of them was seven feet nine inches in 
length. We were proceeding onward with our prize, when a white 
eagle, with fierce aspect and outspread wing, was seen bounding 
towards us; but stopping short, at twenty yards off, he flew up into 
a tree. Another bird of the same kind discovered himself by making 
a motion to pounce down upon us as we passed underneath ; and it 
seemed evident that they took us for kanguroos, having probably 
never before seen an upright animal in the island, of any other 
species. These birds sit watching in the trees, and should a kan- 
guroo come out to feed in the day time, it is seized and torn to pieces 
by these voracious creatures. This accounted for why so few kan- 
guroos were seen, when traces of them were met with at every step; 
and for their keeping so much under thick bushes that it was im- 
possible to shoot them. Their size was superior to any of those 
found upon the more western islands, but much inferior to the 
forest kanguroo of the continent. 
vol. i. X x 
