COASTS OF AUSTRALIA. 
7 
on the hills, made by the natives for the double isir. 
purpose of burning off the dry grass and of Dec. 27. 
hunting the kangaroos, which are thus forced 
to fly from the woods, and thereby fall an easy 
prey to their pursuers. 
The next day at noon, Kent’s Group, in the 28 . 
eastern entrance of Bass’ Strait, was seen; 
but, at one o’clock, the wind shifted suddenly 
and blew a gale from S.W., with heavy rain: 
after beating against it until the following day, 
we bore up and ran under the lee of Great 
Island, intending to pass round Van Diemen’s 
Land: at five o’clock, we passed close to the 
Babel Islands, on which were heaped incredible 
numbers of sea-birds of various descriptions, 
each species huddled together in flocks separate 
from the other. On another part of the island 
many seals were seen, by the growl of which, 
and the discordant screams of the birds, a 
strange confused noise was made, not ill adapted 
to the name the island bears. 
By the following day, we had made some pro- 29. 
gress along the eastern side of V an Diemen s 
Land, but in the evening, the wind shifted to S. E., 
and induced us to try the Strait once more. In 
passing the low north-easternmost point of the 
land, called by the French, Cape Naturalist, we 
had nearly run ashore from the darkness of the 
