iV£lP^ AMSTERDAM AND ST. PAUL 
2IQ 
latitude to be 37° 35' S. Nearly a century later, in the 
year 1617, the Dutch ship “Zeewolf” sighted the southern 
island, St. Paul. They were both noticed in 1633 by 
the Governor Van Diemen during his voyage to India, 
and the hitherto nameless north island was distinguished 
from St. Paul by the name of New Amsterdam. But it 
was only in 1696 that the Dutch navigator Willem van 
Vlaming set foot on this island. It is a matter of con¬ 
siderable interest that he mentioned that the crater lake 
of St. Paul was then completely shut off from the sea, 
and that the dam, now broken through, then rose in its 
whole extent above the surface of the sea, affording 
a resting-ground for the numerous eared-seals. 
The Novara expedition touched at St. Paul and 
Amsterdam in 1857, ^he Austrian geologist, Hoch- 
stetter, made valuable geological observations. Seal 
hunters and fishermen have often come into this region 
of the sea to plunder the extraordinary wealth of its 
waters. More accurate knowledge about the islands has 
been obtained through the scientific expedition sent to 
St. Paul by France in 1874 to observe the Transit of 
Venus. 
The right of possession was formerly not quite clear. 
It was understood that they were within the area of the 
Government of Mauritius, while the Creole literature of 
Reunion indicated that it was a dependency of that 
colony. In the year 1893 France took official possession 
of the two islands and hoisted the French flag. 
Amsterdam Island, with a superficial area of 26 square 
miles, lies in 37° 50' S. lat. and 77° 35' E. long. It 
is of quadrangular shape, is formed of lava and gener¬ 
ally seems veiled in mist. It rises to the height of 
2952 feet. The highest elevation forms an extensive 
table-land with several volcanic cones, it approaches 
very near to the western side and the descent is so 
steep that precipices occur of 2500 ft. in height, and it 
