>77i- fuaded that fo great a country could not fail of poffeffing
new and unknown animals, had already twice reported
that he had feen a brown animal, fomething lefs than a
jackal or little fox, about the dawn of morning, fitting on
a dump of a tree near our tents, and running off at his
approach. But as this circumftance has never been confirmed
by any fubfequent teftimony, nothing is more probable
than that the want of day-light had deceived him,
and that he had either obferved one of the numerous
wood-hens, which are brown,, and creep through the
bullies very frequently.; or that one of our cats, on the
watch for little hirds, had been miftaken for a new quadruped
Having taken the fail on board, we continued our courfe-,
and began our refearches in the cove,' where we killed
many ducks of four different fpecies. One of them was
remarkably beautiful-, and of the fize of the eider duck.
Its plumage was of a blackilh brown, elegantly fprinkled
with white ; all the coverts of the wing were white, the
rump and vent ferruginous, the quill and tail-feathers
black, and the fecondaries green. Another fpecies was
nearly of the fize of our mallard, but all of a light-brown,
every feather being edged with a yellowifh white, of
which there was a line on the cheek and eye-brows; the
eyes of this fort had irides of a bright yellow, and on the
wings there was a fpot of fine bluffh green inclofed in
, black
i '5 7 -
black lines. The third fort was a bluifh grey whittling aViuL
duck, about the fize of a wigeon; its bill had a remarkable
membranaceous fubftance at the extremity on both
fides, probably becaufe the bird is intended to live by
fucking the worms, &c. in the mud, when the tide retires
from the beaches. Its. breaft was fprinkled with
ferruginous feathers,, and on the wings it had a large
white fpot. The fourth and moll common fort is a fmall
brown duck, which is nearly the fame as the Englifh gad-
wall, A little before dark, the captain, having examined
all the harbours which lay in his way, fhot a number of
wild fowl, and caught fifh fufficient for all our party, arrived
at our rendezvous, where we had creeled a tent, by
means of the fails and oars. Our keen appetites difpenfed
with the arts of cookery, and our filh broiled a tlniienne,
over a ftrong fire, on a bit of a Hick, tatted as delicioully
as we could defire. With this fupper, and a draught of
fpruce-beer, of which we had carried a fmall keg with us,
we compofed ourfelves to fleep, and contrived to pafs the
night, though not quite fo comfortably as in our beds,.
The next morning a boat went up to the head of the cove
to flart the game, which was done fo effectually that ah
moft all the wild-ducks efcaped, the rain having wetted
all our fire-arms. The captain, now landed in the cove,
and walked acrofs a narrow ifthmus,. which feparates it
from another cove on the north fide of the Five-finger
Land;.