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island is more varied than that of the other tAvo,
and its Ocn eoloO2(ical strnctnre is someAAdiat different.
ToAvards the north end there is a conical jAcak of
a grey, rudely columnar hasaltic rock 1,105 feet high,
and the southern jAortion of the island, Avhich is more
undulating, consists of bedded tufts Avith included
angular fragments of dolerite, like the rocks ahove
the settlement in Tristan. Near the south shore
these softer rocks ru n np into a second loAver ridge,
and a Ioav cliff bounds the island twenty or th irty
feet high, with creeks here and there where hoats
can land through the surf. In the sea-cliff there
are some large caves Avorn in the friable rock, which
used to he the favourite haunts of the fur-seal and
the sea-elephant ; h u t these have heen nearly
exterminated, and the annual visit of the sealers
from Tristan is rapidly reducing the small number
Avhich still come to the island in the pupping
season.
T h e sh ip s to p p ed off th e e a s t e n d o f th e is la n d
to la n d s u rv e y in g a n d e x p lo rin g p a r tie s a t th e foot
o f Avhat lo o k e d a t a d is ta n c e lik e a g e n tle slope of
meadoAV AA'ith some th ic k e ts o f Ioav tre e s, r u n n in g
u p in to th e m id d le of th e is la n d , hetAveen th e tw o
e lev a tio n s.
The party Avho landed found, hoAvever, th a t instead
of a meadoAV the slope Avas a thick copse of tussock-
grass,—and one mass of penguins. Struggling
through the dense matted grass which reached
above their heads, they could not see where they
Avere going, and they could not move a step Avitliout
crusliincOr eOg gO s or old or vt/ oung birds. Tbe crowds
o f p e n g u in s re s e n tin g th e in tru s io n Avith a ll th e