moft confternation, they only raifed themfelves upon their fore fins,
as i f ready for a march, keeping their eye upon him, and watching
the movements o f his enemy.
The feal is reckoned a ftnpid animal; but Mr. Bafs noticed many
figns o f uncommon fagacity in them ; and was o f opinion that, by
much patience and perfeverance, a feal might be trained to filh for
man; in which there is nothing, at firft fight, more prepofterous
than the attempt to make a hawk his fowler.
The feal appeared to branch off into various {pecies. He did
not recollect to have feen them precifely alike upon any two iflands
in the ftrait. Moft o f them were of'that kind called by the fealers
hair feals.; but they differed in the fliape of the body,or o f the head,
the fituation of the fore fins, the colour, and very commonly'in the
voice, as i f each ifland fpoke a peculiar language.
Having collected as much ftock as was neeeffary, they flood t®
the northward, and on the 12th reached Vort Jackfon.
On delivering the account o f this voyage to the governor, he
named the principal difcovery, which was the event o f it, Bafs
Strait, as a tribute due to the corredtnefs o f judgment which left
Mr. Bafs, in his firft vifit in the whale boat, to fuppofe that the
fouth-wefterly winds which foiled in upon the fhores o f Weft era
Port, could proceed only from their being expofed to the Southern
Indian Ocean.
The moft prominent advantage which feemed likely to accrue to
the fettlement from this difcovery was, the expediting o f the paflage
from the Cape o f Good Hope to Port jackfon ; for, although a line
drawn from the Cape to 4 40 o f fouth latitude, and to the longitude
o f the fouth Cape o f Van Diemen’s land, would not fenfibly differ
from one drawn to the latitude o f 4 0 ° , to the fame longitude ;
yet it muft be allowed, that a fhip will be four degrees nearer to
Port Jackfon in the latter fituation, than it would be in the former.
But there is, perhaps, a greater advantage to be gained by making a
paflage through the ftrait, than the mere faving o f four degrees
o f latitude along the.coaft. The major part o f the {hips.that have
arrived at Port Jackfon have met with N. E. winds on opening the
,fea found the South Cape and Cape Pillar, and have been fo much
retarded ,by them,, that a fourteen days’ paflage to the port is reckoned
to be a fair one, although the difference o f latitude is but
ten. degrees, and the moft prevailing winds at the latter place are
from 8. E. to S. in fummer, and from.W* S. W. to S. in winter.
I f by going through Bafs Strait. thefe N. E. winds can be avoided,
which in many cafes would probably be the cafe, there is no doubt
but a week or more would be gained by it; and■ ;the: expence, with
the wear and tear o f a {hip for one week, are. fibje.<3s .to moft
owners, more efpecially when freighted with convidts by the
run.
This ftrait likewife prefents another advantage. From the prevalence’
of' the N. E. and eafterly winds off the South Cape, many
fuppofe that a paflage may be made from thence to the weftward,
either to the Cape of Good Hope, or to India ; but the fear o f the
great unknown bight between, the South Cape and the. S. W. Cape
o f Lewen’s land, lying in about 3 5 0 fouth and 1 1 3 0 eaft, has hitherto
prevented the trial being made. Now the ftrait removes a
part of this danger, by prefenting a certain place o f retreat, Ihould
a gale oppofe itfelf to the fhip in the firft part o f the effay; and
fhould the wind come at S. W. {he need not fear making a good
ftretch to the W. N. W., which courfe, i f made good, is within a
few degrees o f going clear o f all. There is befides King George
the Third’s Sound, difeovered by Captain Vancouver, fituate in the
latitude of 3 5 0 03' fouth, and longitude 1 180 12 ' eaft; and it is
to be hoped, that a few years will difclofe many others upon the
coaft, as well as the confirmation or futility o f the conjecture *,
that a ftill larger than Bafs Strait difmembers New Holland.
The
* T o verify or confute this conjecture, Lieutenant, now Captain Flinders (from whole
journal thefe obfervations on the advantages of the ftrait are taken), has lately failed in his
VQf-. 1 1 . c c Majefty’s