A US T R AL AS I A.
D^lng'hfs laft voyage-Captain Cook, in January 177JÉ vifited Die-
f e s f i M H fupplies of wood and-water,-and grafsfor the animals on
W p É They were met. By fome of the -natives,- who- were entirely
naked ; ;' df a "common ftaturè, but rather flender, the flcin being black,
and'the hair as Woolly as that of any native of-Guinea, but their linea-
ments were, more pleafing than thofe of African negroes. The hair
antf' tMrdC' and of - fome the faces,' were fmearcd with' red’ ointment.
They feem to prefer birds to all other food-, and the kangoriroo would
apbëfe to i b :'fe lec fed among'-animals, becaufe by wffkmg.;on two legs
it- fgmewhat refcmblcs a bird. The land is; .chiefly 01 a good height,
diverfified with fulls and vallies, and every w h e r e d f ’a greenifli hhe,
being' well wooded'and watered. The Fluted Cape appears to be. com-
pofed of a very line white fandftone, which in many places'bounds the
fhofej and the foil is either fandy or confifts óf a yellowifh mould, and
in fome places of a reddilh clay. The foreft trees, feem to be all of one
kind, growing quite ftraight to a great height, and may lie well adapted
for mails. The-only quadrupeds difeovered were opoffums and kan-
gooroos ; and the birds cannot differ much from thofe of New Holland,
to which there is as it were a paffage by intermediate ifles. The
hovels refemble thofe o f New Holland ; but fometimes large trees are hol-
lowed out by.fire to the height of fix or feven feet, fo as to form a rude
habitation. .Captain Cook’s account of the language of New Holland
in general muff be corrected from the more recent and exaff informa-
tiofi .afforded by Mr-. Collins.*
* Captain Flinders fupplies fome additional informationin liis ‘‘^Obfervatiohs.on thé Coaft of
Van Diemen’s Land,” See. 1801. <f£o. He fays, p. 3-, that thé capes j*e moftly bafaltic, and; lie
includes the Fluted Cape, the columns,being fometimes lingle, fometimes grouped like flacks of
. cbimnies. Upon the Hand of cape Barren are found kangooroos, and (he nety animal, called zuomat
by thetnativês near.Pórt Jackfdn, refemblirig a little-bear. Furrieatix’s ifles afe;.mqftlybf.acoarfc
quartz, and likewife Wilfon’s promontory in.New South Wales; while thefg.eperal rocks in the
laft are fof.ilh grit amd ironftone, In general Van Diemen’s land presents a moft dreary and in-
holpitable Ihore, mottled with rocks of white quartz and black bafalt. Port Dalrymplè is. the
only harbour upon the north coaft, which feems the moft fertile»