The range of the thermometer, taken in various parts of the port, was at night from 49 degrees to 52 degrees, and at noon from 58 degrees to 64 degrees.
On the 20th of November they left Port Dalrymple with a light breeze at NE and proceeded very slowly to the westward. At daylight the following morning, the wind shifted to the W by N which drove them back to Furneaux's islands, where, the gale continuing at west, they were kept until the 3rd of December, when they were enabled to proceed to the westward. The land here trended to the WNW as far as was visible through the haze, which allowed them only to distinguish that it was high and uneven. At noon the latitude was 40 degrees 58 minutes, and the longitude 146 degrees 44 minutes. Their progress was slow, and unavoidably at too great a distance from the shore to form any just idea of the country; but what was seen of it appeared high and mountainous, the mountains forming into hummocks and low peaks, to which a few large shapeless knobs added a great singularity of appearance. On the haze clearing away, and the shore being distinctly seen, it appeared rocky, but wooded nearly down to the water's edge. Here and there were seen spaces of open ground, some of which sloped toward the sea, and had a few large trees growing irregularly upon them. A remarkable peaked mountain, some few miles inland, might have been thought, from its shape and height, to have been once a volcano. A very singular lump of high level, or table land, lay at a few miles to the westward in the coast line; and at some distance beyond it, a point appeared with three knobs of land lying off it, resembling islands. This land was named Table Cape.
To the extreme eastern point of this land, a fine easterly breeze had brought them at daylight of the 6th; when they found that what they had on the preceding evening taken to be islands were three lumps or ridges of the point itself, lessening in bulk as they advanced toward its seaward extremity. The very uncommon figure of this point may perhaps be best conceived by comparing it to a spear with several barbs. It was extremely barren and rocky. Beyond the point, the coast trended more northerly, but fell back into an extensive bay, with a sandy beach in its rear. The western point of this bay was formed by a high, steep, and round bluff, named Circular Head, that might easily be taken for an island, but was a peninsula. The land behind was of moderate height, and rose gradually from the sea. It was clothed in a poor coat of either grass or short brush; among which were seen some dwarf gum trees, that appeared to be in a sickly and dying state, apparently for want of sufficient soil to expand in.
Towards noon, soon after passing Circular Head, the outermost land in sight stretched so far to the northward, that the course to clear it was NNW. It formed like two hummocks, and in steering for it they were compelled to leave a large bight unexamined. The coast at its back was too distant to form any judgment of it, except in the general outline. Its westernmost part seemed broken and intersected, like islands and gaps; but, as the wind blew fresh and directly into it, they passed on.
Nothing new presented itself on the following day, but some small flights of sooty petrels.
On the 8th, being threatened with a gale, they came to anchor under the land, off a small beach on its NE part, where the SW wind could not molest the vessel. Here Mr. Bass landed to examine the country, but found it impenetrable. The tall sturdy brush wood grew so close that their dogs could hardly make their way through it. Large patches appeared to have been burnt many months ago, but the small brush and creeping vines only were destroyed; the closeness of the blackened saplings were still irresistible. A few starved gum trees erected their sickly heads above the brush, and the whole wore an aspect of poverty which the sandy soil confirmed. And yet this place was inhabited by men, as was shown by the old fire places strewed round with shells of the sea ear. The rocks were composed of quartz, probably a species of granite, but much unlike that which formed Furneaux's Islands.
Leaving this place on the 9th, they steered for the outermost land in sight, which bore to the southward of west, and was distant three or four leagues. After rounding the seaward end of the land under which they had anchored, its shores fell back, and at last discovered to them that it was an island of from fifteen to twenty miles in circuit, and situated between four and five from the main. It was with the greatest astonishment that they recollected the fire places and sea shells which they had the preceding evening seen upon the island. That the inhabitants of this part of Van Diemen's land should possess canoes capable of crossing over four or five miles of open sea, while those of Port Dalrymple were without any, seemed highly improbable. The island itself was certainly unequal to the maintenance of any settled inhabitants, and yet there were unequivocal vestiges of men upon it. Long and frequent reflection upon facts in themselves so contradictory had never produced any rational solution of the difficulty. This island took the descriptive name of Three Hummock Island.
For several hours during the early part of the morning, a vast stream of sooty petrels issued from the deep bight which had been left unexplored, and passed the vessel on their way to the westward. There must have been some millions of birds. Thence they were well assured there was at least one island in that bight, if not more than one, as they had imagined.
Having passed within a mile of a pointed part of the main, which in height and starved vegetation very much resembled Three Hummock island, towards noon they came up with some land, which proved to be a small island, high and very steep; and a long swell, which had just before made its first appearance, broke violently upon it, making a furious surf on all sides. Its summit was whitened over with birds. With some difficulty a landing was effected at the foot of a chasm filled up with loose stones; and, after a slight rencontre with some seals that stood above, they reached the top. The birds they found were albatrosses innumerable. The spread of their wings was from seven to nine feet. Their colour was more white than black, and the appearance of their visitors did not occasion much disturbance among them, even when they approached close to them. This was the season of their breeding. The females sat upon nests not more than a foot and a half apart, built of muddy earth, bound with coarse grass, raised about four inches from the ground, and formed into a concavity of nearly that depth, with a diameter of five or six inches. One young bird only was in each nest: it was of the size of a small pullet, but at that time covered with a beautifully white down. The shapeless lump at some distance resembled a ball of cotton. Some nests held an addled egg of a dingy white colour, and equal in size to that of a goose. The nests were so near each other, and the birds so conscious of the great strength of their sharp bills, that in going through them the voyagers were obliged to make use of their seal clubs, to procure themselves a passage. Even the young ones spouted plentiful mouthfuls of a not inodorous oil upon them.
The island, which obtained the name of Albatross Island, was a mere mass of stone, without any other vegetation than a few tufts of coarse grass. Besides albatrosses, it afforded shelter to a few scores of hair seals, and the large gull. The latitude was 40 degrees 24 minutes, the longitude 145 degrees 02 minutes.