Whale Fishery Company, who have undertaken the establishment of their principal centre of operations here, Mr. Charles Enderby, with an efficient staff of assistants, took possession of his domain in the early part of 1850, finding the New Zealanders before mentioned in possession of a portion of the land. Their claims were soon adjusted, and they have become great auxiliaries to the infant colony.

This, then, is the brief history of this remote island, which promises to become a most conspicuous point in the wide world of waters which this book describes. With every advantage of insulation, the possession of numerous and excellent harbours, with every means at command for the relaxation of whale and other fisheries in these seas, it must some day become the centre of much trade, and that, too, of a very different character to almost every other part of the South Pacific.

Though the group has been visited by the four principal navigators above mentioned, Morrell, describing a southern harbour, which he calls Carnley's Harbour, and the three others all having confined their remarks to the northern or Laurie Harbour, we have but an imperfect notion of the entire group, even as regards its dimensions. For from the cursory examinations made by Mr. Enderby up to the last accounts, it would appear that the island must be considerably broader than is represented on D'Urville's chart. Of course, the very imperfect sketch given by Bristow cannot be taken as giving a correct idea of the island.

The following imperfect notices of the group are collected from the Narrative of the Voyage and Discovery, &c., of H.M.S. Erebus and Terror, vol. i.; the Narrative of the United States' Exploring Expedition, vol. ii.; Le Voyage de L'Astrolabe et La Zelée, par M. Dumont D'Urville; and the Narrative of Four Voyages, by B. Morrell. These sources have been also combined in a brochure by C. Enderby, Esq., F.R.S., "A Short Account of the Auckland Islands, &c., London, 1849;" and see also the Quarterly Review for June, 1847.

Mr. M'Cormick, the naturalist to Sir James Ross's Antarctic Expedition, remarks that the formation of the Auckland Islands, as well as Campbell Islands, is volcanic, and constituted chiefly of basalt and greenstone. He also calls attention to Peas Head, in Laurie Harbour, North of Shoe Island, as being of great geological interest, exhibiting fine columns, 300 feet high, which are highly magnetic. The loftiest hill, Mount Eden, at the head of Laurie Harbour, attains an elevation of 1,325 feet, is rounded at the top, and clothed with grass to its summit. Another hill in the West rises to nearly 1,000 feet.

PRODUCTIONS.-Dr. Hooker, whose observations have been published in connexion with the Voyage of the Erebus and Terror, under the title of Flora Antarctica, remarks that, "perhaps no place in the course of our projected voyage in the southern ocean promised more novelty to the botanist than Auckland Islands. Situated in the midst of a boisterous ocean in a very high latitude for that hemisphere, and far removed from any tract of land but the islands of New Zealand, they proved, as was expected, to contain amongst many new species some of peculiar interest.

"Possessing no mountains rising to the limits of perpetual snow, and few rocks or precipices, the whole land seemed covered with vegetation. A low forest skirts

all the shores, succeeded by a broad belt of brushwood, above which, to the summit of the hills, extend grassy slopes. On a closer inspection of the forest, it is found to be composed of a dense thicket of stag-headed trees, so gnarled and stunted by the violence of the gales, as to afford an excellent shelter for a luxuriant under-growth of bright green feathery ferns, and several gay-flowered herbs.

"With much to delight the eye, and an extraordinary amount of new species to occupy the mind, there is here a want of any of those trees or shrubs to which the voyager has been accustomed in the North; and one cannot help feeling how much greater the pleasure would be to find new kinds of the pine, the birch, willow, or the oak, than those remarkable trees which have no allies in the northern hemisphere, and the mention of which, suggesting no familiar form to compare them with at home, can interest few but the professed botanist.

"Eighty flowering plants were found, a small number, but consisting of species more remarkable for their beauty and novelty than the flora of any other country. can show, no less than fifty-six being hitherto undescribed, and one-half of the whole peculiar to this group, as far as is at present known."

The trees on the island have been stated by some as rising to 70 feet in height, by others only to 30 feet. Both may be right, for they are most generally found to have been overturned by the strong gales, which is readily done from the nature of the soil they grow in, a very deep light peaty earth, which affords but little support for the roots. The trunks attain a diameter of 4 and 5 feet at times, but, from the above-mentioned cause, the stems are seldom straight enough to afford timber of any magnitude; for knees, or such purposes, it may be very valuable. Abundance of fuel from this source, then, may be relied on. The peat, too, which covers the greater portion of the land, might be made available for this purpose, but not perfectly so by the usual mode adopted in Ireland.*

Water, as an article of consumption, is very abundant. The stream which falls into the head of Laurie Harbour had sufficient water to form a noble cataract after a month's dry weather, and indeed abundance of streams are to be met with at all parts. The nature of the soil is such that, whatever quantity of rain falls, it very quickly sinks below the surface, and then probably percolates away on the volcanic and impervious rocks beneath. From the moisture of the climate, and the igneous character of the rocks, this peaty formation arises. This vegetable formation is found to be several feet in thickness, and consists of a mass of decomposed black vegetable fibre, which, if properly compressed, makes good fuel. Great difficulty was found in forming a foundation for the observatory at the time of the Erebus and Terror's visit; they had to dig 12 feet through the peat to gain the solid rock on which to erect the instruments.

As an evidence that the wood will burn, a quality not always found in these latitudes, Sir James Ross says:-"Some of our officers, finding it very laborious walking through the dense brushwood in their way to the western hills, opened a road by setting fire to the dried grass and sticks, which, being fanned by a strong breeze, spread with great rapidity in all directions, burning a great part of the wood near which our observatory was fixed; but fortunately did not approach to within half a mile of it. The whole country appeared in a blaze of fire at night. The scene, as viewed from our ships, was described as one of great magnificence and beauty. It was, nevertheless, a thoughtless prank, and might have been productive of great mischief, besides destroying so much valuable wood."

The magnetical observations made here were found to be singularly affected by the nature of the island. Some of the magnets were found entirely to depend for their direction of the North and South poles on the fragments of rocks around them. The compasses in the Terror were so much affected by Shoe Island as to mask the local attraction of the iron in the ship. These phenomena lead to the opinion that the island may be taken as one great magnet itself.

Respecting the zoology of these islands, Mr. M'Cormick observes-"There is no species of land-animal, with the exception of the domestic pig, introduced several years ago in the island by Capt. Bristow." Their food consists of the "Arabia polaris," described by Dr. Hooker as "one of the most beautiful and singular of the vegetable productions of the island it inhabits; growing in large orbicular masses in rocks and banks near the sea, or amongst the dense and gloomy vegetation of the woods, its copious bright green foliage and large umbels of waxy flowers have a most striking appearance.'

"The whole plant," he adds, "has a heavy and rather disagreeable smell common to many of its natural order; but it is nevertheless greedily eaten by goats, pigs, and rabbits. It is so abundant in marshy spots that these animals frequently live entirely amongst it, particularly where it grows near the margins of the woods, where they form broad tracks through the patches, grubbing up the roots to a great extent, and, by trampling down the soft stems and leaves, make soft and warm places for themselves to litter in."

One of these animals was shot by Mr. Hallett, and, although in poor condition, its flesh was considered well flavoured, though by no means equal to that of our own well-fed pigs.

Laurie Harbour and the North part of the island are thus described in a Narrative of the United States' Exploring Expedition in the ship Porpoise, dated 7th March, 1840 :—

"On the 7th we anchored in the harbour of Sarah's Bosom, in 12 fathoms water. During our brief stay here all were actively employed wooding and watering, for which this harbour affords a fine opportunity. Assistant-Surgeon Holmes made several excursions on the largest island, of which he gives the following account :

"I found it very thickly covered with trees in its less elevated parts. As few of them were of any size, I found no small difficulty in penetrating and making my way through them; in many places it was absolutely impossible. It was only after a long and fatiguing walk that I succeeded in reaching the summit of that part of the island near which the brig was anchored, when I found the trees less

numerous.

"A thick growth of underwood and dwarf bushes, intermixed with ferns, concealed the surface, rendering it difficult to walk. Even in the places apparently most level the ground was very unequal, and a single step would sometimes send me nearly up to the neck into a hollow filled with large fern-fronds. "On the highest parts the small level spots were covered only with moss and a description of tall grass, and in places also a kind of grain grew abundantly;

* Flora Antarctica, p. 20.

the ground was dry everywhere, all the water being found in the streams, which were numerous and pure.

"Near the summit the ground was perforated in all directions, probably by birds who rear their young in these holes. Many of the birds, principally procellaria, were sitting on the ground; they made no effort to escape, but suffered themselves to be taken without any attempt at resistance.

"The forest was full of small birds of three or four different species, which were perfectly fearless; one little fellow alighted on my cap as I was sitting under a tree, and sang long and melodiously; another, and still smaller species, of a black colour, spotted with yellow, was numerous, and sang very sweetly; its notes were varied, but approximated more nearly to the song of our blackbird; occasionally a note or two resembled the lark's. Hawks, too, are numerous, and might be seen in almost all the dead trees in pairs.

"Along the sea-coast were to be seen the marks of their ravages upon the smaller birds. The sea-birds were very numerous on the opposite side of the island, sitting upon the cliffs or hovering over the islet. On the western side of Auckland Island the underbush and young trees were exceedingly thick.'

"Dr. Holmes remarks, that he was occupied fully an hour in making his way for 100 yards, where, to all appearance, a human step had never before trodden. There was not a vestige of a track; old trees were strewn about irregularly, sometimes kept erect by the pressure from all sides. Some trees were seen upwards of 70 feet in height, although they were generally from 15 to 20. Every part of the island was densely covered with vegetation. The soil, from the decomposition of vegetable matter, had acquired considerable richness. Specimens of all the plants were collected; some resembling the tropical plants were found here.

"These islands have in many places the appearance of having been raised directly from the sea; they are the resort of whalers for the purpose of refitting, and waiting the whaling season, which occurs here in the months of April and May. Near the watering place a commodious hut has been erected by a French whaler. Near by there was another in ruins, and close to it the grave of a French sailor, whose name was inscribed on a wooden cross erected over it. Some attempts at forming a garden were observed at one of the points of Sarah's Bosom, and turnips, cabbages, and potatoes were growing finely, which, if left undisturbed, will soon cover this portion of the island; to these a few onions were added.

"Many of the small islands in this group were visited; they closely resemble the larger one. The cliffs consist of basalt, and are generally from 50 to 90 feet perpendicular.

"These islands have a picturesque, wild, steep, and basaltic appearance; the highest peak was estimated to be 800 feet; the smaller has a less elevation. The general aspect of the land resembles the region round Cape Horn."

CLIMATE. As is mentioned elsewhere, no very accurate knowledge of the general climate of the group is as yet acquired. It has been supposed to be similar to Chiloë, which has been described in a former page of this work. To

this, therefore, the reader is referred. But it is also very probable that that account, to coincide with these islands, must be somewhat modified in one particular-the strong winds to which it would appear they are subject to. The trees are an evidence of this, as they bend from the general westerly direction of the violent squalls. Mr. Enderby has experienced one very remarkable phenomenon, in the early part of 1850, at the station in Port Ross. A most violent gust of wind struck, with the force of a solid body, the spot near where he was, and this not for any continuous period, or over an extended space, but only for about five seconds of time and a few yards in diameter. After passing onward the percussions of the repeated shocks could be heard at short intervals as it went. There was no apparent cause for it, and the intervening spaces were comparatively calm. This would form an important consideration with vessels unprepared for such a visitation when at anchor.

The Auckland group, according to Sir James Ross, consists of one large and several smaller islands, separated by narrow channels. The largest island he states to be about 30 miles long, and 15 miles in extreme breadth; but this cannot be considered as exact, as before mentioned. It contains, he continues, two principal harbours, whose entrances are both from the eastward, and whose heads or termination reach within 2 or 3 miles of the western coast.

ENDERBY ISLAND is the north-eastern island of the group; it forms the northern side of the entrance to Laurie Harbour, or Port Ross. It is upon this island that the principal portion of the stock landed by the Whale Fishery Company is kept. They immediately began to improve in their new position, an evidence of the good quality of the land. The island, 2 or 3 miles in length, is capable of sustaining a large quantity of cattle, and at some future day will probably become of considerable importance in this respect. It is covered with peaty mould, which is capable of being rendered very productive. One portion of the New Zealand tribes was established here, and raise vegetables, turnips, potatoes, cabbages, &c., the first of excellent quality, excelling most others; the latter equal to any European productions. This augurs well that other fruits and plants may flourish. The island is not high, and is well supplied with

water.

A pilot station has been established on it; vessels, therefore, visiting the group, can thence be conducted safely to the principal harbour to the S.W.

There is a narrow entrance to Laurie Harbour between the West end of Enderby Island and Rose's Island, which is only a channel fit for boats. The sea was breaking right across the opening when the Erebus passed it; but in calm weather it might be mistaken by strangers for a safe passage.

As is frequently the case, the tidal currents meet off Enderby Island; and on this Sir James Ross says:-"On rounding the N.E. cape of Enderby Island we passed through some strong whirlpools, occasioned by the meeting of the tides off the point; and although we did not find soundings with our ordinary hand lines, it is by no means improbable that some shoals or rocky patches may have some influence in producing these strong and dangerous eddies."

LAURIE HARBOUR, or PORT Ross.-Capt. Bristow, the discoverer of these