They Were Speckled
Black And Yellow Like Toads, And Had Scales Or Knobs On Their Backs
Like Those Of Crocodiles, Plated On To The Skin, Or Stuck Into It,
As Part Of The Skin.
They are very slow in motion, and when a man
comes nigh them they will stand still and hiss, not endeavouring to
get away.
Their livers are also spotted black and yellow; and the
body, when opened, hath a very unsavoury smell. I did never see
such ugly creatures anywhere but here. The guanos I have observed
to be very good meat, and I have often eaten of them with pleasure;
but though I have eaten of snakes, crocodiles, and alligators, and
many creatures that look frightfully enough, and there are but few I
should have been afraid to eat of if pressed by hunger, yet I think
my stomach would scarce have served to venture upon these New
Holland guanos, both the looks and the smell of them being so
offensive.
The sea-fish that we saw here (for here was no river, land or pond
of fresh water to be seen) are chiefly sharks. There are abundance
of them in this particular sound, that I therefore gave it the name
of Shark's Bay. Here are also skates, thornbacks, and other fish of
the ray kind (one sort especially like the sea-devil), and gar-fish,
bonetas, etc. Of shell-fish we got here mussels, periwinkles,
limpets, oysters, both of the pearl kind and also eating oysters, as
well the common sort as long oysters, besides cockles, etc.
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