COOK'S CLEARING AT DUSKY SOUND.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16213, 16 May 1918, Page 3

COOK'S CLEARING AT DUSKY SOUND.

TO THE EDITOR OF "THE TRESS."

Sir, —Seeing one or two articles in "Tho Press" regarding the section of ground cleared by Captain Cook oil his visit to Dusky Sound, I thought It might be of interest to give you a few particulars known to myself. About 1906 I visited the place with a yachting party. The spot is on top or a fairly high ridge just inside the entrance or ' Pickersgill harbour (on I'le right hand entering the little cove). As far as I remember it would be about an acre in extent, although hard to estimate without measuring, on account of the spot being again covered by dense undergrowth and sapling timber, some of which measured quite 3ft in circumference. The spot was identified by a distinct line of timber on one side, and the heavy virgin bush on the other. Aiso we noticed hummocks of moss about a foot to eighteen inches high covering the holes of the sawn stumps. On slicing the sphagnum moss off the tops of these mounds, one could plungo one's arm up to the elbow, in a kind of dry sawdust, which was all that remained of the old- tre<» stumps; and which was kept in its original shape by nothing but the moss surrounding it.' There" is no doubt about the correctness of these few Statements, as our party had a copy of Captain Cook's original chart of Dusky, borrowed from old Dick Henry, who was at that time Government curator on Resolution Island.—Yours, etc..

V. P. BOOT

Ashburton, May 14th