Jan 3rd, 1874, off the Croziet Islands
On the day after X.mas we stood in to Marion, & landed an exploring party while the ship sounded round the island. It is about 4 miles in length &  3 in breadth, & has mountains on it about 3000 ft. high, covered with snow nearly all te way down. There was grass on it but no animals what ever except Penguins, Sea Elephants, & hosts of great Albatrosses, some of them measuring 17 ft from wing to wing. All of these creatures, as well as other sea birds were there for breeding purposes, as the season lasts from November to May. The Albatrosses & Penguins are very friendly, the former generally makes his nest between two Penguins, which make none, but merely a hole in the ground & lays  2 eggs, which are nearly as large as Ostrich's, after they are laid one of the birds sits on them until they are hatched. The old Man goes to sea and gets his belly full, then returns & sits on the eggs while my lady goes for a feed. A good many of these birds were killed for the sake of the breast of white down, & the web of the foot which our men make tobacco pouches of. They can't fly from the ground on account of the great length of their wings, but must start from some elevation. They are very tame, & would never leave the nest until toppled over with a stick. A large sea–elephant was shot on the beach, but I did not see him.

There are 4 different sorts of Penguins on this island, the largest and handsomest being the King Penguin, which stands about 3-1/2 feet high, & has a golden crest on its head. Our men say they look like the Russian sentry's up the Crimea, for they stand as stiff & immovable as a soldier, with their flippers standing out straight. They are of a white & purple black colour, with yellow feet, & are perfectly harmless, & look so helpless when they are being killed. They stand on the beach in droves, & in the evenings go through all sorts of military evolutions.

Specimens of all these creatures, with a couple of sea elephants, & a large seal were shot, and brought on board, & are now stuffed and pickled for the museums. Bundles of the Kerguelen Cabbage were also brought, which proves very palatable, & eats something like Spinach though rather bitter. Captain Cook found it very efficacious in curing Scurvy among his crew, so we shall eat plenty of it.