578 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION F. 



York Peninsula and the Wellesley Islands, a number of whicli had, 

 since the time of Flinders, only recently been visited by Dr. W. E. 

 Roth in the Melhidir. 



On Bayley Island I spent some days in friendly contact with a 

 tribe of natives. At the Archer River I assisted in the foundation of 

 a mission station, in company with Mr. Artliur Richter, of the Mapoon 

 Mission Station, Batavia River. The mouth of the Archer River is 

 wrongly depicted on every map of Australia, for it enters the sea by 

 two distinct and navigable channels separated by an island. They 

 both extend into bush country never before touched by white men. 

 The coniidence of the blacks, who had proved very treacherous and 

 dangerous before our arrival, was won as the result of a successful 

 operation performed by me on the breast of a woman. Having visited 

 the Normanton and Burketown districts on the Leichhardt River, where 

 I collected relics of the giant fossil marsupial Nototherium, I returned 

 to the coast of North Queensland and remained from November, 1904, 

 until February, 1905, in the districts of Cooktown and Cairns. 



A most important field for investigation proved to be the Bellenden 

 Kerr Mountains inland from Cairns, where a great number of half- 

 civilised and free-living tribes are located. Some of these were found 

 to be in a good condition, but others were in a state of decay, largely 

 owing to the introduction of opium by the Chinese. One of the best 

 specimens collected here was the mummy of an old chief, " Naicha," 

 of " Boonje " (Upper Russel River), which had been perfectly smoked 

 eight months after death. The negotiations with the relatives for the 

 possession were difficult, but successful. From Cairns I proceeded to 

 Sydney, where I arrived at the end of March. During my studies in 

 the Australian Museum I was very kindly assisted by the curator, 

 Mr. Etheridge. 



I left Sydney at the beginning of September, 1905, for a 14 months' 

 trip around Australia. 



On the south coast I visited Warnambool, Victoria. I found 

 the sandstone formation near Warnambool more interesting than I 

 expected after the unfavorable opinions expressed by some scientific 

 authorities. Various footprints of animals in the sandstone rocks 

 have been known for many years, but very little attention has been 

 given to the fact. I discovered the footprint of a giant bird, which I 

 suggest may belong to Gent/orni)^ ncwtoni (Stirling), remains of which, 

 found in Callabonna Lake, are preserved in the Adelaide Museum. 

 I pubUshed the results of my investigation in one of my reports to 

 the Anthropological Society of Berlin. (2) I came to the conclusion 

 that the human-like footprints, saved by Mr. Archibald, the late 

 director of the Museum, very likely indeed belong to a juvenile human 

 individual of the Tertiary period. (3) I next proceeded to Perth, and 



(2) Zeitschrift fur Ethnologie, 1906. 

 (3) After a consultation I had with Prof. E. David, of Sydney, I have every 

 reason to hope that the locality of Warnambool may now be studied more pro- 

 foundly by the Australian scientists. 



