202 IN AUSTRALIAN WILDS 



darting through the air, and several observers declared 

 that the pectoral fins were vibrated, but not con- 

 tinuously, the motion being most apparent when the 

 fishes passed the centre of the arc of their "flight." 



Dolphins [Dolphinus delphis] , popularly called 

 Porpoises, gambolled around the steamer's bows; oc- 

 casionally a huge shark was seen ; and the transparent 

 water was thronged with beautiful Medusae. A sharp 

 look-out was kept for Portuguese Men-of-War 

 [Physalia~] , but none was observed. On the Brisbane 

 River, a few days previously, in a launch, we passed 

 through a fleet of these creatures, and found thou- 

 sands, with deflated air bladders, stranded on a sand 

 bank. 



Just before noon North-West Island, the largest 

 of the Capricorns, appeared in sight a long- gray 

 shadow resting on the sea. We had decided to divide 

 into two parties, one of which was landed on North- 

 West Island. It was not safe for the steamer to 

 come close to the coral reef, and the anchor was 

 dropped in about nine fathoms, two miles from the 

 beach. It was flood tide, and the boats, though 

 heavy laden, rode easily over the reef. The unruffled 

 sea, of a wonderful blue tint, won oar admiration, but 

 in the lagoon its beauty was rivalled by that of the 

 corals, clearly visible on the white sand below. Pent 

 in "walls of glass," the submarine garden glowed with 

 many colours. We had read many descriptions of 

 coral reefs, and were not disappointed by the reality. 

 Few objects in Nature are moie enchanting than 

 living corals ; the "skeletons" stored in museums are 

 interesting, but can never satisfy one who has drifted 

 in a boat over a reef in the tropic sea. 



My lot was cast with the second party, and when 

 the boats returned to the steamer I was aboard the 

 mate's craft. With a farewell shriek from her siren, 

 the Endeavour headed for Mast Head, an islet about 

 one hundred acres in extent, lying seventeen miles to 



