718 



AMPHISII.E STRIGATA. 



the north-west corner of the bay and good anchorage on a sandy bottom at the south- 

 west comer where there is also a deep freshwater creek not marked on my charts. 

 I took three soundings across the mouth of Hygeia Bay in a northerly direction 

 showing 59 and 66 fathoms of water, but at the third sounding the line was bitten 

 across, probably by a hungry shark, and the lead was lost. 



Having injured my foot on the coral at Karuana my principal boatman, Suopa, 

 made me a poultice by scraping some raw yam with a shell and cooking it in 

 a frying-pan; he told me to put a little sugar in it and apply it to the foot. I did 

 so and I think it undoubtedly assisted the inflammation and reduced the pain. 



Frequently my boys would break out into song and sometimes with theii- clear 

 natural voices the effect produced was quite charming. Once when I was busy in my 

 cabin my skipper started a spontaneous anthem in honour of the south-east wind 

 (" bomatu ") and was soon joined by the little cook in unison. 



Hymn to the south-east wind. 



Boma-tu - na Bo - ma - tima 



Si - wai sru - ba 



Bagi - gi-no Bo - ma- 



tuna 



i 



A 



T=^ 



\J 



m. 



wai gu - ba - raia 



-P-Bz3^ 



§ 



=1-=); 



Bagi - gi-no Bo - ma - tuna. 



W;:q3p-r^: 



;s^==^= 



Among the reef-patches at Karuana I made the acquaintance (if a remarkable 

 species of fish, the Amphisile strigata^ of Dr Giinther. This species lives in small 

 shoals of about half-a-dozen individuals and swims about with rapidity in a vertical 

 position, cleaving the water with its razor-shaped bod}^ I was greatly astonished when 

 I saw these spectral fishes flitting about and I pursued them with much perseverance 

 in my dinghy, but although I came up %vith them several times they doubled back 

 with such deftness that they completely baffled my attempts to catch them with a 

 pole-net. Subsequently I obtained specimens at Lifu in which I recognised my Karuana 

 friends. The tiny mouth is placed at the summit of the pointed snout and is only 

 capable of imbibing microscopic nourishment. 



At the eastern extremity of the mainland of New Guinea there is the famous 

 inlet of Milne Bay, at the sight of which I was tempted to believe that all things 

 were possible in its untried depths, but so far as Nautilus is concerned I met with 

 no better fortune here, after trapping and trawling for a fortnight, than in Hygeia 



' Kindly identified by Mr G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S., from specimens taken at Lifu. 



