NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE. 455 



examining carefully the faunae of some of the rivers. Those in which Ceratodus had 

 lately been discovered had the greatest interest for us, for we hoped that, besides getting 

 a number of specimens of Ceratodtis in various stages, we might by effective netting and 

 other means find some additional forms of Dipnoi. Accordingly a little party, consisting 

 of Lieutenant, now Captain, Aldrich (who afterwards commanded the sledge party which 

 proceeded westwards from the 'Alert's' winter quarters along the coast of Grinncll's 

 Land), Mr. Murray and myself, with Mr. Pearcey and a couple of blue-jackets in attend- 

 ance, was organised to go to Brisbane during the stay of the ship at Sydney, with the 

 view of pushing on, if time permitted, to the upper reaches of the Mary or the Burnet. 



"• We got information and introductions from Dr. Bennett, Mr. Hill, and others. We 

 prepared a stock of trammel nets, lines, and other fishing appliances, a box of dynamite 

 cartridges, fowling pieces, and collecting gear of all kinds, and we arranged to leave 

 Sydney by the 'City of Brisbane' on Tuesday the 29th April 1874; the vessel was, 

 however, detained by bad weather till the 4th May. We arrived at Brisbane on the 

 morning of the 7th. An intimation bf our intended trip had preceded us, and we found 

 a kind invitation from the Marquis of Normanby to Government House awaiting us at 

 the club, of which we had already been made honorary members. 



" We stayed a few days at Brisbane seeing all that was to be seen. The Governor's 

 A.D.C. tried to make arrangements to send us on to Gympie in carriages, but we found 

 it more convenient to go by a coasting steamer to Maryburgh. The departure of the 

 ' Lady Bowen,' the regular trading packet, was hurried to give us more time, and on 

 Sunday the 10th we were steaming past a monotonous undulating coast line, the low 

 hills crowned with dusky woods of sombre gum-trees, past Fraser Island, one of the 

 districts given up entirely to the natives, many of whom we saw in the distance, with a 

 fine walk and gait, but absolutely unclothed. We were disappointed that none of them 

 swam off to the steamer as they often do. 



"We reached Maryburgh on the morning of the 11th, and introduced ourselves to 

 Mr. Sheridan, the Collector of Customs, to whom we had been referred by Lord Normanby. 

 We found Mr. Sheridan a most pleasant companion, and a man of great intelligence and 

 considerable special knowledge of natural science. He most kindly placed himself at our 

 disposal diu-ing our stay, and afterwards took the trouble to collect and send home to 

 us a valuable collection of such species as we had not an opportunity of procuring in 

 sufficient quantity during our short visit. 



" We went on in the evening in a couple of buggies through the bush of scattered 

 gum-trees, to a little group of wooden shanties called ' Tiaro,' about 20 miles above 

 Maryburgh, on a pretty bend of the river Mary, with a good long stretch of open stream, 

 succeeded by some irregular rapids and deep pools, and overhanging woods farther up. 

 The influence of the tide was slightly felt for a considerable distance beyond Tiaro, and 

 some of the fishes had consequently an estuarine character. 



