CHAPTER IX. 



Townsville White Ants Ant-Lions A Large Snake Raining Bird Bodies 

 Thursday Island Coral Reefs The Pearl Oyster and Pearls To the 

 Sea Bottom in a Diver's Armor We Narrowly Escape being Wrecked 

 A Black Trader. 



WE arrived at Townsville early in the morning ; and 

 as we stood on the small steamer, which was to take us 

 to the wharf, an enormous shark came alongside, giv- 

 ing us a fine view. He looked lazy and sleepy enough, 

 till one of the men stabbed him with a pike, which 

 sent him off in a great hurry. Sharks are very 

 numerous in all the Australian waters, so that sea- 

 bathing is very dangerous. While in Sydney Har- 

 bor, a friend of mine, sitting in the stern of a 

 small boat, his coat-tails hanging temptingly over 

 the side, had the lower half of that garment torn 

 away by a shark. In most of the salt-water creeks, 

 sharks may be seen at high water, waiting for a chance 

 to make a meal of some unfortunate being. One often 

 sees ladies, while out in a small boat, put their hands 

 over the side into the water. If they were only aware 

 what a tempting bait they were thus offering to the 

 marine inhabitants, they would give up this graceful 

 little habit. Even in fresh water, there are many 



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