270 Jackson, In the Barron River Valley, N.Q. fist^Tune 



I met Mr. Geo. Sharp, who kindly accompanied me to the 

 nearest bovv>er, which was several miles away, our dusky body- 

 guard of about a dozen natives making pace ahead of us. After 

 a long and rough walk through forest and scrub, over creeks and 

 rivers, &c., we arrived at the desired spot at 5.15 p.m. The light 

 was at this hour so dull in the scrub that it was impossible for 

 me to see any detail of my subject on the focussing screen of 

 the camera. However, I focussed by the aid of a lighted match 

 held near the front of the large bower. At the same time I 

 asked the natives to cut down some of the smaller bushy- 

 topped trees that stood near, thus admitting more daylight. I 

 made four long exposures from different angles, and in each 

 case placed some natives by the bower, they acting, of course, 

 as a scale to the whole subject. After taking a ^cv; more 

 photographs of other subjects, we moved towards home, where, 

 after a long tramp, we arrived at 8.15 p.m. During a part of 

 the journey in the scrub the natives collected bundles of bark, 

 which they lighted, and, by carrying these like torches, enabled 

 us to get along with much greater ease than would have been 

 the case otherwise. Here and there I would break the 

 monotony of the dark walk by stopping and hitting a large tree 

 with a stick, and then, to the intense amusement of the blacks, 

 imitate (by ventriloquism) a voice within it. 



The bower of the Golden Bower-Bird which I photographed 

 covered an area 14 feet by 6, and in the centre the pile of sticks 

 was over 4 feet high. The whole structure appeared to have no 

 symmetry at all, most of the sticks being piled up about the 

 upright stems of small trees. In the decorations there were 

 large quantities of a long, stringy forest moss, varying in colour 

 from a yellowish-green to a rich rust ; I also saw numbers of 

 open pods each containing a black seed, the latter in most cases 

 being covered with a red skin, which was, however, in a state of 

 decortication. In front of the bower and close to the ground hung 

 a vine ( Vitis) in swing form, and this in all probability afforded 

 a swing for these beautiful birds during their play at the bower. 

 I believe the photograph here represented of one of these bowers 

 is the first that has ever been published. 



EVELYN SCRUBS, HERBERTON RANGE. 



To-day (30th November) I took several photographs illus- 

 trative of the aborigines of the district. ( Vide group.) 



Mr. Geo. Sharp kindly gave me a rather flat and loose nest of 

 sticks, which he stated belonged to the Tooth-billed Bower-Bird, 

 and from which two young birds had recently flown. This nest 

 (with others of its kind which I found containing eggs) is now 

 in the possession of Mr. White, at Belltrees, N.S.W. I gathered 

 from a conversation with Mr. Sharp to-day that up to date he 

 had taken one set of Tooth-bill's eggs. 



