AUSTRALIA Si 



so slowly through the grass, that if I had not 

 been afeard I might have touched him." Banks 

 discovered later that the creature which had 

 opened the portals of hell to the unfortunate 

 sailor was merely an enormous bat. 



The country in the neighbourhood of the En- 

 deavour River was full of sandy mountains, and 

 seemed fairly barren. A few abandoned huts 

 stood in the woods. At last some natives ap- 

 peared. No notice was taken of them, so they 

 returned a little later with a fair number of their 

 friends. They gradually approached, and. Cook 

 having invited them on board, they unhesitat- 

 ingly accepted the invitation. Seeing some 

 turtles on the poop, they took two of them and 

 dragged them to the side of the ship where their 

 canoe lay. The crew took them back by force, 

 not without difficulty, and at last, after several 

 vain attempts to appropriate this precious booty, 

 the natives leapt into their canoe and rowed to 

 shore. As soon as they had landed they took 

 up their weapons and, picking up brands from 

 a brazier, set light with extraordinary prompti- 

 tude to the grass in front of them. This grass, 

 five or six feet high and dry as stubble, caught 

 fire at once. The fire made rapid progress to- 

 wards one of the tents, which was saved. Every- 

 thing combustible in the workshop which had 

 been set up on the beach was destroyed. At last 



