WHITE— A Sketch of the Life of Samuel White. 209 



all appearances seemed too much for him. At this stage 

 Samuel White makes the following note, "I am now sorry that 

 I brought Andrews. None but very hardy men are fit for 

 this work, some of the crew are complaining." When pas- 

 sing Cape Grafton several natives were seen running along 

 the beach, and their camp fires were plainly seen. A few 

 minutes before sunset the yacht brought up on the N.W. side 

 of Double Island. Samuel White took a boat, and pulled 

 on to the island to the S.W. where there was a sand spit. Many 

 sea birds were seen, and Ptilotis versicolor heard, but it was too 

 dark to do any collecting, and it was long after dark before he 

 returned. The land passed during the day appeared moun- 

 tainous, wild, and rugged, thinly timbered, and very rocky, 

 rocks or bare earth appeared in every direction, the whole 

 country bore a cheerless and inhospitable appearance. Upon 

 passing Fitzroy Island to the West a nice sandy bay appeared 

 on the N. side well sheltered from the S.E. "trades." The 

 island is of considerable extent, very stony, and but lightly 

 wooded. After passing Fitzroy Island, Green Island 

 appeared on the starboard side — a low sandy islet of coral 

 formation, covered with bush and a few small trees. Here 

 the Torres straits pigeons assemble in the breeding season 

 (which is about November) in wast flocks until the whole island 

 is a mass of white birds, and a stick thrown amongst them 

 cannot fail to bring down several. The flesh of this pigeon 

 is good food, but not equal in dilicacy to the ground pigeons, 

 the pigeons in question being strictly a fruit eater, living in 

 the trees, and never descending to the ground. Next morn- 

 ing before dawn the yacht was under weigh again with a light 

 wind, and soon after daylight the curious and remarkable 

 peak which attracted the attention of that great navigator 

 Capt. Cook over a hundred years ago about this time of the 

 year which was named the "Peter Bottle" came in sight with 

 a coil of mist around its neck. The wind continued light. At 

 10 a.m. Cape Tribulation showed up, and a large steamer 

 passed (one of the Dutch boats) and the officers seemingly 

 knew the yacht for they waved their caps for some time. It 

 was hoped that Cook Town would have been reached before 

 dark, but this was impossible for there were 50 miles to go, 

 and the wind was very light. The weather was beautiful 

 and fine with the wind very light. Later on the wind 

 freshened, so Cook Town was made that evening. The 

 anchorage was not picked up very easily, so a pilot came out 

 and boarded the yacht, and brought her up to her moorings. 



