WHITE— A Sketch of the Life of Samuel White 187 



the usual war on piles, thatched with palm leaves, and the 

 sides formed with mats. One man was building a new house 

 alongside the old one, it was not very extensive, but must 

 have been nearly 30 feet long, it had two raised floors, which 

 were about seven feet apart, the first floor being about that 

 distance from the ground. We passed many tributaries to 

 the YVatalli Channel like the Wanumbi creek, but most were 

 shallow and shot off from the main stream on either side. 

 Although I did not reach as far as I desired I was gratified 

 and much pleased with the scenery, I consider it extremely 

 beautiful, and am sure if it were within reach of civilized 

 parts of the world it would be much frequented. In many 

 places we observed fresh water falling over rocky banks into 

 the salt water of the channel at such places we frequently 

 landed after an hour of so's pull in the sun (as the sun shone 

 out very warm between the showers), and my men refreshed 

 themselves with cool clear water, which comes from the dark 

 dense tropical scrub and falls in cascades into rocky basins be- 

 fore it finally mingles with the water of the ocean. 



We reached the yacht before dark, and I felt as though 

 I had ended a good days work, but far worse than all the work 

 are the sores that are increasing both in size and number in 

 places about my body. When warm and the perspiration is 

 running, the horrible' itching and smarting at times seems 

 almost as much as I can endure, several times to-day I have 

 been on the point of jumping overboard to wash away the 

 perspiration, but am afraid the salt water may aggrevate the 

 wounds. There were a great many natives on board when I 

 got back, but they bring but little now. The weather to-day 

 bas been very disagreeable, being both hot and wet." 



August 1st, my father gave orders to have the yacht shif- 

 ted with the ebb tide, and at ten o'clock she was under way. 

 and came out of the Watalli Channel. There were several 

 natives on board when the anchor was heaved, one had a live 

 Bird of Paradise tied by the leg to a stick, it was a fine bird, 

 five or six years old, perfect all but the side plumes, these 

 were only a few inches long, and of a very dull straw colour. 

 The poor bird fluttered, bit, and screamed, the owner refused 

 several axes for it, and took it away as the yacht got under 

 way, he either did not know what he wanted for it, or could 

 not explain. My father, writing under the above date, says: 

 "We came out of the channel with both the wind and tide, and 

 were soon in the big open bay at ithe mouth of the Watalli 

 Channel, here I intended dropping anchor, but I was busy be- 



