1 76 Pearls. 



on the water, fading away into the darkness astern. 

 This phenomenon effectually disposed of further 

 sleep that night. In the morning several of the 

 elder men came to their master, and gravely, and 

 with timidity, enquired whether "that were Satan 

 they saw last night ! " 



In Macassar, Mr. Chippindall again joined 

 the ship, and took charge; he and Mr. Haynes pro- 

 ceeding to Australia, and the mate leaving the ship. 



Cossack, the headquarters of the West Aus- 

 tralian pearling fleet, was reached in due time. Here 

 a new mate joined, and work was begun at the 

 head of the Exmouth Gulf From April to October 

 it is fine, calm, clear water, but too cold for naked 

 diving. Even in November the water in the Gulf 

 was standing at 6^"" Fahr., and the atmosphere at 

 72"* Fahr., while all the boats were necessarily idle. 

 Such cold would be sufficient to kill men if they 

 dived. 



There was one other schooner with Solorese 

 on board, but all the others were working West- 

 Australian aborigines. These men dive feet first, 

 and turn in the water ; such a method being far 

 less exhausting than plunging head foremost. The 

 Solorese imitated the Australian men, but the Sooloo 

 men would not give up their old habits, and 



