UPS AND DOWNS 
and the crew would certainly have fallen victims to the 
cannibal natives. It is really extraordinary how she 
managed to escape all the dangers of the coral islands 
that dot the seas for at least 200 miles west of Hall 
Sound. 
The same typhoon wrecked Townsville, unroofed 
an hotel, reduced brick buildings to débris and killed 
seven men; at the same time the sea receded and left 
the shipping dry. 
When we had been lying in Hall Sound some 
three or four days, the Merrie England came up 
with the Administrator, Mr. Ruthven Le Hunte, who 
asked us to breakfast, and told us that for some 
days he had been very anxious about the St. Andrew 
and had been keeping a sharp look-out for us on 
his passage from the west. 
When we had finally got our clearance we set 
about going to camp again at Hkeikei, but it took 
us until the 17th June to get together our carriers. 
The old difficulties in regard to them again beset 
us, but after great trouble and much searching 
and persuasion we obtained a somewhat inadequate 
force with which we pushed on and got back to 
Ekeikei on the 20th June. There five of our boys 
deserted. 
No sooner were we back in camp than a new 
trouble assailed us in the shape of an attack of 
sickness among our natives. We had hardly been a 
week at Ekeikei and were just settling down to 
our work, when one or two boys turned ill and 
complained of headache and were very feverish, and 
very soon the tell-tale rash proclaimed they had 
a3 
