COASTS OF AUSTRALIA. 245 
1819. 
Sailors, of all other people, are the most incau- Jul y 2 
tious and careless in contracting illness ; but 
when attacked, there are none that require more 
attendance and nursing ; besides, they were un- 
willing, in the first instance, to trust to my igno- 
rance, until increasing sickness obliged them, 
and then my fear was that although I might be 
of service and check the disorder, their complaint 
was possibly not understood by me, and that 
eventually, instead of curing, I might destroy my 
patient. And to these fears my mind was so 
constantly alive, that on some occasions I thought 
of little else. 
Captain Cook thus describes the method by which the natives of 
Endeavour River catch turtle : — “ For striking’ turtle they have a peg 1 
of wood, which is about a foot long, and very well bearded this fits 
