with their war clubs over
their shoulders; now they work as day labourers in the service of the
whites.

At last our albatross rises high above the coast and speeds swiftly
southwards to the small island of Auckland. There he meets his mate, and
for several days they are terribly busy in making ready their nest. They
collect reeds, rushes, and dry grass, which they knit into a kind of
high, round ball. The month of November is come and the summer has
begun. In the southern hemisphere midsummer comes at Christmas and
midwinter at the end of June. Then the albatrosses assemble in enormous
flocks at Auckland and other small, lonely islands to breed.

ACROSS AUSTRALIA

There are still districts in the interior of the fifth continent which
have never been visited by Europeans. There stretch vast sandy deserts
and the country is very dry, for the rain of the south-east trade-wind
falls on the mountain ranges of the east, where also the rivers flow.
Fifty years ago very little was known of the interior of Australia, and
a large reward was offered to the man who should first cross the
continent from sea to sea.

Accordingly a big expedition was set on foot. It was equipped by the
colony of Victoria. Large sums of money were contributed, and Robert
Burke was chosen as leader. He was a bold and energetic man, but wanting
in cool-headedness and the quiet, sure judgment necessary to conduct an
expedition through unknown and desolate country.

[Illustration: PLATE XXXVIII. COUNTRY NEAR LAKE EYRE.]

Two dozen camels with their drivers were procured from north-west India.
Provisions were obtained for a year, and all the articles purchased,
even to the smallest trifles, were of the best quality money could buy.
With such an equipment all Australia might have been explored little by
little. When the expedition set out from Melbourne, the capital of
Victoria, there was great enthusiasm; many people came out really to to
look at the camels, for they had never seen this animal before, but most
of them looked forward to a triumph in geographical exploration.

Burke was not alone. He had as many as fifteen Europeans with him. Some
of them were men of science, who were to investigate the peculiar
vegetation of the country, and the singular marsupials, the character of
the rocks, the climate, and so on. One of them was named Wills. Others
were servants, and had to look after the horses and transport.

The caravan started on August