nny-eye, I obtained with some
difficulty permission to sleep at his fire, and he gave me a roasted
mullet for supper. The party at our bivouac, consisted of my host, his
wife and two children, an old man and two wretched dogs. We lay down with
our feet towards a large fire of driftwood, partially sheltered from the
wind by a semicircular line of branches, stuck in the sand behind us;
still, while one part of the body was nearly roasted, the rest shivered
with cold. The woman appeared to be busy all night long in scaling and
roasting fish, of which, before morning, she had a large pile ready
cooked; neither did the men sleep much--for they awoke every hour or so,
gorged themselves still further with mullet, took a copious draft of
water, and wound up by lighting their pipes before lying down again.

At daylight everyone was up and stirring, and soon afterwards the men and
boys went down to the beach to fish. The rollers coming in from seaward
broke about one hundred yards from the shore, and in the advancing wave
one might see thousands of large mullet keeping together in a shoal with
numbers of porpoises playing about, making frequent rushes among the
dense masses and scattering them in every direction. Such of the men as
were furnished with the scoop-net waded out in line, and, waiting until
the porpoises had driven the mullet close in shore, rushed among the
shoal, and, closing round in a circle with the nets nearly touching,
secured a number of fine fish, averaging two and a half pounds weight.
This was repeated at intervals until enough had been procured. Meanwhile
others, chiefly boys, were at work with their spears, darting them in
every direction among the fish, and on the best possible terms with the
porpoises, which were dashing about among their legs, as if fully aware
that they would not be molested.

HISTORY OF PREVIOUS DISCOVERIES ON THE SOUTH COAST OF NEW GUINEA.

On May 26th, we sailed from Moreton Bay--but, before entering into the
details of this, the most interesting portion of the Voyage of the
Rattlesnake, a brief but connected account of the progress of discovery
on the south-east coast of New Guinea, and the Louisiade Archipelago,
will enable the reader more clearly to perceive the necessity then
existing for as complete a survey of these shores and the adjacent seas
as would enable the voyager to approach them with safety. A glance at any
of the published charts will show a vague outline of coast