chump is that no matter how many are in sight they
are all looking at you, and they follow step by step with a
sickly deliberation. They are all yellow and pink, and next to
spiders seem the most loathsome creatures on God's earth. Talking
about spiders [Bowers always had the greatest horror of
spiders]--I have to collect them as well as insects. Needless to
say I caught them with a butterfly net, and never touched one.
Only five species were known before, and I found fifteen or
more--at any rate I have fifteen for certain. Others helped me to
catch them, of course. Another interesting item to science is the
fact that I caught a moth hitherto unknown to exist on the
island, also various flies, ants, etc. Altogether it was a most
successful day. Wilson got dozens of birds, and Lillie plants,
etc. On our return to the landing-place we found to our horror
that a southerly swell was rolling in, and great breakers were
bursting on the beach. About five P.M. we all collected and
looked at the whaler and pram on one side of the rollers and
ourselves on the other. First it was impossible to take off the
guns and specimens, so we made them all up to leave for the
morrow. Second, a sick man had come ashore for exercise, and he
could not be got off: finally, Atkinson stayed ashore with him.
The breakers made the most awe-inspiring cauldron in our little
nook, and it meant a tough swim for all of us. Three of us swam
out first and took a line to the pram, and finally we got a good
rope from the whaler, which had anchored well out, to the shore.
I then manoeuvred the pram, and everybody plunged into the surf
and hauled himself out with the rope. All well, but minus our
belongings, and got back to the ship; very wet and ravenous was a
mild way to put it. During my 12 to 4 watch that night the surf
roared like thunder, and the ship herself was rolling like
anything, and looked horribly close to the shore. Of course she
was quite safe really. It transpired that Atkinson and the seaman
had a horrible night with salt water soaked food, and the crabs
and white terns which sat and watched them all night, squawking
in chorus whenever they moved. It must have been horrible, though
I would like to have stayed, and had I known anybody was staying
would have volunteered. This with the noise of the surf a