before I was able to remain in
their presence without a feeling of utter disgust. To be precise, I
could not talk to them before they ate, because they were so anxious to
get at the food; and after the feast they were too gorged with fat to be
able to talk rationally. In all my wanderings amongst the blacks I never
came across anything that interested them so much as a whale.

Soon after the loss of the boat, Yamba made me a small bark canoe about
fifteen feet long, but not more than fourteen inches wide, and in this we
undertook various little excursions together to the various islands that
studded the bay. The construction of this little canoe was very
interesting. Yamba, first of all, heated the bark, and then turned the
rough part underneath in order that the interior might be perfectly
smooth. She then _sewed_ up the ends, finally giving the little craft a
coat of resin, obtained by making incisions in the gum-trees. Of course,
I missed my own substantial boat, and it was some little time before I
grew accustomed to the frail canoe, which necessitated the greatest
possible care in handling, and also on the part of the passengers
generally.

One day I decided to go and explore one of the islands that studded
Cambridge Gulf, in search of a kind of shell mud-fish which I was very
partial to. I also wanted to make the acquaintance of the bats or flying
foxes I had seen rising in clouds every evening at sunset. I required
the skins of these curious creatures for sandals. This would perhaps be
a year after my advent amongst the blacks. As usual, Yamba was my only
companion, and we soon reached a likely island. As I could find no
suitable place for landing, I turned the canoe up a small creek. From
this course, however, my companion strongly dissuaded me. Into the
creek, nevertheless, we went, and when I saw it was a hopeless _impasse_,
I scrambled ashore and waded through five inches or six inches of mud.
The little island was densely covered with luxuriant tropical vegetation,
the mangroves coming right down to the water's edge; so that I had
actually to force my way through them to gain the top of the bank. I
then entered a very narrow track through the forest, the bush on both
sides being so dense as to resemble an impenetrable wall or dense hedge.
It is necessary to bear this in mind to realise what followed. I had not
gone many yards along this track, when I was horrified to see, right in
front of me