Captain Labonne Welcomed Us Very Cordially - The Sight Of A Strange Face
Must Have Been A Godsend - And Most Hospitably
Asked us to share his
breakfast, but as it consisted only of dried fish, which smelt most
abominably, we declined,
And he was very grateful for a couple of pots of
sardines which we gave him out of our slender stock. The 'Gabrielle' was
on her way to Cardwell for fresh provisions and water, and after the
dangers to be avoided had been pointed out by the pilot, we bade adieu to
Jean Labonne and his queer crew, though not before one of our party had
succeeded in jotting down the features of a Kanaka diver, his wife and
child.
AN AUSTRALIAN SEARCH PARTY - VI.
BY CHARLES H. EDEN.
WE now pulled for the mouth of the Macalister River, and on sighting the
bar shortly before eight o'clock, were glad to find but little surf
running. On our way we passed several water-snakes, one of which seemed of
large size, but we were too distant to form any accurate estimate of its
length. It was not altogether without misgivings that we encountered the
ridge of sand that extended completely across the entrance of the river.
Only one of our party had ever crossed it before, and it was known to be
very dangerous. The calm water rolled itself up in smooth walls, which
sailed majestically along until the upper portion broke into a line of
white, and soon the entire mass rushed onward in a sheet of foam.
The great danger in crossing a bar is, that the helmsman either loses his
head and permits the boat to present her broadside to the surf, or that the
steering power is not sufficient to keep her head straight. Neither of
these misfortunes befell us in entering the Macalister, for, from the hour
we had selected, the sea was at its quietest, and we got over without
shipping a thimbleful of water. We found a broad expanse studded with
dense mangrove flats, and it was with difficulty we ascertained which was
the main channel. We pulled on until about noon, by which time the mud
swamps had disappeared, and we were fairly in the river, which much
resembled the Herbert, of which I have already given a description, except
that it was smaller, and that the vegetation was more luxurious. On
landing, we lit a fire, and cooked our dinner, consisting of ducks and
moor-fowl that we had shot on our way up. I never remember seeing
water-fowl in such profusion as here. The ducks and geese were literally
in tens of thousands, and the beautifully-plumaged moor-fowl quite
blackened the mangrove bushes as we passed.
The scenery was perfectly lovely. Tall palms shot up in every direction;
wild bananas spread forth their broad leaves, amidst which were seen the
bunches of fruit; and the larger trees - fig, Leichhardt plum, etc. -
threw their branches across the river, and there interlacing, formed a
leafy canopy such as we imagined was unknown in Australia.
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