It was about seven o’clock in the morning when we started, six strong —­ four whites, and Cato, and Ferdinand —­ well armed, and with a good supply of provisions.  The sun was already very hot, and the water smooth as glass, save where the prow of the boat broke the still surface into a tiny ripple, which continued plainly visible half a mile astern.  I find it difficult to bring before the reader the thousand curious objects that met us on our way.  The sullen crocodile basking in the sun, sank noiselessly; a splash would be heard, and a four feet albicore would fling himself madly into the air, striving vainly to elude the ominous black triangle that cut the water like a knife close in his rear.  Small chance for the poor fugitive, with the ravenous shark following silent and inexorable.  We lay on our oars and watched the result.  The hunted fish doubles, springs aloft, and dives down, but all in vain; the black fin is not to be thrown off, double as he may.  Anon the springs become more feeble, the pursuer’s tail partly appears as he pushes forward with redoubled vigour, a faint splash is heard, the waters curl into an eddy, and the monster sinks noiselessly to enjoy his breakfast in the cooler depths beneath.  And now we come to a sand bank running out some miles or so into the bay, and on which the water is less than three fathoms.  Here the surface is broken by huge black objects, coming clumsily to the top, shooting out a jet of spray, and again disappearing.  We let the boat glide gently along until she rests motionless above the bank, and stooping over the side with our faces close to the water, and sheltered by our hands, we can peer down into the placid depths, and see the huge animals grazing on the submarine vegetation with which their favourite feeding-place is thickly overgrown.  But what animal is he talking about? the reader will ask.  It is the dugong (’Halicore Australis’), or sea-cow, from whence is extracted an oil equal to the cod-liver as regards its medicinal qualities, and far superior to it in one great essential, for instead of a nauseous disagreeable flavour, it tastes quite pleasantly.  It frequents the whole of the north-eastern coast of Australia, and when the qualities of the oil first became known, it was eagerly sought after by invalids who could not overcome their repugnance to the cod-liver nastiness.  The fishermen, however, spoilt their own market, for greed induced them to adulterate the new medicine with shark oil, and all kinds of other abominations, so that the faculty were never quite certain what they were pouring down the throats of their unhappy patients.  Thus the oil lost its good name, though I am convinced from personal observation that fresh, pure dugong is quite equal, if not superior, in nourishing qualities to cod-liver oil, and do not doubt that a time will come when it will enter largely into the Pharmacopoeia.  The animal itself is so peculiar, that a brief description of it may not be here amiss.  Its favourite haunts