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.