Page:Scented isles and coral gardens- Torres Straits, German New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies, by C.D. Mackellar, 1912.pdf/34

12 It seems to me it was Captain Cook who presumed, for he shot that high-toned kangaroo, and that is how it went to dinner on the Endeavour. Then they left, and I don't wonder at it. They kept along the coast so as to find the straits between Australia and New Guinea, then passed through Providence Channel, naming Weymouth Cape and Bay—where the cockles were so large it took two men to lift them. This, however, is no exxageration as it probably refers to the Giant Clam (Tridacna gigas), some of which are from four to ten feet long and weigh a ton. Someof the old shells are so covered with coral and other growths as to be not easily discernible, and it is said that some of the native běche-de-mer fishermen, having trodden in these, their feet have been seized by the clam with such force as to hold them prisoners until the rising tide overwhelmed and drowned them. The smaller or Frilled Clams are ten to twelve inches in size and are varied in colour, some having many markings and others turquoise, blue, or green. On the 21st August they discovered and named York Island, proclaiming the country New South Wales, and hoisting the flag for the king. Then they passed through what are now Endeavour Straits to the Prince of Wales Island, and on for days till they passed the islands of Rotti and Seman, viewing the Aurora Borealis, and found themselves at an island, Savu, where they must have been surprised to see houses, flocks of sheep, and palms, and from the ship beheld horsemen, one of whom wore a gold-laced cocked hat, and coat and waistcoat of the fashion of Europe. On landing they found the inhabitants with chains of gold round their neck and “dressed in fine linen.” The Rajah and Lange, Dutchman, the only white on the island, received them. They saw