Page:The Emu volume 21.djvu/409

 brothers to be in readiness to start out for Mondrain Island when the weather moderated. All equipment was got ready for a week's camp out, and at noon on 1st December we started, beating out of the bay against a strong north-easter. In this locality the summer winds are strong north-east in the morning, changing at noon to stronger south-east, with an occasional variation to a south-westerly gale with rain. By nightfall we had reached Cape Gove, under the towering Cape Le Grand, 1150 feet in height, a great rounded mass of almost bare granite. Here we camped for the night under a clump of Christmas Tree topped with a mass of bright orange flowers. In a small bush growing on the beach a White-eye was sitting on three fresh eggs. At daylight on the 2nd we resumed the weary beat against the wind, rounded the cape, and made no less than nine boards to cover a mile between Big and Little Ram Islands. All round us were islands, rocks and reefs, where the white foam spouted up at intervals like great geysers. And it was cold! A little variety was afforded by an hour's fishing for snook, a fine sport while it lasted, some of the catch being upwards of seven pounds weight. They take a spinning bait trailing out astern. After passing the Ram Islands, which are barely half a mile apart, we took longer boards, and reached Lucky Bay by midday. There we pitched our camp and sunk a well just above high water mark, getting a good supply of water. We then inspected the scrub round the bay, seeing only the usual Honey-eaters, Silver-eyes, etc. A fine pair of Pacific Gulls patrolled the beach, and a few Crows passed over. All the small birds were very shy; a few old nests were found.

On 3rd November, Wright and I left the bay at 9 a.m. for Mondrain Island, eight miles distant. The wind was fair, the distance being covered in two hours. Landing was difficult, and we both got wet and scratched. The dinghy was hauled up, our tent and boxes landed, and Jones brothers returned to the bay, there being no anchorage at the island. Mondrain is the largest and loftiest island in the Archipelago, being about 2 miles in length, containing about 2000 acres, and having a peak 740 feet in height. There is said to be permanent water near the top of the peak, but we did not investigate! Soon after landing we found the Fleshy-footed Petrel in colonies, and about one-third of the burrows inspected contained birds, some with eggs. These colonies extended over large areas, partly open, grassy slopes near the shore leading into the dense scrub of the gullies, where digging out was impossible owing to the depth and the tangled mass of roots and surface debris. We ascended one gully, forcing our way through a thicket of hakeas, paper bark tea-tree, and sword grass, until we reached the granite outcrop, steep, weathered smooth, and as slippery as glass. In the scrub I noted the Singing Honey-eater, the White-eye, and heard a Scrub-Wren (Sericornis), but did not see it. All these