Page:Twenty years before the mast - Charles Erskine, 1896.djvu/124

 invisible. The dance ended with a very loud "Ho-ho- ho!" way down in their throats.

The woods here are charming. There is very little underbrush, and the trees grow straight up. There are many gum trees among them. Their tops are alive with parrots and paroquets, and other birds of rich plumage  may be seen winging their graceful forms in the air or  flying from one tree to another. There are many humming-birds here, and bell-birds whose notes sound like the clink of a stone hammer. It is generally believed that all Indians are very fond of dogs, but these natives  never have any, though there are many wild dogs here.

A great variety of entertainments — balls, parties, dinners, and late suppers — was given our officers by the governor and other officials. They and the American consul often visited our ships. They were greatly surprised when they learned that we were bound to the south polar regions. They said that our ships were too frail to cruise among icebergs; but that we were young  Americans, foolhardy and reckless, and they supposed  that we would go on. In fact, our ships were not built, like the Russian and the English ships, for the express purpose of cruising among the ice, but we had  been ordered to go, and we obeyed orders. All the ships of the squadron having undergone the necessary  repairs, such as calking, overhauling, setting up our  standing rigging, reefing new running gear, etc., all  hands put in a hard day’s work on Christmas, and then  we were ready.