kelihood of sharks being about. A run along the beach in the sun
until I was dry followed, and then I returned to my awning and read aloud
to myself in English, from my medical books and my English-French
Testament, simply for the pleasure of hearing my own voice. I was a very
good linguist in those days, and spoke English particularly well long
before I left Switzerland. After breakfast, my dog and I would go out to
catch a peculiar sort of fish called the "sting-rae." These curious
creatures have a sharp bony spike about two inches in length near the
tail and this I found admirably adapted for arrow-heads. The body of the
fish resembled a huge flounder, but the tail was long and tapering. They
would come close in-shore, and I would spear them from the rocks with a
Papuan fishing-spear. The smallest I ever caught weighed fifteen pounds,
and I could never carry home more than a couple of average weight. They
have the power of stinging, I believe, electrically, hence their name. At
all events, I was once stung by one of these fish, and it was an
experience I shall never forget. It fortunately happened at a time when
some friendly blacks were at hand, otherwise I question very much whether
I should be alive to-day.

I was wading slowly along the beach in rather deep water, when I suddenly
felt a most excruciating pain in my left ankle. It seemed as though I
had just received a paralysing shock from a powerful battery, and down I
fell in a state of absolute collapse, unable to stir a finger to save
myself, although I knew I was rapidly drowning. Fortunately the blacks
who were with me came and pulled me ashore, where I slowly recovered.
There was only a slight scratch on my ankle, but for a long time my whole
body was racked with pain, and when the natives got to know of the
symptoms they told me that I had been attacked by a "sting-rae." The
spike or sting measures from two to six inches in length according to the
size of the fish.

But to return to my solitary life on the island. The flesh of the sting-
rae was not pleasant to eat, being rather tough and tasteless, so I used
it as a bait for sharks. Turtles visited the island in great numbers,
and deposited their eggs in holes made in the sand above high-water mark.
They only came on land during the night, at high tide; and whenever I
wanted a special delicacy, I turned one over on its back till morning,
when I despatched it leisurely with my tomahawk. Th