r of inspection, leaving her with a child of two years old and
a couple of faithful Chinamen in charge of the Lizard Island. Mr.
Watson set forth very reluctantly, only yielding to his wife's
assurances that with firearms in the house, which she well knew how to
manage, she would be in no danger. Soon after her husband's departure,
however, the natives came across from the mainland in great force,
killed one of the Chinamen, and wounded the other. When it became dark
the brave woman hastened to provision one of the square iron tanks
used for boiling down the beche-de-mer, and embarked in it with her
babe and wounded retainer. Nothing could be more clumsy than such a
craft, 4 feet long by 3 feet wide, and perhaps 1-1/2 feet high. She
put water-bottles on board, and with only a shawl for sail and an oar
to steer with set forth on the calm sea, towing, however, a little
dinghy behind, in case of her iron vessel proving too unmanageable.
The trade-wind carried the tank thirty miles out to sea to one of the
Hawick group; but she was prevented from landing there by the
threatening aspect of the blacks in possession. She drifted a little
further to a neighbouring island, where the spring tide carried the
tank up so far inland that she could not launch it again. This was the
more terrible, as a very few miles further would have brought her to
the lightship. There were no blacks on the island, to which the tank
had been carried. Mrs. Watson had sufficient provisions, but
apparently no water. They all must have died of thirst just before an
abundant rainfall. Three weeks later, when their bodies were
discovered, there were pools of fresh water around them. In the
meantime Mr. Watson called at the lightship and recognised his own
dinghy, which had drifted thither a few days before. He immediately
set out, accompanied by Mr. Fitzgerald, and soon reached the little
island, where he found his wife's body, one arm still clasping her
child, and the other hand holding a loaded revolver. Her diary lay
close by, and told the sad story almost up to the last moment. The
dead Chinaman lay near the tank. The bodies were put into rude shells
and taken to Cooktown, where they were buried. The poor woman's diary
and the tank are preserved in the Museum at Brisbane.

_Thursday, August 18th._--We gave Cape Sidmouth a wide berth and
passed Night Island, going close to Cape Direction and Restoration
Island, which latter is exactly opposite the narro