fortnight tour of the islands and took on the foreign mail. She leaves tomorrow at three o'clock. The numerous planters who are assembled in Tulagi for business on the steamer made merry in the pub and in the bar of the steamer until the late hours of the night. Distinguished among these was the captain of the 'Royal Endeavor', a schooner belonging to the Malaita Company. Captain Bert has had his heyday having been captain of a sixteen thousand ton freighter. At present he is in doubtful command of a trading schooner. He became immensely drunk during the evening and after describing the dreadful hurricane that overtook him on the way from Santa Cruz Island, presented us with a fine skinned specimen of white owl. Saturday, September 24. (Tulagi). Day fell to the skinning of a bird. Tom Elkington shot a red parrot for me very kindly and I spent the afternoon in attempting to persuade its skin to come off its body without bringing along a lot of flesh with it. Ham has become very proficient at this and has practiced at it several times. It is certainly an art to accomplish it the way it ought to be done, that is to say removing the skeleton, bones, flesh, intestines and fatty parts, leaving the wings and feathers properly sewed for mounting or museum reference. It was with great joy that we witnessed the departure of the 'Mararam'. At three o'clock she blew her whistle and got under way. On here were all the people who have been making such a racket around the hotel in the evenings. The old skiff soon disappeared around the corner of the bay and stood out for her home voyage. She is not due back until October 20th, for which I for one am exceedingly grateful. Sunday, September 25. (Tulagi). Today Hannibal and I had our fourth expedition into the bush. This time Johnstone the