and wonder expressed at sight of it by a settler of many years' residence in the colony, who happened to be calling at our house when Khourabene returned after a successful day's shooting, and laid four at my feet.
We lost the only wild turkey that we ever saw through the excessive flurry of delight into which Khourabene was thrown by catching sight of it passing over our house towards the river; his hands shook so much in his haste to load the gun that he could not put in a proper charge, and our expected feast flew away from a flash in the pan scarcely so loud as the laughter of us the bystanders, leaving Khourabene's feelings in a very damaged state, but itself quite uninjured.
This same winter a wisp of seven of the painted or pictured snipe, a bird never before seen in Western Australia, paid a visit to Barladong. They were all either shot or snared, and the remembrance of them is associated in our minds with an unlucky and provoking accident. The young colonist who first discovered them had brought one to my husband, who was very anxious to preserve it, and had taken the greatest pains to prevent the long bill from being injured while skinning the neck and body, which was rather a difficult task. He had succeeded quite to his own satisfaction, and had also stuffed the bird preparatory to mounting it properly. The cat, however, thought it looked so lifelike that she pounced upon it, and tore it to pieces ruthlessly, doubtless a great compliment to the artist, but one with which he could willingly have dispensed.
Amongst all rarities, however, we saw none that delighted us more than a beautiful cinnamon-coloured
