our absence; and by having a person on board who could communicate with the natives, he had succeeded by threats and promises held out to the chiefs in getting the European boy given up to him.  The boy had nearly forgotten his English at first, but Mr. Watson afterwards made out that he belonged to the Stedcombe schooner, the crew of which were all murdered by the natives while engaged in watering their vessel.  He had been ten years on the island, during which time he had been well treated by his captors.

The brig was obliged to stand off and on, as there is no anchorage off Oliliet during the south-east monsoon, which had now set in; but two boats were sent on shore to obtain supplies.

CONDUCT OF THE NATIVES.

They were well received by the natives, and again visited the village, where they were surprised to find that all the women came out to see them.  All, both young and old, were dressed in a dark coloured wrapper, which reached from the waist to the knees, and on their ankles they wore a profusion of bright brass ornaments.  The boats were not very successful in procuring stock, but the chiefs promised an abundant supply in the morning, which I determined to wait for, and accordingly worked to windward under easy sail during the night, but found at daylight that we had been sent so far to the southward by a current, that it was 10 A.M. before we were again near enough to send the boats in.

On landing they found all their chiefs, and a considerable number of the natives waiting on the beach with vegetables, etc. for sale.  But they had hardly commenced their barter, when a powerful looking man, armed with a large iron-headed spear, in a state of intoxication, came rushing down from the village; he made directly for the crowd upon the beach, apparently with the intention of attacking our party; but the natives immediately closed upon him, and after some trouble disarmed him; after which he continued to rush about the crowd in a violent state of excitement, running against any of our party he could see, and making urgent signs to them to leave the shore.

At the same time the noise and confusion on the beach was so great, that the officer in charge of the party prepared to return on board at once, in order to avoid any collision with the natives.  As soon as the chiefs became aware of his intention, they were most anxious he should remain, and made every profession of friendship to induce him to do so; but he had heard so much of their treachery from the traders at Arru that he resisted their entreaties, and returned on board at half-past eleven.

ARRIVE AT PORT ESSINGTON.

As soon as the boats were hoisted up, we made sail for Port Essington, and anchored there on the 15th of April.

...

It was our intention to have concluded this volume with Captain Stanley’s narrative, but as the following account of the daring manner in which Mr. Watson rescued the English boy from the savages of Timor Laut, has fallen into our hands, and as doubtless it was the cause of the strange and suspicious reception the Britomart’s boats met with on their second visit to Oliliet, we here lay it before our readers: