for a time by making all sorts of gestures, shouting still “ho! ho!” to those of their body in concealment, from whom they had probably been detached for observation.  What they thought of us, strange intruders as we must have appeared to them, it is not possible fully even to imagine; at any rate they seemed impressed with some sort of respect either for our appearance, jaded as we were, or our position, and forbore any nearer approach.  I was of course very glad that no appeal to force was necessary:  in the first place I should very reluctantly have resorted to it against those to whom we appeared in the character of invaders of a peaceful country, and in the second, had one of our party been wounded, the consequent delay would have rendered our return to the boats certainly a work of great difficulty, perhaps wholly impossible; for no considerations of expediency would in my mind have justified the abandonment of a defenceless comrade, wounded in the common cause, either to the natural dangers and privations of the country, or the barbarous revenge of its inhabitants.  They continued in force, upon the opposite bank, for some time, and then gradually withdrew.  I may remark that the condition and appearance of the two who made themselves visible, indicated their residence in a country fitted to supply abundantly all natural wants.  I should also state that I could not perceive that extraordinary exaggeration of a certain Jewish ceremony, that prevailed in one part of King Sound.

Appearance of the natives.

It is to be regretted that our position would not allow us to seek the acquaintance of these people.  I could not help comparing the bold, fearless manner in which they came towards us—­their fine manly bearing, head erect, no crouching or quailing of eye—­with the miserable objects I had seen at Sydney.  I now beheld man in his wild state; and, reader, rest assured there is nothing can equal such a sight.  Before me stood two of the aboriginal inhabitants of Australia who had never, until then, encountered the hitherto blighting look of a European.

After a long rest, we were enabled to move on again slowly in the cool of the evening, along the south bank of the river, followed by one of the native dogs, that differed only from those I had seen on other parts of the coast, in being rather larger.

Emu plains.

Two miles further brought us into a fine open plain, over which two emus were going best pace; we therefore named it in their honour:  while the valley to the southward was christened after the Beagle, and the ranges on either side bore the names of her former and present commander:  those to the north-east and south-west were called, after the officers who accompanied me, Forsyth and Bynoe Ranges.  The soil on Emu Plains was far superior to any we had seen since leaving the boat, and was lightly and picturesquely timbered with the white gum.  We were very cautious in choosing our sleeping berth for the night, to avoid a surprise during the dark; we therefore selected a friendly hollow beneath the stem of a straggling and drooping old gumtree, large enough to conceal the whole party, near the centre of a great patch of pebbles, with the river, on one side, within a hundred yards of us, and on the other, distant about three hundred.