CIVILITY OF THE TRIBE FIRST MET.

February 22.

We traversed without much difficulty the plains where we had, on our advance, halted to make certain repairs; and we next entered the scrub where I had presented the tomahawk to the young native as a reward for the confidence with which he had approached us, when the rest of his tribe fell back.  We had not advanced far beyond the scene of that interview when I perceived a number of natives running before me along our line of route.  I hastened after them, when I perceived several men advancing to meet me.  They halted in a rather formal manner at some distance, and I next came upon their spears which, with a stone hatchet, had been laid across our track.  There I alighted from my horse, and proceeded slowly towards them on foot, inviting them as well as I could to come forward, and which they accordingly did.  Three men met me at halfway.  One of these seemed rather old, another was very stout and fat, and the third had an intelligent countenance and thin person, but was so thickly covered with the most raised sort of scarifications that I was half inclined to think that the slightness of his frame might be partly owing to the lacerations which covered it.  Other members of the tribe soon joined us, and as the carts by this time had arrived at the spears on the ground I took one up and explained to the natives that the wheels passing over would break them; still these strange people would not remove them, and I concluded that this prostration of their weapons was intended to make us acquainted with their friendly disposition towards us.  They began to call loudly to their gins, who stood assembled under a large tree at some distance, and we plainly understood the invitation of the men to visit these females.  But our party was much more disposed to fight than make love; and I have little doubt that by throwing a single spear the natives would have pleased them more than by all the civility they were evidently anxious to show us; so desirous were they, at that time, to avenge the late murders—­when even the odour of corruption still hung like a pestilence about the articles recovered from the plundered camp.  The natives however PERHAPS out of pure cordiality in return for our former disinterested kindness, persisted in their endeavours to introduce us very particularly to their women.  They ordered them to come up, divested of their cloaks and bags, and placed them before us.  Most of the men appeared to possess two, the pair in general consisting of a fat plump gin, and one much younger.  Each man placed himself before his gins and, bowing forward with a shrug, the hands and arms being thrown back pointing to each gin, as if to say:  Take which you please.  The females on their part evinced no apprehensions, but seemed to regard us beings of a race so different without the slightest indication of either fear, aversion, or surprise.  Their looks were rather expressive of a ready acquiescence in the proffered kindness