The messenger of blood and brand.

Still their numbers did not exceed sixty, though gathered along the riverbank for many miles back; and my men, with twelve muskets, were strong enough when kept together; but this could not be, and it was a time of considerable anxiety with us all.  About noon the whole tribe took to the river, with the exception of the two old men, the tall man, and their two gins.

SINGULAR CEREMONIES.

These persons had followed us far, gathering the tribes and leading them forward to pilfer; but the ceremony they went through when the others were gone was most incomprehensible, and seemed to express no good intentions.  The two old men moving slowly, in opposite directions, made an extensive circuit of our camp; the one waving a green branch over his head and occasionally shaking it violently at us, and throwing dust towards us, now and then sitting down and rubbing himself over with dust.  The other took the band from his head and waved it in gestures equally furious, occasionally throwing dust also.  When they met, after each had paced half round our position, they turned their backs on each other, waving their branches as they faced about, then shaking them at us, and afterwards again rubbing themselves with dust.  On completing their circumambulation they coolly resumed their seats at a fire some little way from our camp.  An hour or two after this ceremony I observed them seated at a fire made close to our tents, and on going out of mine, they called to me, upon which I went and sat down with them as usual, rather curious to know the meaning of the extraordinary ceremony we had witnessed.  I could not however discover any change in their demeanour; they merely examined my boots and clothes, as if they thought them already their own.  Meanwhile king Peter and his tribe were much more sensibly occupied in the river, catching fishes.

ICHTHYOPHAGI.  THEIR MANNER OF FISHING.

These tribes inhabiting the banks of the Darling may be considered Ichthyophagi, in the strictest sense, and their mode of fishing was really an interesting sight.  There was an unusually deep and broad reach of the river opposite to our camp, and it appeared that they fished daily in different portions of it, in the following manner.  The king stood erect in his bark canoe, while nine young men with short spears went up the river, and as many down, until, at a signal from him, all dived into it, and returned towards him, alternately swimming and diving; transfixing the fish under water, and throwing them on the bank.  Others on the river brink speared the fish when thus enclosed as they appeared among the weeds, in which small openings were purposely made that they might see them.  In this manner they killed with astonishing despatch some enormous cod-perch; but the largest were struck by the chief from his canoe with a long barbed spear.  After a short time the young men in the water were relieved by an equal number; and