There was something so false in a forced loud laugh, without any cause, which the more plausible among them would frequently set up, that I was quite at a loss to conceive what they meant by all this uncommon civility.  In the course of the afternoon they assembled their women and children in groups before our camp, exactly as they had formerly done on the Darling; and one or two small parties came in, whose arrival they seemed to watch with particular attention, hailing them while still at a distance as if to prevent mistakes.  We now ascertained through Piper that the tribe had fled precipitately from the Darling last year to the country westward, and did not return until last summer, when they found the two bullocks we left there; which, having become fat, they had killed and eaten.  We also ascertained that some of the natives then in the camp wore the teeth of the slaughtered animals, and that they had much trouble in killing one of them, as it was remarkably fierce.  This we knew so well to the character of one of the animals that we had always supposed it would baffle every attempt of these savages to take it.

In the group before me were pointed out two daughters of the gin which had been killed, also a little boy, a son.  The girls exactly resembled each other and reminded me of the mother.  The youngest was the handsomest female I had ever seen amongst the natives.  She was so far from black that the red colour was very apparent in her cheeks.  She sat before me in a corner of the group, nearly in the attitude of Mr. Bailey’s fine statue of Eve at the fountain; and apparently equally unconscious that she was naked.  As I looked upon her for a moment, while deeply regretting the fate of her mother, the chief who stood by, and whose hand had more than once been laid upon my cap, as if to feel whether it were proof against the blow of a waddy, begged me to accept her in exchange for a tomahawk!

HARASSING NIGHT IN THEIR PRESENCE.

The evening was one of much anxiety to the whole party.  The fiendish expression of some of these men’s eyes shone horribly, and especially when they endeavoured to disguise it by treacherous smiles.  I did not see the tall man nor the mischievous old one of last year; but there were here many disposed to act like them.  One miserable-looking dirty aged man was brought forward, and particularly pointed out to me by the tribe.  I accordingly showed him the usual attention of sitting down and smoothing the ground for him.* But he soon requested me to strip, on which I arose, mindful of a former vow, and perceiving the blacksmith washing himself, I called him up and pointed out the muscles of his arm to the curious sage.  The successor and brother, as the natives stated, of king Peter, was also looking on, and I made Vulcan put himself into a sparring attitude and tip him a touch or two, which made him fall back one or two paces, and look half angry.  We distinctly recognised the man who last year threw the two spears at Muirhead; while on their part they evidently knew again Charles King who, on that occasion, fired at the native from whose spears Tom Jones so narrowly escaped.