my friend, at the same time to give him plenty of flour and rice, “And,” added he, “by-and-bye, ask him to sleep at your fire; then, in the night, whilst he is asleep, I can easily spear him; and I will off, and walk to Perth.”  I however cooled Jenna’s ardour by whispering to him that, if any quarrel was brought about by his attempting to spear this native, I should instantly shoot him; as I had no idea of running a risk of losing all our lives through his imprudence.  This declaration had a very salutary effect, and my now giving the promised present of rice and flour entirely put a stop to all further differences.

The natives I had with me employed themselves in teaching the others, to whom flour was an unknown commodity, the art of making dampers; whilst Mr. Smith and myself, having arranged to start for Perth early the next morning, mixed with the groups and visited their fires; the little children now crawled to our feet and, all fear being laid aside, regarded our movements with the greatest curiosity.  After various amusing conversations and recountals of former deeds the natives gradually, one by one, dropped off to sleep; and we in turn, one always remaining on the watch, followed their example.

INVITATION TO A NATIVE FEAST.

December 5.

I should have stated, in justice to the natives, that they last night brought me the head and forequarters of a kangaroo, being the only game they had with them; and of this they offered to make me a present, which however I did not accept.  They were again this morning very anxious that we should delay our journey for a day or two, promising upon their part, if we acceded to the request, to give us a grand entertainment at which all their young men would dance, and that we should have abundance of kangaroos if we would give flour in return.  I deemed it however most prudent to hasten my return to Perth to see what vessel had arrived; therefore, after taking a cordial farewell of our friends, we moved off on our homeward route and reached Boongarrup about the middle of the day following, by a route rather to the westward of that by which we had come out.

December 6.

This morning we started at daybreak and breakfasted at Manbeebee, and immediately after breakfast resumed our route.  I left the main party with two natives and travelled up a swampy valley running nearly in the same line as the chain of lakes we had followed in going.  The natives insisted on it that these lakes were all one and the same water; and when, to prove to the contrary, I pointed to a hill running across the valley, they took me to a spot in it, called Yundelup, where there was a limestone cave, on entering which I saw, about ten feet below the level of the bottom of the valley, a stream of water running strong from south to north in a channel worn through the limestone.  There were several other remarkable caves about here, one of which was called the Doorda Mya, or the Dog’s House.  Probably therefore the drainage of this part of the country is affected by the chain of lakes, which must afterwards fall into the river I saw to the northward.  We slept at Nowoorgoop.