hese people
in the foregoing account, a general idea of their character and
disposition may be gathered. They are revengeful, jealous, courageous,
and cunning. I have never considered their stealing on each other in the
night for the purposes of murder as a want of bravery, but have looked on
it rather as the effect of the diabolical spirit of revenge, which thus
sought to make surer of its object than it could have done if only
opposed man to man in the field. Their conduct when thus opposed, the
constancy with which they endured pain, and the alacrity with which they
accepted a summons to the fight, are surely proofs of their not wanting
courage. They disclaim all idea of any superiority that is not personal;
and I remember when Bennillong had a shield, made of tin and covered with
leather, presented to him by Governor Phillip, he took it with him down
the harbour, whence he returned without it, telling us that he had lost
it; but in fact it had been taken from him by the people of the north
shore district and destroyed; it being deemed unfair to cover himself
with such a guard.

They might have been honest before we came among them, not having much to
covet from one another; but from us they often stole such things as we
would not give them. While they pilfered what could gratify their
appetites, it was not to be wondered at; but I have seen them steal
articles of which they could not possibly know the use. Mr. White once
being in the midst of a crowd of natives in the lower part of the
harbour, one of them saw a small case of instruments in his pocket,
which, watching an opportunity, he slyly stole, and ran away with; but,
being observed, he was pursued and made to restore his prize. We were
very little acquainted with them at this time, and therefore the native
could not have known the contents of the case. Could he have been watched
to his retreat, I have no doubt but he would have been seen to lay the
case on his head, as an ornament, the place to which at first every thing
we gave them was usually consigned.

That they are not strangers to the occasional practice of falsehood, is
apparent from the words truth and falsehood being found in their
language; but, independent of this, we had many proofs of their being
adepts in the arts of evasion and lying; and I have seen them, when we
have expressed doubts of some of their tales, assure us with much
earnestness of the truth of their assertions; and when speaking t