ons forty eight hours before he was himself discovered; and no
tidings of them were received for several days, although boats were
constantly sent in to the north west arm, and the lower part of the
harbour.

Three of these miserable people were some time after met by some officers
who were on an excursion to the lagoon between this harbour and Broken
Bay; but, notwithstanding their situation, they did not readily give
themselves up, and, when questioned, said they wanted nothing more than
to live free from labour. These people were sent up to Parramatta,
whence, regardless of what they had experienced, and might again suffer,
they a second time absconded in a few days after they had been returned.
Parties were immediately dispatched from that settlement, and thirteen of
those who first absconded were brought in, in a state of deplorable
wretchedness, naked, and nearly worn out with hunger. Some of them had
subsisted chiefly by sucking the flowering shrubs and wild berries of the
woods; and the whole exhibited a picture of misery, that seemed
sufficient to deter others from the like extravagant folly. The practice
of flying from labour into the woods still, however, prevailing, the
governor caused all the convicts who arrived this year to be assembled,
and informed them of his determination to put a stop to their absconding
from the place where he had appointed them to labour, by sending out
parties with orders to fire upon them whenever they should be met with;
and he declared that if any were brought in alive, he would either land
them on a part of the harbour whence they could not depart, or chain them
together with only bread and water for their subsistence, during the
remainder of their terms of transportation. He likewise told them, that
he had heard they were intending to arm themselves and seize upon the
stores (such a design had for some days been reported); but that if they
made any attempt of that kind, every man who might be taken should be
instantly put to death. Having thus endeavoured to impress them with
ideas of certain punishment if they offended in future, he forgave some
offences which had been reported by the magistrate, exhorted them to go
cheerfully to their labour, and changed their hours of work, agreeably to
a request which they had made.

Four hundred and two of these miserable people had received medicines
from the hospital in the morning of the day when the governor had thus
addressed them.