e, and then come out with a party of soldiers
and fire upon Peerat and his party wherever I found them. This last part
of my announcement was made in a very decided tone, and with a most
ferocious look.

NATIVE DELIBERATIONS.

The natives hereupon entered into a deliberation amongst themselves, and
eventually were unanimously agreed on several points, as follows:

1. That stealing potatoes was a very heinous offence, more particularly
in women.

2, That women were notorious thieves, and altogether worse characters
than men.

3, That beating women was an every-day occurrence.

4, That losing flour was a great bore; and

5, That in consequence of the above considerations, they would give
Peerat, his wives, and son, up to me.

Each of these propositions was lengthily discussed by them, but when they
were all agreed to, they came in a body and asked me, did I speak the
truth, and lie not, when I said that I myself was not angry with Peerat
and his wives, and that they should not be killed but only slightly
punished? I assured them that I told the truth, and lied not. We then
proceeded in a body in search of Peerat, whom we found with some more
natives about half a mile further on.

DISCUSSION WITH PEERAT.

He waited quietly to receive us, not having indeed the slightest idea of
what was the object of my unexpected visit; when however he heard what I
wanted he abused his wives in most unmeasured terms, and assured me that
he would thrash them soundly, but as to giving them up prisoners, or his
son either, that he declared he would not do; and then very openly and
fairly challenged any one of the other natives, or all of them together,
to take him up, assuring them that he would spear the first man through
the heart that attempted to lay a finger on him. I interfered so far in
this dispute as to announce to Peerat that I considered my own person as
sacred, and I then cocked both barrels of my double-barrelled gun and
concluded by assuring him I should shoot him if he resisted me.

All native altercations are vociferous and noisy in the extreme, and are
usually accompanied with a great deal of running and leaping about and
quivering of spears; these circumstances I now took advantage of, and,
whilst the others threatened to spear one another in all imaginable
places, I wended my solitary way towards Peerat's fire, where I
discovered Master Dalbean, but could see nothing whatever of the ladies,
who, I presume, wer