ere concluded. The men had various occupations
in which, when the natives were present, they were constantly interrupted,
and whenever the larger tribes slept near us, the utmost vigilance was
necessary on the part of the night-guard, which was regularly mounted as
soon as the tents were pitched. We had had little else than our flour to
subsist on. Hopkinson and Harris endeavoured to supply M'Leay and myself
with a wild fowl occasionally, but for themselves, and the other men,
nothing could be procured to render their meal more palatable.

GOOD CONDUCT OF THE MEN.

I have omitted to mention one remarkable trait of the good disposition of
all the men while on the coast. Our sugar had held out to that point; but
it appeared, when we examined the stores, that six pounds alone remained
in the cask. This the men positively refused to touch. They said that,
divided, it would benefit nobody; that they hoped M'Leay and I would use
it, that it would last us for some time, and that they were better able to
submit to privations than we were. The feeling did them infinite credit,
and the circumstance is not forgotten by me. The little supply the
kindness of our men left to us was, however, soon exhausted, and poor
M'Leay preferred pure water to the bitter draught that remained. I have
been some times unable to refrain from smiling, as I watched the distorted
countenances of my humble companions while drinking their tea and eating
their damper.

The ducks and swans, seen in such myriads on the lake, seldom appeared on
the river, in the first stages of our journey homewards. About the time of
which I am writing, however, a few swans occasionally flew over our heads
at night, and their silvery note was musically sweet.

From the 10th to the 15th, nothing of moment occurred: we pulled regularly
from day-light to dark, not less to avoid the natives than to shorten our
journey. Yet, notwithstanding that we moved at an hour when the natives
seldom stir, we were rarely without a party of them, who followed us in
spite of our efforts to tire them out.

MOLESTED BY NATIVES.

On the 15th, we had about 150 at our camp. Many of them were extremely
noisy, and the whole of them very restless. They lay down close to the
tents, or around our fire. I entertained some suspicion of them, and when
they were apparently asleep, I watched them narrowly. Macnamee was walking
up and down with his firelock, and every time he turned his back, one of
the