ng that if they did not kill and
eat us, they would at all events make us labour as slaves.

Our captors, instead of landing, continued to proceed towards the south.
As night approached, they ran into a little sandy bay, where, hauling
up their canoes, which, notwithstanding their large size, were very
light, they all assembled on shore. We were now on that mysterious
coast of New Guinea. Macco was allowed to come near us. I asked him
whether he thought we could manage to run away while our captors were
asleep.

"Dey run faster dan we," he answered, "and if dey catchy dey kill, and
if dey kill dey eat. No, no, Massa Walter; we stay and try and make
friends. I tell dem big ship come soon and bring cloth, and knives, and
hatchets, and all sorts of good t'ings for dem, if dey no hurt us."

How Macco had contrived to explain this I could not understand, but he
seemed very confident that they had comprehended him. Some of the
party, armed with bows and arrows, started away into the woods, while
the others collected sticks and lighted a fire. The hunters soon
returned, bringing with them a tree kangaroo and a cuscus, with several
large bats. The latter creatures I had seen before, and heard them
called flying-foxes. They were very ugly, and one of them; which I took
up had a rank, powerful, foxy odour. One of the natives who saw me
thought I was going to eat it raw, I suppose, for he shouted out, and I
quickly dropped it. They immediately set to work to skin these
creatures, and cutting them up, roasted them on sticks before the fire.
Some rough sago, which they baked on the embers, was also produced.

We sat apart from them, and they commenced their feast without intending
apparently to give us any. Macco, however, after waiting a few minutes,
observed, "Dis no do;" and getting up, approached the savage-looking
group. Pointing to his mouth, he quietly stooped down, and was carrying
off one of the bats.

"No, no," I shouted; "bring us a piece of kangaroo or the other animal."

The savages looked somewhat astonished at his audacity, but yet no one
prevented him. Throwing down the half-roasted bat, he placed several
pieces of the other meat on leaves, which served them as plates, and
came back to us with them in triumph. He then returned for some sago.
With this food we made a tolerably hearty meal, and certainly felt our
spirits a little the better for it. The savages then, again going into
the thicket, b