ost in thought, and
they were close to him before he saw them, but, when he did so, he took
no notice of them. Without even quickening his pace, he continued in his
own course, which crossed their path, and, as he evidently wished to
avoid all communication, the men were ordered to take no notice of him,
and so they passed one another. He must have been a very brave fellow,
observes the captain, to act thus coolly, when an array so strange to
him met his eye. In like manner, when Major Mitchell was riding upon the
banks of the Gwydir, he fell in with a tall native, covered with
pipe-clay, who, although he could never have seen a horse before,
nevertheless, put himself in a posture of defiance, and did not retreat,
until the traveller galloped at him to prevent his attack.

In a different part of New Holland, on the eastern coast, when Flinders
was exploring Pumice-stone River, near Moreton Bay, he was by no means
successful in striking the natives with awe and astonishment. A hawk
having presented itself to view, he thought this afforded a good
opportunity of showing his new friends, the inhabitants of the Bush, a
specimen of the effect and certainty of his fire-arms. He made them
understand what he intended, and they were so far alarmed as to seem to
be on the point of running into the woods, but a plan of detaining them
was discovered, for the seamen placed themselves in front of the
savages, forming a kind of defence; in which situation they anxiously
watched the British officer, while he fired at the bird. What must have
been his feelings at the moment!--the hawk, uninjured, flew away![41]

[41] On a similar occasion, near the Darling, where the inhabitants are
remarkable for their thievish habits, when a crow was shot, in order to
scare them by its sudden death, the only result was, that, before the
bird had reached the ground, one of them rushed forward at the top of
his speed to seize it!--See MITCHELL'S _Expeditions_, vol. i. p. 265.

It is, certainly, no easy task to awaken in the soul of the completely
savage man any great interest or concern in the ways and habits of
civilized life. The fallen nature, of which all mankind are common
partakers, renders it, unfortunately, easy to copy what is evil;
and, accordingly, the drunkenness, the deceitfulness, and general
licentiousness of depraved Europeans find many admirers and imitators
among the simple children of the Australian wilderness; but when
any