hom M'Leay, rather imprudently, threw a piece of
dirt. The savage returned the compliment with as much good will as it
had been given, and appeared quite prepared to act on the offensive. At
this critical moment my servant came to the tent in which I was washing
myself, and stated his fears that we should soon come to blows, as the
natives showed every disposition to resist us. On learning what had
passed between M'Leay and the savage, I pretended to be equally angry
with both, and with some difficulty forced the greater part of the
blacks away from the tents. I then directed the men to gather together
all the minor articles in the first instance, and then to strike the
tents; and, in order to check the natives, I drew a line round the
camp, over which I intimated to them they should not pass. Observing, I
suppose, that we were on our guard, and that I, whom they well knew to
be the chief, was really angry, they crept away one by one, until the
island was almost deserted by them. Why they did not attack us, I know
not, for they had certainly every disposition to do so, and had their
shorter weapons with them, which, in so confined a space as that on
which we were, would have been more fatal than their spears.

They left us, however; and a flight of red-crested cockatoos happening
to settle on a plain near the river, I crossed in the boat in order to
shoot one. The plain was upon the proper left bank of the Murray. The
natives had passed over to the right. As the one channel was too
shallow for the boat, when we again pursued our journey we were obliged
to pull round to the left side of the island. A little above it the
river makes a bend to the left, and the angle at this bend was occupied
by a large shoal, one point of which rested on the upper part of the
island, and the other touched the proper right bank of the river. Thus
a narrow channel, (not broader indeed than was necessary for the play
of our oars,) alone remained for us to pass up against a strong
current. On turning round the lower part of the island, we observed
that the natives occupied the whole extent of the shoal, and speckled
it over like skirmishers. Many of them had their spears, and their
attention was evidently directed to us.--As we neared the shoal, the
most forward of them pressed close to the edge of the deep water, so
much so that our oars struck their legs. Still this did not induce them
to retire. I kept my eye on an elderly man who stood one