from our last camp.

Immediately after our arrival, Brown went to shoot some geese, and met
with two natives who were cooking some roots, but they withdrew in great
haste as soon as they saw him. Soon afterwards, however, a great number
of them came to the opposite side of the lagoon, and requested a parley.
I went down to them with some presents, and a young man came over in a
canoe to met me. I gave him a tin canister, and was agreeably surprised
to find that the stock of English words increased considerably; that very
few things we had were new to him, and that he himself had been at the
settlement. His name was "Bilge." He called me Commandant, and presented
several old men to me under the same title. Several natives joined us,
either using the canoe, or swimming across the lagoon, and, after having
been duly introduced to me, I took four of them to the camp, where they
examined everything with great intelligence, without expressing the least
desire of possessing it. They were the most confiding, intelligent,
inquisitive natives I had ever met before. Bilge himself took me by the
hand and went to the different horses, and to the bullock and asked their
names and who rode them. The natives had always been very curious to know
the names of our horses, and repeated "Jim Crow," "Flourbag," "Caleb,"
"Irongrey," as well as they could, with the greatest merriment. Bilge
frequently mentioned "Devil devil," in referring to the bullock, and I
think he alluded to the wild buffaloes, the tracks of which we soon
afterwards saw. We asked him for "Allamurr;" and they expressed their
readiness to bring it, as soon as the children and women, who both went
under the denomination of Piccaninies, returned to the camp. The day
being far advanced, and their camp a good way off, they left us, after
inviting us to accompany them: but this I declined. About 10 o'clock at
night, three lads came to us with Allamurr; but they were very near
suffering for their kindness and confidence, as the alarm of
"blackfellows" at night was a call to immediate and desperate defence.
Suspecting, however, the true cause of this untimely visit, I walked up
to them, and led them into the camp, where I divided their Allamurr
between us; allowing them a place of honour on a tarpauling near me for
the remainder of the night, with which attention they appeared highly
pleased. The night was clear and dewy, but became cloudy with the setting
of the moon.

Dec. 9.--