but
Wall had only drank the water and eaten part of his half pigeon. About
eleven o'clock, as many as fifty natives, armed with spears, and some of
them painted with a yellowish earth, made their appearance in the
vicinity of our camp. There were natives of several strange tribes
amongst them. They were well aware that neither Niblett nor Wall was able
to resist them, if they did not know they were dead. They also knew that
we were very weak, although I always endeavoured as much as possible to
keep that fact from them. This morning when I made signs to them to lay
down their spears they paid no attention, with the exception of two, who
had been in the habit of coming very frequently to the camp. These two
came running up quite close to us, without their spears, and endeavoured
to persuade one of us to go across a small dry creek, for a fish which
another of the rascals was holding up to tempt us. They tried various
methods to draw our attention from the rest, who were trailing their
spears along the ground, with their feet, closing gradually round us, and
running from tree to tree, to hide their spears behind them. Others lay
on their backs on the long grass, and were working their way towards us,
unnoticed, as they supposed. Goddard and myself stood with our guns in
readiness and our pistols by our sides for about two hours, when I fell
from excessive weakness. When I got up we thought it best to send them
away at once, or stand our chance of being speared in the attempt, both
of us being unable to stand any longer. We presented our guns at the two
by our side, making signs to them to send the others away, or we would
shoot them immediately. This they did, and they ran off in all directions
without a spear being thrown or a shot fired. We had many times tried to
catch fish in the creek during our stay at Weymouth Bay, with our fishing
lines, but never could get as much as a bite at the bait.

As the evening came on, there came with it the painful task of removing
the bodies of our unfortunate companions who had died in the morning. We
had not strength to make the smallest hole in the ground as a grave; but
after great exertion we succeeded in removing the bodies to a small patch
of phyllanthus scrub, about four feet high, and eighty yards from the
tent. We then laid them side by side, and covered them with a few small
branches, and this was all the burial we were enabled to give them.

December 29.

Goddard went in