The Wind
Was High, The Sun Warm, And Our Meat Dried Most Perfectly.
Whilst we were
in the midst of our work, some natives made their appearance.
I held out
a branch as a sign of peace, when they ventured up to hold a parley,
though evidently with great suspicion. They were rather small, and the
tall ones were slim and lightly built. They examined Brown's hat, and
expressed a great desire to keep it. In order to make them a present, I
went to the tents to fetch some broken pieces of iron; and whilst I was
away, Brown, wishing to surprise them, mounted his horse, and commenced
trotting, which frightened them so much, that they ran away, and did not
come again. One of them had a singular weapon, neatly made, and
consisting of a long wooden handle, with a sharp piece of iron fixed in
at the end, like a lancet. The iron most probably had been obtained from
the Malays who annually visit the gulf for trepang. Some of their spears
were barbed.
July 12. - The meat had dried so well, that I started this morning; having
completed the operation of drying in rather more than a day. It was, of
course, necessary to spread the meat out for several days, to prevent its
becoming mildewed. This was done every day after arriving at our
camping-place.
Our killing camp was about five miles south-west from the Van Diemen; and
we travelled in the same direction about eight miles farther, through a
most beautiful country, consisting of an open forest timbered with the
box-tree, apple-gum, and white-gum; it was well grassed, and abundantly
supplied with water.
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