several of the native chiefs, with whom—as they said—they had exchanged all sorts of things for land; but that I knew could not have been, because, unlike other savage communities, or people, they have no chiefs claiming or possessing any superior right over the soil: theirs only being as the heads of families. I also knew that if any transactions had taken place, it must have been because the natives knew nothing of the value of the country, except as hunting grounds, supplying them with the means of present existence. I therefore looked upon the land dealing spoken of, as another hoax of the white man, to possess the inheritance of the uncivilized natives of the forest, whose tread on the vast Australian Continent will very soon be no more heard, and whose crimes and sorrows are fast fading away amongst other recollections of the past.
In a day or two I was quite at home with the strangers, to whom I made myself useful in any way I could, by giving them useful information about the country. They said the vessel which had landed them would be back again from Launceston in a few days; bringing—they thought—a great many people, and a further supply of provisions and working tools. By their desire, I remained at the camp with them constantly, night and day; and I did so with considerable anxiety, knowing that the tribe the two men had gone to fetch, would soon arrive, and might be disposed to follow up their murderous intentions. At length these people came in great numbers, and seeing the very few English, and small party of Sydney natives, their determination to
