the white people, they should receive presents of all kinds of useful articles. These invitations and promises many of them availed themselves of, behaving very peaceably. One night whilst away from Melbourne, the party was awoke by shocks of an earthquake; and so heavy were they, that the sentry gave an alarm, thinking at first the natives were in upon our powder and provisions.
About this time we received intelligence that Mr. Gellibrand had again arrived from Hobart Town, in company with a Mr. Hesse, a Solicitor of that city. It appeared that shortly after landing at Geelong, they had left that place on horseback for Melbourne; but, at the end of a fortnight, great alarm was excited by the news, that they had not arrived at the latter—nor found their way back to the former. Although greatly fatigued after a very long journey, I was immediately sent on horseback in search of them; and reaching the hut of a gentleman, nearly fifty miles distant, I remained there for Mr. Gellibrand's son, who was to meet me by appointment. No news of the lost gentlemen could be obtained by me on my journey;—and here, I should say, that they had taken with them as a guide a white man, who, according to his statement, they had discharged, in consequence of some misunderstanding about the direction of the route. On his return to his master, Captain Pollack, he stated "That they had refused to be guided by him, and that therefore he had left." I engaged some trustworthy natives and accompanied them, hoping to trace the steps of the horses.
