gress, had surprised a
settler, and murdered him. The rumours of escape were aggravated by
imagination: a party of the whites were seen by some sawyers, who ran
away and reported them as natives; and it was several days before they
could be persuaded of their error.

The settlers, worn out with fatigue and longing for their homes, were
impatient to advance, and afforded ample opportunities for concealment
and escape. Among the rest a place is noticed, which enabled the natives
to defy intrusion or discovery, near the "Three Thumbs' Mountain,"--an
almost impenetrable forest, of seven miles extent: the spreading
branches obscure the sky, and lofty plants grow entwined, and conceal an
object at the distance of a few feet. The attempt of the blacks to cross
the line discovered their retreat. It was resolved to assemble forces
sufficient to surround, break through, and storm this thicket: it was
penetrated by about 300 men, who kept up a constant fire of musketry. A
party, hearing the rustling of leaves like the noise of cattle, followed
the sound: they came up to an encampment, where the fires were
unextinguished, and where half-formed weapons indicated a hasty
dispersion. Here they found the impression of nails, and what were
deemed sure proofs of a superior directing intelligence. The
presumption, that some convicts were incorporated with the blacks, was
certainly strong, but it was probably but a temporary or casual
intercourse, of not much utility to the natives. The Governor had,
however, a full conviction that to this circumstance the failure might
be partly ascribed. In the middle of the march, he ordered the
publication of a report, which appeared decisive of the fact. Savage, a
servant of Mr. Bisdee, was met half naked by the Governor, near Mills'
Lagoon, to whom he stated he had been surrounded by a tribe, and rescued
from violence by a man named Brown, who was with them. This person he
had known in gaol. Savage advised Brown to bring in the natives, but he
refused: he said that he had been frequently at Hobart Town, where he
had bought clothes for the women: he had a double-barrelled gun, and
seemed to have complete control over them. They carried Savage with them
as far as Mills' Lagoon, when he was told he might go. The Governor and
his party instantly set off in the pursuit, but they discovered no
traces of the natives. The truth of this narrative has been questioned,
yet from the number of points in which a c