he conjectured that the colony
wanted such a vessel, his demands were exorbitant. He first
valued her at sixty thousand rix-dollars, and before he was ready
to sail, he offered her for two and thirty thousand rix-dollars.
If she was hired, he talked of eleven pounds sterling per month;
but no attention being paid to any of these demands, he came down
to forty shillings sterling a ton per month, if let on freight to
carry the officers and seamen who had belonged to the Sirius to
England; that freight to be paid until the vessel should return
to Batavia. He was now ready to sail, and finding no attention
would be paid to any such proposals, he offered to sell the
vessel for thirty thousand rix-dollars, or to go to England on
freight at forty shillings per ton; the vessel to be continued in
pay for two months after her arrival at Portsmouth or Plymouth;
or to have twenty thousand rix-dollars for the voyage.

A considerable time had passed since Governor Phillip had
reason to expect the arrival of some ships from England, and he
wished to secure a vessel for sending home the officers and men
who had belonged to the Sirius, or to send for a farther supply
of provisions, should no ships arrive before the month of March:
the Dutch vessel was, therefore, hired at twenty shillings per
ton.

Two native youths who had frequently left Governor Phillip's
house, in order to have their front teeth drawn, had now been
absent several days for that purpose. They were seen in a bay
down the harbour on the 8th of February, where a considerable
number of the natives were assembled, it was supposed not less
than a hundred, including women and children. Most of the men
were painted, and it should seem that they were assembled for the
purpose of drawing the front teeth from several men and boys.
Soon afterwards, the two youths returned to the governor's; they
had their heads bound round with rushes, which were split, and
the white side was put outwards: several pieces of reed were
stuck through this fillet and came over the forehead; their arms
were likewise bound round and ornamented in the same manner, and
each had a black streak on his breast, which was broad at one
end, and terminated in a point. They had lost their front teeth,
and considering their manner of drawing teeth in this country, it
was not surprising to see that one of them had lost a piece of
his jaw-bone, which was driven out with the tooth.

Both these boys appeared t