eferred pure water to the
bitter draught that remained. I have been some times unable to refrain
from smiling, as I watched the distorted countenances of my humble
companions while drinking their tea and eating their damper.

The ducks and swans, seen in such myriads on the lake, seldom appeared
on the river, in the first stages of our journey homewards. About the
time of which I am writing, however, a few swans occasionally flew over
our heads at night, and their silvery note was musically sweet.

From the 10th to the 15th, nothing of moment occurred: we pulled
regularly from day-light to dark, not less to avoid the natives than to
shorten our journey. Yet, notwithstanding that we moved at an hour when
the natives seldom stir, we were rarely without a party of them, who
followed us in spite of our efforts to tire them out.

MOLESTED BY NATIVES.

On the 15th, we had about 150 at our camp. Many of them were extremely
noisy, and the whole of them very restless. They lay down close to the
tents, or around our fire. I entertained some suspicion of them, and
when they were apparently asleep, I watched them narrowly. Macnamee was
walking up and down with his firelock, and every time he turned his
back, one of the natives rose gently up and poised his spear at him,
and as soon as he thought Macnamee was about to turn, he dropped as
quietly into his place. When I say the native got up, I do not mean
that he stood up, but that he raised himself sufficiently for the
purpose he had in view. His spear would not, therefore, have gone with
much force, but I determined it should not quit his hand, for had I
observed any actual attempt to throw it, I should unquestionably have
shot him dead upon the spot. The whole of the natives were awake, and
it surprised me they did not attempt to plunder us. They rose with the
earliest dawn, and crowded round the tents without any hesitation. We,
consequently, thought it prudent to start as soon as we had breakfasted.

FRASER IN DANGER.

We had all of us got into the boat, when Fraser remembered he had left
his powder-horn on shore. In getting out to fetch it, he had to push
through the natives. On his return, when his back was towards them,
several natives lifted their spears together, and I was so apprehensive
they would have transfixed him, that I called out before I seized my
gun; on which they lowered their weapons and ran away. The disposition
to commit personal violence was evident fr