st muscular man, notwithstanding a great
effusion of blood, he was able, with the assistance of his comrades, to
creep slowly along, and reached Sydney about two o'clock the next morning.
On the wound being examined by the surgeons, it was pronounced mortal.
The poor wretch now began to utter the most dreadful exclamations, and to
accuse himself of the commission of crimes of the deepest dye, accompanied
with such expressions of his despair of God's mercy, as are too terrible to
repeat.

In the course of the day, Colbee, and several more natives came in, and
were taken to the bed where the wounded man lay. Their behaviour indicated
that they had already heard of the accident, as they repeated twice or
thrice the name of the murderer Pimelwi, saying that he lived at Botany
Bay. To gain knowledge of their treatment of similar wounds, one of the
surgeons made signs of extracting the spear, but this they violently
opposed, and said, if it were done, death would instantly follow.

On the 12th, the extraction of the spear was, however, judged practicable,
and was accordingly performed. That part of it which had penetrated the
body measured seven inches and a half long, having on it a wooden barb, and
several smaller ones of stone, fastened on with yellow gum, most of which,
owing to the force necessary in extraction, were torn off and lodged in the
patient. The spear had passed between two ribs, and had wounded the
left lobe of the lungs. He lingered* until the 20th of January, and
then expired. On opening the corpse, it was found that the left lung had
perished from suppuration, its remains adhering to the ribs. Some pieces of
stone, which had dropped from the spear were seen, but no barb of wood.

[*From the aversion uniformly shown by all the natives to this unhappy
man, he had long been suspected by us of having in his excursions, shot
and injured them. To gain information on this head from him, the moment
of contrition was seized. On being questioned with great seriousness, he,
however, declared that he had never fired but once on a native, and then
had not killed, but severely wounded him and this in his own defence.
Notwithstanding this death-bed confession, most people doubted the truth of
the relation, from his general character and other circumstances.]

The governor was at Rose-hill when this accident happened. On the day after
he returned to Sydney, the following order was issued:

Several tribes of the nativ