iting a few minutes,
prepared to return on board: upon getting into the boat he looked at our
volunteer but Jack, having had a taste of sea-sickness, shook his head
and hung back; he was therefore left on shore. Upon the boat's leaving
the beach the natives dispersed for the night but Jack, as usual, was
perceived to separate himself from his companions and to walk away
without exchanging a word with them.

December 31.

The weather at daylight the next morning (31st) was too unsettled and the
breeze too strong from the westward to think of moving from the
anchorage. Jack and another native were down on the rocks at an early
hour, hallooing and waving to us, and at eight o'clock some natives
appeared on the opposite shore with spears and knives to barter, but we
had no communication with them.

During our visit we have obtained from these people about one hundred
spears, thirty throwing-sticks, forty hammers, one hundred and fifty
knives, and a few hand-clubs, the value of each being at from half to
one-eighth of a biscuit. We saw no fizgig, shield, nor boomerang; it is
probable that they may have such weapons but did not produce them from a
dislike at parting with them; but the knives, spears, and hammers which
did not require much labour to manufacture were always ready for barter,
particularly the first, but the greater part were, like Peter Pindar's
razors, only made for sale.

Altogether we saw about forty natives of whom ten were boys: they were in
most respects similar to their neighbours, having the same long curly
hair and slight figure; they did not appear to be a navigating tribe, for
we saw no canoes, nor did we observe any trees in the woods with the bark
stripped, of which material they are usually made; and, from the timid
manner they approached the water, it is more than probable that they are
not much accustomed even to swimming. Captain Flinders is mistaken in
stating that the natives of this place do not use the throwing-stick; but
it is probable they did not produce those instruments to him, for fear of
being deprived of them, for it required much persuasion on our part to
prevail upon them to let us have any; they were much more ingeniously
formed than others that we had previously seen, and different also, in
having a small sharp-edged shell, or piece of quartz, fixed in a gummy
knob at the handle, for the purpose of scraping the points of the spears:
the shaft is broad, smooth and flat. Some o