in them, unless, perhaps in the presence of a numerically
superior force, or in the close vicinity of a ship. At the same
time, the boldness of these savages in attacking, with thirty men
in three canoes, two boats known to contain at least twenty
persons--even in the hopes of taking them by surprise--and in not
being at once driven off upon feeling the novel and deadly
effects of firearms, shews no little amount of bravery."

On their last visit to Cape York, in the extreme north of Australia,
the party had the remarkable experience of rescuing a white woman from
captivity among the natives.

"In the afternoon some of our people on shore were surprised to
see a young white woman come up to claim their protection from a
party of natives from whom she had recently made her escape, and
who she thought would otherwise bring her back. Of course she
received every attention, and was taken on board the ship by the
first boat, when she told her story which is briefly as follows:
Her name is Barbara Thomson. She was born at Aberdeen in
Scotland, and, along with her parents, emigrated to New South
Wales. About four years and a half ago she left Moreton Bay with
her husband in a small cutter, called the _America_, of which he
was the owner, for the purpose of picking up some of the oil from
the wreck of a whaler, lost on the Bampton shoal, to which place
one of her late crew undertook to guide them; their ultimate
intention was to go on to Port Essington. The man who acted as
pilot was unable to find the wreck, and after much quarreling on
board in consequence, and the loss of two men by drowning and of
another who was left on a small uninhabited island, they made
their way up to the Torres Straits, where, during a gale of wind
their vessel struck upon a reef on the eastern Prince of Wales
Island. The two remaining men were lost in attempting to swim on
shore through the surf, but the woman was afterwards rescued by a
party of natives on a turtling excursion, who, when the gale
subsided, swam on board and supported her on shore between two of
their number. One of these blacks, Boroto by name, took
possession of the woman as his share of the plunder; she was
compelled to live with him, but was well treated by all the men,
although many of the women, jealous of the at