HEAD OF JARDINE TO FALSE ORFORD NESS 589 



mile to the south. Here we camped, as it was now late in the 

 afternoon. (CAMP 56.) 



Just as we came in sight of the sea, Charlie espied a BLACK 

 FELLOW. From Charlie's signals to me I gathered, as I thought, 

 that he had seen a kangaroo or emu, and accordingly unslung my 

 rifle and dismounted. Charlie's idea was that we should simul- 

 taneously fire at the black fellow to make sure of him, but I declined 

 the sport, to Charlie's intense disgust and amazement. The 

 native on seeing us slipped into the scrub, and presently a hullaballoo 

 arose which proved the presence of a LARGE NUMBER OF NATIVES, 

 including many women and children. 



The day and night were fine and no rain fell. 



March 9. In the morning, as we were packing, the BLACKS 

 showed up. Two of them one especially spoke very fair English. 

 We admitted the two to a parley outside the camp. After- 

 wards two more joined them, but we insisted that the remainder 

 should keep at a distance. The spokesman assured us that there 

 was " plenty fish " and " plenty bechel'm." They hailed us 

 brothers and insisted on shaking hands. The principal spokes- 

 man introduced himself as CAPTAIN BILLY, and said that he and 

 his men had several canoes and fished extensively. They expressed 

 themselves anxious to barter fish and turtle for tobacco, flour, 

 trousers, shirts, tomahawks, and " big fellow money." We declined 

 the offer at first, and asked them to show us the best way down to 

 the beach. They guided us down to the sea in about half a mile 

 by a native track. Billy accompanied us along the beach (his 

 fellows part of the way keeping us in view from the cliffs above) 

 to a creek of the third magnitude, which bore W. 5 N. from the 

 southmost of the HANNIBAL ISLANDS. In the mouth of the creek 

 was a very fine large outrigger CANOE. At this creek, which I 

 named after Captain Billy, the captain left us, professedly for 

 a drink of water, but evidently for the purpose of joining his 

 friends. 



In three-quarters of a mile we crossed the mouth of a fourth- 

 magnitude creek. The tide was high and the packs just cleared 

 the water. 



Shortly after crossing this creek we mounted to the top of the 

 sandstone cliffs, which here came close to the edge of the sea. 1 

 We had travelled for about a mile when we detected two NATIVES 

 WITH SPEARS, couched in the grass ; we cautioned them and dis- 

 missed them. A large CANOE, containing five or six men, was at 

 the same time seen paddling inshore. Three or four blacks could 

 be seen coming up behind us armed with spears. Billy came 

 up shortly and appeared anxious that we should wait for the men 



1 These sandstone cliffs were apparently named " Risk Point " in the charts used 

 by Kennedy and the master of the " Ariel " in 1848, but were not named in the chart 

 which I carried, nor in subsequent issues. R. L. J. 



