NEW SOUTH WALES. 217 



been on his side, he must have been lost, being 

 two whole days without any food,, but a little 

 flour and water. 



The public works carrying on tlffe month, 

 were laying a new floor in the granary at Para- 

 matta ; repairing every brick building belong- 

 ing to government, which were all very much 

 decayed. At Sydney, on the 31st, the building 

 for that purpose being finished, the clock was put 

 up, and thus made known the hour to the inha- 

 bitants. This appendage of public utility, 

 astonished the natives, who could by no means 

 account for the noise it made on striking, at 

 which times they started in the most anxious 

 fear, till they became accustomed to the sound* 



The Francis again sailed to the wreck of the 

 Sydney- Cove, on the first of February. 



Some of the natives who dwelt in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the cow pasture plains, told, the 

 Governor that several of the wild cattle had 

 been killed, imagining this to have been done 

 by tha Irish run-a-way convicts, a party of 

 military, with Hacking, was sent out with 

 orders if possible to secure them. After an 

 absence of some days, they returned, having 

 searched the country round, but no traces of 

 the cattle where they had been accustomed to 

 range could be seen, or did they meet any 

 white people. The natives persisted in having 

 seen some of the convicts among them, and 

 said that some calves had been run down by 

 them. This idea was strengthened by finding 



F F 



