NEW SOUTH WALES. 299 



His hair was either naturally short and close, or 

 had been rendered' so by burning, and, although 

 short and stiffly curled, they did not think it 

 woolly.* He was armed with two ill made 

 spears of solid wood. 



No part of the dress of Mr. Bass or Lieut. Flin- 

 ders attracted his attention, except the red silk 

 handkerchiefs round their necks; and their fire 

 arms were to him, objects neither of curiosity 

 or fear. 



This was the first man they spoke with in Van 

 Diemen's land, and his open deportment led them 

 to form a favourable opinion of the disposition 

 of its inhabitants, and conjecture j£ the country 

 was peopled in the usual numbers, he would not 

 have been the only one they would have met. 



They found many huts on the shores of the 

 river, of the same bad construction as those of 

 Port Dalrymple, but with fewer muscle-shells 

 lying near them. The natives of this place, 

 draw the principal part of their food from the 

 woods ; the bones of small animals were nume- 

 rous round their deserted fire-places ; and the 

 two spears Which they saw in the hands of the 

 man were similar to those used for hunting in 

 other parts ; and many trees were observed to 

 be notched for the purpose of climbing. 



No canoes were ever seen, nor any tree so 

 barked as to answer that purpose. And yet all 

 the islands in Frederick- Henry Bay had evi- 

 dently been visited. 



4 Mr. Raven, returning to England in the Buffalo, put iiito 

 Adventure Bay, where this man was seen, and cut off some 

 vool from the head of a native there. 



