APPEARANCE 01- THE NATIVES. 277 



never before had the eye of a European wandered 

 over it, the feelings of the exploring party were 

 necessarily of a pleasing character. 



This projection in the coast brought it within 

 thirteen miles of the east end of Bentinck Island. 

 Allen's Isle lay between at the distance of three 

 miles and a half ; on some iron-stone cliffs at the 

 south-east end of it, Mr. Forsyth, after leaving, saw 

 some natives ; he speaks of this island as being 

 more fertile than any other part visited, being 

 clothed with rich grass, and with small trees and 

 shrubs of a very green appearance. It was on a 

 little island, two miles to the eastward of it, that 

 Flinders succeeded in obtaining an interview with a 

 party of natives ; two of whom, he says, were of the 

 great height of six feet three inches, but with fea- 

 tures similar to those on the south and east coasts. 

 They were deficient in two front teeth of the upper 

 jaw ; their hair was short but not curly ; and with 

 the exception of a fillet of net-work worn round the 

 head of one of them, they had not a vestige of clothing. 

 Two of the older men of the party, Flinders was sur- 

 prised to find had undergone the rite of circumcision ; 

 they had rafts of precisely the same construction as 

 those in use on the North-west coast. 



On the 17th, very unusual gloomy weather was 

 experienced, quite what we should have expected 

 from the opposite monsoon ; indeed the wind was 

 light from the westward for a short time. The 

 morning broke, however, with a moderate S.S.E. 



