114 A NUMEROUS TRIBE. [CII. V. 



thing attached to our empty carts, but some of our men 

 went over to prevent any serious injury being done. All 

 the clamour seemed directed at me, and being apparently 

 invited by signs to cross to them, I went to the water's edge, 

 curious to know their meaning. They then assumed the 

 attitudes of the corrobory dance, and pointed to the woods 

 behind them. " Come and be merry with us," was thus 

 plainly enough said, but as their dance is warlike and excit- 

 ing, being practised by them most, when tribes are about to 

 fight, they must either have thought me very simple ; or, as 

 seems most likely, the invitation might be a kind of challenge, 

 which perhaps, even a hostile tribe dared not, in honour, 

 decline, whatever the consequences might be. These natives 

 were the finest looking men of their race which I had 

 seen. The peculiar colour of their bodies, covered with 

 pipe-clay, gave them an appearance of being dressed. They 

 were in number about 100, all men or boys, the strongest 

 carrying sjiears. None of the words of " the Barber," 

 seemed at all intelligible to them, but on mentioning the 

 Nammoy, they pointed to the south-west, which I knew was 

 the direction in which that river was nearest to the camp. 

 I recognized the gigantic pipe-clayed man, who had pre- 

 sented his spear at me, when we first reached the Gwydir, 

 much higher up. That he was the man I then met, he 

 clearly explained to me by assuming the same attitude, and 

 pointing eastward to the place. A good deal of laughter, 

 (partly feigned I believe on both sides), seemed to soften the 

 violence of their speech and action ; but when I brought 

 down a tomahawk, and was about to present it to the man 

 whom I had formerly met, and who was the first to venture 

 across, tlioir voices arose with tenfold fury. All directed 

 my attention to a dirty-looking old man, who accordingly 

 waded thi-ough the Avater to me, and received my present. 

 Several other stout fellows, soon surrounded us, and with the 

 most overbearing kind of noise, began to make free with my 

 person and pockets. I was about to draw a j)istol and fire it 



