190 MR. LARMER's encounter with a tribe. [CH. III. 



eaten the dog in the scrub, whence his footsteps had been 

 seen to emerge was probable, as no trace of the animal was 

 visible beyond it ; and as it was difficult, otherwise, to account 

 for his own vigorous step, after an abstinence of three days 

 and three nights. I then regretted, that I had not, at the 

 time, examined the scrub, but, when we were at his last 

 camp (the trees on the plain), we were most interested in 

 Mr. Cunninoham's further course. 



This we traced more than two miles, during which he had 

 never stopped, even to look behind towards the spot where, 

 had he left his horse, he might still have seen him. Having 

 at length lost the track on some very hard ground, we ex- 

 hausted the day in a vain search for it. On returning to the 

 camp, I found that Mr. Larmer, whom I had sent with two 

 armed men down the Bogan, had nearly been surrounded, 

 at only three miles from our camp, by a tribe of natives car- 

 rying spears. Amongst these, were two, who had been with 

 us on the previous day, and who called to the others to keep 

 back. They told Mr. Larmer, that they had seen Mr. Cun- 

 ningham's track in several parts of the bed of the Bogan ; 

 that he had not been killed, but had gone to the westward, 

 (pointing down the Bogan,) with the " Myall (i. e. wild) 

 Blackfellows." Thus, we had reason to hope that our friend 

 had, at least, escaped the fate of his unfortunate horse, by 

 reaching the Bogan. This was what we wished ; but no one 

 could have supposed, that he would have followed the river 

 downwards, into the jaws of the wild natives, rather tluni 

 upwards. His movements show, that he believed he had 

 deviated to the eastward of our route, rather tban to the 

 westward ; and this mistake accounts for his having gone 

 down the Bogan. 



Had he not pursued that fatal course, or h.ad he killed the 

 liorse rather than the dog, and remained stationary, his life 

 would have been saved. The result of our twelve days' delay 

 and search was only the discovery, that had wo pursued our 

 journey down the Bogan, Mr. Cunningham would have 



