218 VISITED BY THE NATIVES. [CH. V. 



course soon make their appearance. All hands were set to 

 fell trees and cut hranches, and in a very short time, a stock- 

 ade was in progress, capahle of a stout resistance against any 

 number of natives. As the position was, in every respect, a 

 good one, either for its present purpose, or, hereafter perhaps, 

 for a township, and consequently was one important point 

 gained by this expedition, I named it Fort Bourke, after His 

 Excellency the present Governor, the better to mark the 

 epoch in the progress of interior discovery. 



May 28. — This morning some natives appeared on the 

 opposite bank of the river, shouting and calling, but keeping 

 at a respectful distance from the bullocks, some of which had 

 already crossed. At length they ventured over, and, on my 

 going to meet them, they sat down, about 200 yards from 

 the tents. The party consisted of four men and a boy, fol- 

 lowed by seven women and children, who sat at a little 

 distance behind. The men carried no spears, and looked 

 diminutive and simple ; most of them had had the small-pox, 

 but the marks were not larger than pin heads. 1 found, 

 they had either seen or heard of Captain Sturt's party, for 

 pointing to the sun, they shewed me that six revolutions of 

 that source of heat, had elapsed since the visit of others like 

 us. Other gestures, such as a reference to covering, and ex- 

 pressions of countenance, made their indications of the lapse 

 of time, plain enough. It seemed to me, that the disease which 

 it was understood had raged among them, (probably from the 

 bad water,) had almost depopulated the Darling, and that 

 these people were but the remains of a tribe. The females 

 were numerous in proportion to the males, and they were 

 not at all secluded by the men, as in places where the nu- 

 merical proportions were different. All these natives (with the 

 excej)tion of the boy), had lost the right front tooth. They had 

 a very singular mode of expressing surprise, making a curious 

 short whistle by joining the tongue and lips. The gins were 

 hideous, notwithstanding tiiey were rouged with red ochre, 

 by way, no doubt, of setting off their cbarnis. I gave to one 



