CH. VIII.] NATIVES SCARED BV A ROCKET. 313 



know what these people meant to do. At length, when the 

 lights had approached within 150 yards of our camp, every 

 one suddenly disappeared ; the bearers preserving all the 

 while, the most j^erfect silence. I then thought it advisable 

 to scare these natives away, supposing that they were lurking 

 about our camp with the intention to steal. I accordingly 

 placed some men with instructions to rush forward shouting, 

 as soon as I should send up a rocket. Its ascent, and our 

 sudden accompanying noise had, no doubt, a tremendous 

 effect on the natives, for even in the morning they remained 

 at a respectful distance. 



Au(/. 15. — We began to discover some signs of vegetation 

 in the earth. Blades of green grass appeared among the 

 yellow stalks, and on the plains, we found a new species of 

 Danthonia ;* the whole country, indeed, already wore a 

 better appearance than on any part of the Darling. We passed 

 our station of 22nd May, about a mile, and encamped close 

 to a good pond. Several natives' huts were near, at w^hicli 

 the fires were still burning ; the inhabitants having fled ; but 

 I forbade the men to go near these huts, or touch a stone 

 hatchet and some carved bommerengs, which had been left 

 behind. A native dog lay as if watching these implements ; 

 and it barked on my approaching one of the huts, a circum- 

 stance unusual in one of these animals. Soon after, four 

 natives came up shouting, and two of them having advanced 

 in front, sat down, but we took no notice of them, thinking 

 that they had followed from the last camp, and belonged to 

 the fire-stick visitors ; they called back the fugitives, how- 

 ever, and encamped together on a pond lower down. 



Aug. 16. — As we moved off about eight this morning, the 

 blacks hung about in groups, but we paid no attention to 

 them. We had now, happily for both parties, arrived where 

 the natives had probably heard of fire-arms, and of the nu- 



* Danthonia ?«^?;)acea, (Lindl. MSS.); spicisgeminatis foliis brevioribus, palea 

 inferiore sericea cornea; laciniis lateralibus foliatis divaricatis arista rigida 

 brevioribus. 



