Cir. VIII.] CERTAINTY OF MR. CUNNINGHAm's DEATH. 331 



One of these men having but lately left the settled districts, 

 had seen in the newspapers, an account of one of my party 

 having been killed by natives ; and he stated that the names 

 of four natives and two gins were mentioned, adding that the 

 person murdered, was supposed to have been my man in charge 

 of the sheep. My informant also pointed towards, where the 

 white man was said to have been killed, as indicated by the 

 blacks ; and this was exactly where our distressing loss befell 

 us. I was also informed, that the natives thereabouts were 

 now in dread of the arrival of soldiers, and thus, for the first 

 time, I learned that poor Cunningham, had really been mur- 

 dered by these savages. Intelligence of this kind often travels 

 in exaggerated shapes, through the medium of the natives ; 

 and I had lately been anxious to see some of them, as many 

 of those so near the colony can speak very well. Now we un- 

 derstood why the Bogan was deserted. The non-appearance 

 of the chief, who had been so obsequious on our going down, 

 was perhaps a suspicious circumstance, when connected with 

 the fact, that a silk handkerchief had been seen on the first 

 of that tribe whom we met, and the strange movements and 

 bustle, which took place among those at our camp at Cud- 

 duldury, during my absence of four days. 



The station, which we had reached, was occupied by the 

 cattle of Mr. Lee, of Bathurst ; the two stockmen, for such 

 the white men proved to be, seemed to have enough to do, to 

 keep the natives in good humour, as the only means of find- 

 ing the cattle or securing their own safety among the savage 

 tribes. With the latter object probably in view, they seemed 

 to have encouraged the expectation of soldiers, on the part 

 of the natives about them. Soldiers have been too seriously 

 instrumental in the civilization of the aborigines, wherever 

 they have become civil, to be soon forgotten ; and the war- 

 fare by which the Bathurst settlers were first established in 

 security, would be remembered, no doubt, with some apprehen- 

 sion of the consequences of this last act of barbarism. The 

 stockmen informed me, that I should meet with another 

 cattle station, which had been established by Mr. Pike, 



