92 NATIVE VILLAGE, 



hour, and found a cluster of three or four dome- 

 shaped huts, larg'e and roomy, of neat construction, 

 covered with sheets of melaleuca bark, and having' 

 one, sometimes two enti'ances. Some fishing- nets, 

 similar to those used at Moreton Bay, were seen. 

 The men retired into the bush when we landed, nor 

 would they come out to me when I advanced alone 

 towards them, in order to look at the huts. We 

 anchored for the night under No. I. of the Barnard 

 Isles. Megapodii were here very plentiful, and 

 about daylight very noisy, running about in all 

 directions, repeating their loud call of chro-co — chro- 

 co. Some of the bushes presented a fine show of 

 the scarlet flowers of Disemma coccinea, a kind of 

 passion-flower, before only found at Endeavour 

 River by Sir Joseph Banks, during Cook's second 

 voyage. In the morning we returned to the ship. 



On June 12th, while passing a small opening in 

 the land, a little to the northward of Double Point, 

 the Asp was observed on shore with a signal for 

 assistance, which was immediately sent, when she 

 was got off" without damage. At this place, as 

 Lieut. Simpson informed me, a boomerang was 

 obtained from the natives ; we had not before 

 observed this singular weapon upon the north-east 

 coast, and its use is quite unknown on the north 

 coast from Cape York to Port Essington. This one 

 too was painted green, a colour which I never heard 

 of elsewhere among the Australians, whose pigments 

 are black, white, yellow, and red. 



Near this place, while tacking close in shore, a 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



