OBSERVATIONS ON CAUSE OF OFFENCE. 313 



that I should have considered any injury sustained 

 on our side to have been most richly merited ; more- 

 over, I am convinced that some at least of the 

 collisions which have taken place in Australia, 

 between the first European visitors and the natives 

 of any g-iven district, have orig-inated in causes of 

 offence broug-ht on by the indiscretion of one or 

 more of the party, and reveng'ed on others who were 

 innocent. As a memorable instance I may g'ive 

 that which happened during- Leichhardt's oveiiand 

 journey to Port Essing-ton, when his camp was 

 attacked one evening-, and Mr. Gilbert lost his life. 

 Long- afterwards the undoubted cause of this appa- 

 rently unaccountable attack transpired in the 

 acknowledg-ment, while intoxicated, by one of the 

 persons concerned, that a gross outrag-e had been 

 committed upon an aborig-inal woman a day or two 

 previously, by the t^\ o blacks belonging- to the expe- 

 dition. 



One day I witnessed a native fight, which may 

 be described here, as such occm-rences, althoug-h fre- 

 quent enough in Australia, have by Europeans been 

 witnessed only in the settled districts. It was one 

 of those smaller fights, or usual modes of settling a 

 quai'rel when more than two people are concerned, 

 and assumed quite the character of a duel upon a 

 large scale. At day-break, I landed in company 

 A\'ith six or seven people M'ho were going out on 

 different shooting parties. The natives came down 

 to the boat as usual, but all carried throwing-sticks 



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