316 BISCOVERY OF MEW RIVEE. 



accident^ as I had seen it come from Paida's party. 

 Soon afterwards I observed a man at the right 

 extreme of the line next me, who had been dodging- 

 round a larg-e scsevola bush for some time back, 

 make a sudden dart at one of the opposite party and 

 chop him down the shoulder with an iron toma- 

 hawk. The wounded man fell, and instantly a yell 

 of triumph denoted that the whole matter was at an 

 end. 



Paida rejoined me five minutes afterwards, appa- 

 rently much refreshed by this Httle excitement, and 

 accompanied me on my walk, still he would not 

 explain the cause of the fig'ht. The wounded man 

 had bis arm tied up by one of our people who landed 

 soon afterwards, and, although the cut was both 

 larg-e and deep, he soon recovered. 



The frequent excursions of our shooting- parties 

 being' more extended than during' our last visit 

 became the means of adding- considerably to our 

 knowledge of the surrounding country. One of the 

 immediate consequences was the discovery of several 

 small streams of fresh water. The principal of these, 

 which we named Mew River (after its first finder, 

 the sergeant of marines on board), has its mouth in 

 a small mangrove creek three-quarters of a mile to 

 the eastward of Evans Bay. About five miles 

 further up its source t\ as found to be a spring- among 

 rocks in a dense calamus scrub. It waters a fine 

 valley running nearly east and west behind the 

 range of hills to the southward of Evans Bay, 



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