508 



ACCOUNT OF THE ENGLISH COLONY [August,. 



confided only of two, the natives were lively, dancing and Tinging, 

 in concert in a very pleafing manner ; but the number of white men 

 having imperceptibly increafed to eight, they became alarmed and; 

 fufpicious, feeming to look with a jealous eye upon a mot-belt that 

 Mr. Flinders wore, and which, though they did not rightly know- 

 how, might fome way or other be a deadly weapon. 



Obferving this, he gave it to one of the people to take away. Three 

 of the failors, who were Scotchmen, were defired to dance a reel; but,, 

 for want of mufic, they made a very bad performance, which was- 

 contemplated by the natives without much amufement or curiofity t 

 Finding that they could not be perfuaded to vifit the Hoop, our people: 

 parted from them in a very friendly manner. , 



On the 25th they turned two or three miles further up the river, 

 and anchored near the place on the weftern fhore, where the man who- 

 had a family with him had called to them : at this time they faw a= 

 fire, and heard feveral younger female voices in the fame place. 



On the following morning Mr. Flinders took the boat up a branch- 

 that pointed towards the Peaks, and got a fight of the flat-topped peak 

 at times, which, appearing to be confiderably nearer than the highehV 

 Glafs-Houfe, was that which he meant firft to vifit ; but, obferving^ 

 that one of the round mounts with Hoping fides was {till nearer, he 

 altered his courfe for it ; and, after walking about nine miles from the 

 boat, reached the top. The mount was a pile of ftones of all fizes, 

 moftly loofe near the furface. The decayed vegetable matter that was 

 lodged in the cavities produced a thick covering of long, but rather 

 ipindly grafs, very fit for thatch from its length. The afcent was 

 difficult, and fimilar to that up Mount Direction, which fiands on 

 the eaft bank of the Derwent river in Van Diemen's Land. The trees 

 upon the mount were the fame as on the level ground, but taller and 

 more ftraight. 



From the fummit of this mount, the view of the Bay and neigh- 

 bouring country was very extenfive. The uppermoft part of the bay 

 appeared at S. 24 0 E. and mod probably communicated with a line of 



water 



