196 
MELVILLE ISLAND. 
and the spot wliere this interview took place was selected 
aa the site of the first settlement^ which was founded by 
the late Sir Gordon Bremer in September^ previous 
to the publication of Captain King's narrative. 
One of his officerSj, Lieutenant Roe, accompanied the 
new expedition, and a letter from him to his former com- 
mander, describing the preliminary proceeding at Melville 
Island, arrived in time for insertion in the second volume 
of Captain King's narrative, from which the following 
extract describing their fi.i*st interview with the natives is 
taken. 
Not one native made his appearance before the early 
part of November (the vessel arrived on the 26tb of Sep- 
tember), when, as if by signal, a party of about eighteen 
on each shore communicated with ns on the same day, 
and were very friendly, although exceedingly suspicious 
and timid. They would not venture within the line of 
the outer hut, and always came armed, but laid aside 
their spears and clubs whenever friendly sigtjs were made. 
On the second day of their visit, I was greatly astonished 
to see amongst them a young man of about twenty years 
of age, not darker in colour than a Chinese, but with 
perfect Malay features, and, like all the rest, entirely 
naked ; he had daubed himself all over with soot and 
grease to appear like the others, but the difference was 
plainly perceptible. On perceiving that he was the object 
of our conversation, a certain archness and lively ex- 
pression came over his countenance, which a native 
Austwalian would have strained his features in vain to 
have produced. The natives appeared to be very fond of 
him. It seems probable that he must have been kid- 
