NATIVE CtrSTOMa, 
211 
to tribe over a large extent of country ; for Dr. Leidihiirclt 
and lais little party, during their memorable overland 
joumeyj heard Englisli wordsj whicli had been originally 
acquired at Port Essington, in use among the natives, 
while still far in the interior of Australia ; and this un- 
looked-for occurrence seems to have had a very eheering 
effeet on the explorera. 
Major Campbell speaks of two tribes of natives having 
been seen in the neighbourhood of the settlement on 
Melville Island ; the one consisting of " daring athletic 
men" and the other of " generally slight-made men." 
It would he interesting to know whether they also differed 
in other particulars. The practice of jumping from tree 
to tree/"' which is certainly not known to be a charac- 
teristic of any native tribe of the adjacent continent, is 
only casually alluded to, as rendering it difficult to ascer- 
tain their numbers ; but this strange custom seems to 
have caused great annoyance to the garrison, for those 
who had occasion to go out into the woods were obliged 
to keep a constant look-out overhead, in order to avoid 
the spears that were sometimes hurled at them from the 
upper branches- The tv^o officers mentioned by Major 
Campbell aa having fallen by the hands of the natives, 
are said to have been speared from the trees; and a 
Serjeant was also wounded under similar circumstances ; 
on this occasion the native paid the penalty of his 
treachery by being shot down from the tree. These last 
particulars, together with much interesting information 
concerning this singular people, were obtained by the 
writer from Mr. George Miller, who had charge of the 
