10 ADVANCE TOWARDS THE NATIVES. 
must either starve or plunder us ; for they had 
already tried to subsist themselves in the bush, and 
had failed. 
As these impressions rapidly passed through my 
mind, there appeared to me but one resource left, to 
save my own life and that of the native with me : that 
was, to shoot the elder of the two. Painful as this 
would be, 1 saw no other alternative, if they still 
persisted in following us. After packing up our few 
things, and putting them upon the horses, I gave the 
bridles to Wylie to hold, whilst I advanced alone 
with my rifle towards the two natives. They were 
now tolerably near, each carrying a double-barrelled 
gun, which was pointed towards me, elevated across 
the left arm and held by the right hand. As I 
attempted to approach nearer they gradually 
retreated. 
Finding that I was not likely to gain ground upon 
them in this way, I threw down my weapons, and 
advanced unarmed, hoping that if they let me near 
them I might suddenly close with the eldest and 
wrest his gun from him. After advancing about 
sixty or seventy yards towards them, I found that 
they again began to retreat, evidently determined 
not to let me approach any nearer, either armed or 
unarmed. Upon this I halted, and endeavoured to 
enter into parley with them, with a view to per- 
suading them to return towards Fowler’s Bay, and 
thus obviate the painful necessity I should have been 
under of endeavouring, for my own security, to take 
