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 345 of precaution till affairs are more settled. A rumour was forwarded to me that certain natives had threatened to kill a white man in revenge. I endeavoured to trace the rumour to its source, but found it groundless. I had a long conference with several of the more influential natives. They say they attach no blame to the white men for shooting this man, that we had given them fair warning, that the man would persist in thieving, and he deserved his death, that they had no enmity against us for it, but that they would endeavour to kill the native who was very active in encouraging the deceased to steal, that a party had gone to gather strength for that purpose, and that in the meantime they had driven away out of their grounds several strangers who had been committing thefts and bringing them into trouble, and that they had determined to keep them away, and even apply to us to assist them if they could not do it themselves. They brought to me a boy of whom I had complained to them for stealing fowls; they delivered him to me, and I made one of them flog him soundly. This was all done readily at my orders, and they seemed very desirous to be on good terms with us, and glad to get out of the scrape so easily. The truth is, the deceased is not very nearly connected with them, and his relatives were thinned a little after the murder of Jones and Chidlow.

Thus, you see, we are gradually gaining ground with the natives, for they now seem to acknowledge our superiority and rely upon our justice and good faith. Tribe by tribe we shall be able to bring about in the same way, and so eventually give them by degrees as much of civilization as their habits will permit them to endure. The interment of the body the other day was conducted with a good deal of ceremony, and was not without interest. They selected a clear spot in the neighbourhood of some tall mahogany trees; the grave was then dug in a direction due North and South, about 4 feet long, about 3 feet deep, and perhaps 18 inches wide.