Page:History of New South Wales from the records, Volume 2.djvu/237

 THE NATIVES. 19& The f OTindation of a good understanding with the natives ^'^^ appeared to have been laid, but the promise was illusory. Although they looked sharply after their own possessions, o^n^wp they could not be brought to respect the right of property claimed by the new-comers in the products of the soil. Some of the articles of food used by the whites they would not oat — notably bread, but they were very fond of potatoes, which they stole from the fields. In a settlement where starvation was always a possible calamity, the preservation of the crops was a matter of life and death, and there being Reromp- no other effective way of stopping depredations in the hostilities, potato-fields, parties of soldiers were sent out to disperse the thieves. The natives, thinking perhaps that they had a right to the produce of the grounds they had occupied from time immemorial,* offered resistance. A party of soldiers having made a demonstration in one of the fields, a club was thrown. The reply was a discharge of firearms, which caused the precipitate retreat of the blacks. One of them was fatally ^JfiJ^'® wounded, and his body was found a few days afterwards, disposed for burial. The circumstances of this affair are related by Collins, who lamented that such severe measures for the protection of the crops had become necessary.f boat) which they had fixed in such situations as were likely to render them conspicuous to any boat passing that way. Mr. White and some other gentlemen, going down directlj, found their information too true. One of the bodies was lying dead on the beach. With the assistance of Cole-he and the other natiyes he recovered tbe seine, which was entangled in the rocks, and brought away the parts of his boat which they had secured." — Collins, vol. i. p. 141. • See Vol. i, p. 125. + "It was much to be regretted that any necessity existed for adopting these sanguinary punishments, and that we had not yet been able to reconcile the natives to the deprivation of those parts of this harbour which we occu- pied. While they entertained the idea of our having dispossessed them of their residences, they must always consider us as enemies ; and upon this principle they made a point of attacking the white people whenever oppor- tunity and safety concurred. It was also, unfortunately, found that our knowledge of their language consisted at this time of only a few terms for such things as, being visible, could not well be mistaken ; but no one had yet attained words enough to convey an idea in connected terms. It was also conceived by some among us, that those natives who came occasionally into the town did not desire that any of the other tribes should participate in the enjoyment of the few trifles they procured from us. If this were true, it