Page:Life and Adventures of William Buckley.djvu/152

Rh and water, from place to place, where they were required; rewarding them each with boiled meat and biscuit; and this sort of employ they followed with great cheerfulness.

At the sight of the soldiers' red jackets, however, they were at first very much alarmed, associating the colour with something very dreadful.

My duty now was to visit about amongst the various settlers' families, to ascertain if the natives had been in any way troublesome, to promote a mutual confidence between the parties, and for some time I was pleased to find all things going on well; but one day, a white boy brought me word that two stock-keepers had been murdered, in consequence of their attempting to ill-use some native women when they were out gathering roots. Their screams brought some of the tribe to their assistance, and the next day, as the shepherds were proceeding to another station, having their guns and provisions fastened on a pack-horse, the natives waylaid and surprised them—seizing their guns the first thing, and then murdering them. This unfortunate affair happened about seventy miles from the settlement; and this was not the only one to be regretted, for several robberies having taken place near Geelong, a native was seized, and although merely suspected, he was tied to a tree and shot; the body being thrown into the Barwin River.

I was sent, in company with two other constables, to apprehend the white man—a servant of a Mr Fisher; and having brought him with us to Melbourne, he was