Page:Life and Adventures of William Buckley.djvu/31

8. The latter consisted of sundry tin pots, an iron kettle, the fowling-piece already mentioned, and a few days' rations. We now pushed on again until we came to a river, and near the bay; this stream the natives call Darkee Barwin: here we rested until daylight, and then prepared to renew our march. Early in the morning, a large party, or tribe of the natives, was seen, armed with spears; and, thinking to alarm them by so unusual a sound, I fired the piece, on hearing which, they retired hurriedly into the bush. I should here observe, that we had now very little apprehension of being retaken, believing the opinion of Governor Collins to be, that any prisoner attempting to escape, would gladly deliver himself up, rather than perish of hunger; besides, we had, by the rapid rate at which we had travelled during the night, placed a considerable distance between us and the encampment. Light marching order being very desirable, when starting on our first day's march, we resolved on parting company with the iron kettle, as a useless article, and therefore threw it into the scrub, where it was found, thirty-two years after, by a party of men clearing ground for agricultural purposes.

Our next business was to cross the river, but as all of us could not swim, I passed first to try its depth, and after considerable difficulty succeeded in getting my companions over, and then I swam over again for their clothes, being the best swimmer of the party. That night we reached to about twenty miles distant from what is now the City of Melbourne, and halted there