Page:Narrative of a survey of the intertropical and western coasts of Australia, Volume 1.djvu/220

 ]60 SURVI.Y OF THE INTERTROPICAL s9. that by the time.that we had dug two wells to J,. z. receive the water which was flowing over the beach, they had become very inquisitive, and made no hesitation in searching our pockets, and asking for every thing they saw. One of the men, upon being detected in.the .act of pilfering a piece of white paper from Mr. Cmmningham's. specimen box, immediately dropped it, and drew back, much alarmed for fear of punishment, and also ashamed of having been discovered; but aRer a few angry looks from us, the paper was given to him, and peace was soon restored. Our dog, being a subject of much alarm, was fastened to the stern of our boat; a circumstance which prevented their curiosity from extending itself in that direction, and thus our arms were kept in convenient readiness without their know- ledge. As soon as our boats were loaded, and we had embarked, the natives retired to a bush; behind which we observed the heads of several children and young women. As many as sixteen were counted; so that this tribe, or family, might be composed of from twenty-five to thirty persons, of which we only saw six who were grown men. They were stouter and better proportioned than the natives of New South Wales; and, unlile them, their hair was woolly: the only covering in

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