Page:Tracks of McKinlay and party across Australia.djvu/195

 long, and very formidable. He showed us where the whites had been in camp when attacked. We saw lots of fish-bones, but no evidence then on the trees to suppose whites had been there. They had certainly chosen a very bad camp, in the centre of a box shrub, with native huts within 150 to 200 yards of them. On further examination, we found the dung of camels and horse or horses, evidently tied up a long time ago. Between that and the grave we found another grave, evidently dug with a spade or shovel, and a lot of human hair of two colours, that had become decomposed on the skin of the skull, and fallen off in flakes—some of which I have also taken. I fancy they must all have been murdered here; dug out the new formed grave with a stick (the only instrument we had), but found no remains of bodies save one little bone. The black accounted for this in this manner, he says they had eaten them. Found in an old fire-place, immediately adjoining, what appeared to be bones very well burned, but not in any quantity. In and about the last grave named, a piece of light blue tweed, and fragments of paper, and small pieces of a nautical almanack were found, and an exploded "Eley's cartridge." No appearance on any of the trees of bullet marks, as if a struggle had taken place. On a further examination of the blacks' camp, where the pint pot was found, there was also found a tin