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others had now disappeared, so he ordered his wife to follow him, and all went limping up the hill. I was still watching him go off, when Tomghin sprung out from behind a tree, and flung his spears at him, one after the other, which Daubain avoided in some extraordinary manner. Then Tomghin fled and, before I was aware, dashed into my house, ran to a corner where I had a lot of spears, armed himself in a trice, and went out again. After a time some of the others held Tomghin till Daubain had gone to a distance, Tomghin in the meantime shouting with passion. The only words I could understand rightly were that he would "break his head." Whilst all this was occuring, my people had gone to the funeral of the father of two boys called Minchin, who have lived with me for four or five years. I was waiting till the funeral should pass my place on the way to the burying ground, whence I accompanied it, and read the burial service. The five next graves to the one opened this day were of men murdered by the natives. The feelings of the settlers are just now greatly exasperated against them, and this sight did not tend to soothe them much. I want the Governor to apply to the Home Governor for permission to make a law to render legal the evidence of the natives against one another. In ninety cases out of a hundred we know the offenders only through themselves.
Friday.—Went down the river to-day to the house of Mr. Brockman, to make arrangements with him for co-operation.
Saturday.—As I have given you above a description of a scene that occurred among the natives at my door, I will continue the story by way of illustrating the character of this extraordinary race. I mentioned that a child was wounded in the encounter; Weeip, intending to spear the woman, struck the child by mistake. The spear entered the hip, and passed in a slanting direction into the abdomen, and the child died that night. In the meantime Tomghin carried the wife away again, and she was accompanied by the young girl of
