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some jumped into it it and crossed, whilst others flung spears at him. Then he fled, and took refuge in Major Irwin's. After a time a friend of his came as a mediator, and arranged a sort of truce, which I suspect, like many other truces, was a mere matter of convenience on both sides. The mediator embraced each of them, and took possession of their mero (their board for throwing the spear—the amentum), and harangued them, as I understood. He agreed that the tribes of Daubain should retire to the hills, and yield to the Perth men the privilege of gleaning our fields at harvest time. Meantime the other party slipped out of the other side of the house, and fled. The son of the man who had been drowned saw him, and gave chase singly, but missed him in the bush. He returned, was embraced, and consoled, but wept bitterly, and made a most pathetic appeal to us, or rather against us, for sheltering the brother of his father's murderer. I did what I could to answer him. I reminded him that when they were in the bush not near the house, I had not interfered, but that when they took shelter in our houses we thought it right to protect them. Then I said this was not the murderer, and that we touched none but the murderer. "Well," he said, "you know this man to be bad; he has killed men, he has speared women, he has stolen sheep, he has eaten pigs, he will do so again; you will then be angry, and want us to go and look for them. I will not go any more." His grief was unaffected, and I felt for the poor fellow as I reasoned with him—although his ideas of revenge were savage. It was altogether an interesting scene.
Sept. 3rd.—I sent a long letter to Mr. Mitchell, the missionary, to-day, giving him some useful phrases of the native language. He wants me to send him one as a servant. Mr. G. Eliot spent Saturday here. He is soon going to Leschenhault, upon the Governor's grant. The boys have lost all my cattle to-day at the hills, and I am rather uneasy, as a number of natives were seen about the neighbourhood during the day.
