Page:The Present State and Prospects of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales.djvu/193

consisting of that officer and four native troopers, tegether with Ward, and three other Europeans, went out to endeavour to find the grave of the child, and, if possible, to take prisoners the natives concerned in its abduction and murder. After proceeding for some time they found a lamb which had been but lately ripped from the womb of a ewe, which led them to the conclusion that sheep had been recently taken and destroyed by the natives. At a short distance further on they came upon a party of four native men, whom they attempted to secure. Three of them, however, got away by plunging into a thick tea-tree scrub which was near; the fourth took to an open swamp, pursued by a settler. After running for some time, with his spear shipped in his throwing-stick, this native availed himself of the opportunity of his pursuer's taking his eye off him (owing to a false step) to throw his spear, which narrowly missed taking effect, owing to a sufficient allowance not having been made for the alteration of pace consequent on the stumble. The settler then fired, and wounded the native in the hip with a ball—not so, however, as to disable him; for, upon the white man's attempting to close with him, he seized another spear, which he had dropped when he was wounded, and shipped it for throwing, when the other fired his second barrel, and shot him dead. In the basket which this native had with him was found, amongst other things, part of a very peculiar coat, made of lambskin, which a poor man of the name of Basset was in the habit of wearing. This Basset was an old shepherd, who, being a provident man, had saved a great