It is very curious thus to see in the midst of a civilised people,
a set of harmless savages wandering about without knowing where
they shall sleep at night, and gaining their livelihood by hunting
in the woods. As the white man has travelled onwards, he has spread
over the country belonging to several tribes. These, although thus
enclosed by one common people, keep up their ancient distinctions,
and sometimes go to war with each other. In an engagement which
took place lately, the two parties most singularly chose the centre
of the village of Bathurst for the field of battle. This was of
service to the defeated side, for the runaway warriors took refuge
in the barracks.
The number of aborigines is rapidly decreasing. In my whole ride,
with the exception of some boys brought up by Englishmen, I saw
only one other party. This decrease, no doubt, must be partly owing
to the introduction of spirits, to European diseases (even the
milder ones of which, such as the measles, prove very destructive),
and to the gradual extinction of the wild animals. (19/1. It is
remarkable how the same disease is modified in different climates.
At the little island of St.
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