Paida, who with other native allies of ours still remained with us, was very urgent for us to be off, telling me that spears would be thrown immediately (kaibu kalaka muro); being a kotaig of mine, he considered himself bound to attend to my safety, so conducted me to the boat which he assisted in shoving off, nor did he retire from the beach until we had got into deep water.
NEARLY QUARREL WITH THEM.
I have alluded to this occurrence, trivial as it may appear, not without an object.

It serves as an illustration of the policy of respecting the known customs of the Australian race, even in apparently trifling matters, at least during the early period of intercourse with a tribe, and shows how a little want of judgment in the director of our party caused the most friendly intentions to be misconstrued, and might have led to fatal results.
OBSERVATIONS ON CAUSE OF OFFENCE.
I must confess that I should have considered any injury sustained on our side to have been most richly merited; moreover, I am convinced that some at least of the collisions which have taken place in Australia, between the first European visitors and the natives of any given district, have originated in causes of offence brought on by the indiscretion of one or more of the party, and revenged on others who were innocent.

As a memorable instance I may give that which happened during Leichhardt's overland journey to Port Essington, when his camp was attacked one evening, and Mr.Gilbert lost his life.

Long afterwards the undoubted cause of this apparently unaccountable attack transpired in the acknowledgment, while intoxicated, by one of the persons concerned, that a gross outrage had been committed upon an aboriginal woman a day or two previously, by the two blacks belonging to the expedition.
One day I witnessed a native fight, which may be described here, as such occurrences, although frequent enough in Australia, have by Europeans been witnessed only in the settled districts.

It was one of those smaller fights, or usual modes of settling a quarrel when more than two people are concerned, and assumed quite the character of a duel upon a large scale.