I had often mentioned to the natives that the white people would give them axes, and bottles, and iron, for the little boy; I told them his relations were rich, and would be glad to give them a great deal if they would let them have him back.
The kind Murray Islander surprised and delighted at perceiving iron can be bent by fire.
See page [51].
The captain made signs for the natives to go nearer to the boat; for he stopped at some distance; but neither party would approach the other, and the boat soon after returned to the vessel. I was kept among the bushes all this time, by Dupper and his sons: but I could plainly see every thing that took place. The ship sailed next morning, and we were both left on the island. All my hopes of deliverance by means of this vessel, were thus put an end to.
This vessel’s sailing without me, made such an impression upon my mind, that for three or four days I could eat no food, and at length became extremely ill. I think at times I was light-headed, for I did not know what I was doing. When I got better, which was in about a week, the idea that I should end my days among the savages settled upon me, and I became quite melancholy.
My health after this began visibly to decline; and it grieved me to see William was also getting thin and sickly; for I had no remedy in case of illness. Nor did I ever see the natives make use of any thing either to prevent or cure diseases to which they are subject.
One morning, Dupper was trying to straighten a piece of an iron bolt, and was heating it very hard with a large piece of stone, without being able to make any impression upon it. I told him to make a large fire, and put the iron into it, which would soften it. He did so, and his astonishment was very great when he found it answer the purpose.
He was very much pleased with me for this discovery, and often told the other natives of it. Almost all of them had a piece of iron, obtained from the different wrecks which had happened on the island, or by trading with the Europeans; and we were after this frequently employed in straightening or altering the shape of these iron articles, as it might suit the various fancies of their owners.
After we had been about a year on Murray’s Island, Dupper told me that the natives intended to go on a trading voyage to Dowder, (this I afterwards learned was the name they called New Guinea,) and I was to be one of the party.
For this journey, twelve large canoes about sixty feet long, each containing from ten to sixteen persons, men, and women, and children, were prepared. As many shells as the natives could collect were put into the canoes, and we set sail. The natives of New Guinea wear these shells for ornaments; and in return for them, the Murray Islanders get canoes, bows and arrows and feathers.