of the sailors had put a pot on the fire ready to dress some
fish, and when the water was boiling, some fish were put in; but
several natives, who were near, and who wished to have more fish
than had been given them, seeing the fish put into the pot, and
no person watching them, a native put his hand into the boiling
water to take the fish out, and was of course scalded, and
exceedingly astonished.

With respect to religion, we have not been able yet to
discover that they have any thing like an object of adoration;
neither the sun, moon, nor stars seem to take up, or occupy more
of their attention, than they do that of any other of the animals
which inhabit this immense country.

Their dead they certainly burn, of which I have been well
convinced lately, when employed on the survey of a distant branch
of Port Jackson. Some of my boat's crew having, when on shore,
discovered a little from the water-side, upon a rising ground,
what they judged to be a fresh grave, I went up and ordered it to
be opened; when the earth was removed, we found a quantity of
white ashes, which appeared to have been but a very short time
deposited there: among the ashes we found part of a human
jaw-bone, and a small piece of the scull, which, although it had
been in the fire, was not so much injured, as to prevent our
distinguishing perfectly what it was. We put the ashes together
again and covered it up as before; the grave was not six inches
under the surface of the ground, but the earth was raised the
height of our graves in Europe.

In the months of March and April, we found the natives to