This is singularly analogous to what occurred on our encounter with them on the 11th February. Dr. Duncan continues: When one dies or is killed they bury the body in the earth, but at the end of five days dig it up again and wrap up the bones, etc., in bark of trees, and carry them along with them. When the women fight, which is very often, they use a short kind of club. The natives paint their bodies over with red clay to prevent the mosquitoes from biting them. When they paint their bodies white it is a sign of war with some other tribe. ... A very remarkable instance of coincidence in this custom with regard to the dead will be found in a subjoined extract from a letter sent to me by an officer of the Beagle, together with a skeleton which he had found at Cygnet Bay. The skeleton has been presented to the Royal College of Surgeons: The skeleton was found enveloped in three pieces of papyrus bark, on a small sandy point in Cygnet Bay. All the bones were closely packed together, and the head surmounted the whole. It did not appear to have been long interred. They had evidently been packed with care. All the long bones were undermost, and the small ones were strewed in among them. The head was resting on its base, face across. Three natives were close to the place when we first landed: the eldest of the party went up to the spot immediately after I had removed the bones; he turned up the bark with his foot, and did not appear to show the slightest symptom of uneasiness. They were for some days among the watering party on very friendly terms. ... CAVES. DRAWINGS. TOMBS. As I never, during my subsequent travels in Australia, saw anything at all resembling the painted caves which I have described in the ninth chapter, I shall here add some observations on the subject, which I could not have there detailed without too great an interruption to the narrative. Two other instances of Australian caves which contain paintings have been recorded. The first is by Captain Flinders and the second by Mr. Cunningham in King's voyage. PAINTINGS AT CHASM ISLAND. The caves found by Flinders were in Chasm Island, in the Gulf of Carpentaria, and are thus described:* In the steep sides of the chasms were deep holes or caverns undermining the cliffs; upon the walls of which I found rude drawings, made with charcoal, and something like red paint, upon the white ground of the rock. These drawings represented porpoises, turtles, kangaroos, and a human hand; and Mr. Westall, who went afterwards to see them, found the representation of a kangaroo, with a file of thirty-two persons following after it. The third person of the band was twice the height of the others, and held in his hand something resembling the waddy or wooden sword of the natives of Port Jackson. (*Footnote. Flinders' Voyages volume 2 page 158.) ... PAINTINGS AT CLACK'S ISLAND.* (*Footnote. North-east coast of Australia.)