Part 4 (1/2)

I saw very little of Gunda fro I feel sure that the fact of his having seen sodistance--to say nothing about bringing back so wonderful a creature as reat man indeed in the estimation of his friends; and in consequence of this so much honour was paid hilected his faithful wife

Everywhere I went the natives were absolutely overwhel in their hospitality, and presents of food of all kinds were fairly showered upon aroo and opossum meat, rats, snakes, tree-worms, fish, &c, which were always left outside ht to mention, was a very pleasant dish indeed, but as there was no salt forthco, and the flesh was very tasteless, I cannot say I enjoyed this particular native dainty The snakes were invariably baked whole in their skins, and the h a little insipid as to flavour The nativeis to scoop out a hole in the sand with the hands, and then place the article to be cooked at the bottom Some loose stones would then be thrown over the ”joint” Next would come a layer of sand, and the fire was built on the top of all Rats were always plentiful--often so e brown variety, and were not at all bad eating I may say here that the wo of the rats, theto poke in their holes with sticks, and then kill them as they rushed out The wos They were their masters' dressers, so to speak, in that they were required to carry supplies of the greasy clay or earth hich the blacks anoint their bodies to ward off the sun's rays and insect bites; and beside this, woe betide the wives if _corroboree_ timents for the decoration of their masters' bodies One of the principal duties of the women-folk, however, was the provision of roots for the fa these necessaries--besides fine yams--were the root and bud of a kind of water- lily, which when roasted tasted not unlike a sweet potato

There was usually a good water supply in the neighbourhood of these camps, and if it failed (as it very frequently did), the whole tribe simply moved its quarters elsewhere--perhaps a hundredwater, however, was nothing short ofdown to the seashore to look for fresh water, yet they often showedup out of the sand on the beach after the tide had receded

All this ti it contained were saved from molestation and theft by a curious device on the part of Yamba She simply placed a couple of crossed sticks on the sand near the bows, this being evidently a kind of Masonic sign to all beholders that they were to respect the property of the stranger a theht have remained there until they fell to pieces before any one of those cannibal blacks would have dreaed to est that I should stay with thes I possessed, and the occult powers I was supposed to be gifted with A day or two aftere! I was standing near nificent naked chiefs, decked with gaudy pig between the appearance

The three were followed by an immense crowd of natives, and ithin a few feet of me, when they halted suddenly One of the chiefs then stepped out and offeredknob at one end, which ugly weapon was known as a ”waddy” As he presented this club the chief ns that I was to knock the maiden on the head with it Now, on this I confess I was struck with horror and dis what Yamba had told iven in ht have to lead off with the first irl Of course, I reflected they had brought the helpless victier, to kill with my own hands At that critical moment, however, I resolved to be absolutely firm, even if it cost me my life

While I hesitated, the chief re out the atively, as though unable to understand why I did not avail myself of his offer Still more extraordinary, the crowd behind observed a soleirl; to enerally--a poor, merry little creature, not ue the chiefs, and as a prelin to sit down and parley

They did so, but did not seem pleased at what they doubtless considered an unlooked-for hitch in an interesting cereuttural utterances, I gave the whatever to do with the horrid orgy they conteuely, I went on to say, had revealed toto kill any one in cold blood, and still more loathsome and horrible to eat the flesh of a murdered fellow-creature I was very much in earnest, and I waited with nervous trepidation to see the effect of e of my astonishment when not only the chiefs, but the whole ”nation” assehter

Then came Yamba to the rescue Ah! noble and devoted creature! The barewith love and wonder

Greater love than hers no creature ever knew, and not once but a thousand times did she save my wretched life at the risk of her own

Well, Ya radually co inher to me as a wife_, and that I was merely expected to tap her on the head with the stick, in token of her subjection to her new spouse! In short, this blow on the head was the legal nity as far as possible, and proceeded to carry out ht-eyed girl on the head, and she immediately fell prostrate at my feet, in token of her wifely subently, and all the people ca weird cries of satisfaction and delight Oddly enough, Ya any jealousy, sees, and after everything was over she led my neife away to the little ”humpy,” or hut, that had been built for ht an indescribably weird _corroboree_ was held ine the i in my honour by the native bards I am afraid I felt utterly lost without Yaht hand

By this tilish, and was so s by sheer intuition or instinct I think she never let a day go by without favourably i me, my prowess and my powers; and without her help I si and weary years, nor should I ever have returned to civilisation

The very next day after htened as to the manners and customs of the natives, I waited upon Gunda, and cale wives This suggestion he received with a kind of subdued satisfaction, or holy joy, and very few further negotiations were needed to make the transaction complete; and, be it said, it was an every-day transaction, perfectly legal and recognised by all the clans Yaour and resource, while the only phrase that fitly describes her bush lore is absolutely miraculous This will be evinced in a hundred extraordinary instances in this narrative

But you , Bruno? Well, I am thankful to say, he was still withtis; he particularly objected to associating with the miserable pariah curs that prowled about the encampment They would take sly bites out of hi, but on the whole, he ell able to hold his own, being much more powerful than they

I settled down to my new life in the course of a few days, but I need hardly reer than I could help This was my plan I would, first of all, make myself acquainted with the habits and customs of the blacks, and pick up as e of the country as it was possible to acquire, in case I should have to travel inland in search of civilisation instead of oversea I knew that it would be folly on ions without knowing raphy of the country and its people There was always, however, the hope that soet away by sea invessel The blacks told me they had seenI was astir by sunrise, and--hope springing eternal--at once searched for the faintest indication of a passing sail Next I would bathe in a lagoon protected fro one out searching for roots for breakfast, and she seldom returned without a supply of my favourite water- lily buds already mentioned Often, in the years that followed, did that heroic creature _tras of saline herbs She had heard e to say, was never used by the natives; and even when I gave them some as an experi in, by way of seasoning, a kind of sa_, which, when roasted, made a very acceptable addition to our limited fare The natives theht and nine o'clock, and then an enormous feast in the late afternoon Their ordinary food consisted of kangaroo, e a wor trunk

These worrilled on hot stones, and eaten several at a time like small whitebait I often ate them myself, and found them o out hunting roots and snaring same for the afternoonexpeditions, or aenerally left to their own devices in the camp, and the principal a of reed spears at one another The wo up with ya) in nets y bark, or strong pliable reeds, slung on their all-enduring backs They generally returned heavily laden between two and three in the afternoon I always knew the time pretty accurately by the sun, but I lost count of the days

The months, however, I always reckoned by the moon, and for each year I made a notch on the inside of my bow

My own food was usually wrapped in pal placed in the sand oven Of course the leaves always burned, but they kept the able as always exercising her ingenuity to provide me with fresh dainties In addition to the ordinary fare of the natives, I frequently had wild ducks and turkeys, and--as perhaps the greatest luxury of all--eggs, which the natives sent for specially oncountry, and also to the islands of the coast where white cockatoos reared their young in rocky cliffs

At the tie of Australian geography, so that I was utterly at a loss as to my position I afterwards learnt, however, that Yae Gulf, on the NNW coast of the Australian continent, and that the central point of our caround at this time was near the mouth of the Victoria River, which flows into Queen's Channel

Al the blacks would hold a stately _corroboree_, singing and chanting; the burden of their song being als, and nified in the ant manner Besides the _corroboree_ they also would asse prayers, which consisted of a poetical recital of the events of the day I ought to mention that at first I did not accompany the men on their excursions abroad, because I was far froe; and further or in bush lore Therefore, fearful of exciting ridicule, I decided to rerounded in everything there was to be learned

Supposing, for exaone out with the blacks, and had to confessseveral endered conteer was found to be full of the frailties of the ordinary one, and then life would probably beco I did I had to excel in, and it was absolutely necessary that I should be perpetually ”astonishi+ng the natives,” in the ly, for the next feeeks, I used to acco expeditions, and from them I picked up much valuable inforreatest institution known to the blacks, who, obliged to do no real work, as we understand it, simply had to pass the time somehow; and there can be no doubt that, were it not for the constant feuds and consequent incessant wars, the race would greatly deteriorate The _corroboree_ after a successful battle commenced with a cannibal feast off the bodies of fallen foes, and it would be kept up for several days on end, the braves lying down to sleep near the fire towardsthe festivities about noon next day The chiefs on these occasions decked theeous cockatoo feathers, and painted their bodies with red and yellow ochre and other glaring pigand preparing for the cere-men would dance or squat round the fires and chantof all their own achievehts they had seen in their travels