Part 6 (1/2)
Our catamaran, of course, afforded no shelter of any kind, but we carried so
At length we pushed off on our eventful voyage, and no sooner had we got fairly into the current than ere carried along with prodigious rapidity, and without the least exertion on our part, except in theThis was done by means of paddles froress that I felt inclined to go on all night, but shortly after dusk Yamba persuaded , because of the danger of travelling at night ae that floated about on the surface of the water
We passed any nued trees, and on several of these found snakes coiled aht and ate About the middle of the second day we heard a treh there were rapids in the bed of the river It was now impossible to pull the cataht have striven, the current being absolutely irresistible The banks narrowed as the rapids were reached, with the result that the water in the middle actually becae Yamba cried out to htly as I could until we reached s hold of the dog also
Nearer and nearer ere swept to the great seething caldron of boiling and foa waters, and at last, with a tre coreat was the force of the water, that had I not been clinging tenaciously to the catamaran I must infallibly have been swept away to certain death Presently, however, we shot into less troubled waters and then continued our course, very little the worse for having braved these terrible rapids Had our craft been a dug-out boat, as I originally intended it to be, we ain we caht, and were off at an early hour next lided swiftly on, I noticed that the river see tre into very flat country, and therefore the great stretch of water was a mere flood She also prophesied a rather bad tiht and replenish our stock of provisions Fortunately we had a sufficient supply with us on the cataer The last time we landed Yamba had stocked an additional quantity of edible roots and sh we lost a considerable portion of these in shooting the rapids, there still reh for a few days' supply
In consequence of the ever-increasing width of the river, I found it a difficult ave up the steering paddle to Yamba, who seemed instinctively to knohat course to take
On and on ent, until at length the whole country as far as the eye could reach was one vast sea, extending virtually to the horizon; its sluggish surface only broken by the tops of the subhted a number of little islets so the mouth of the river The last day or two had been full of anxiety and inconvenience for us, for we had been si able to land and stretch our craht of the islands was a great relief to us, and my ever-faithful and considerate co to fear now, and I eary with et a little sleep
Accordingly I lay down on the catamaran, and had barely extended my limbs when I fell fast asleep I awoke two or three hours later, at mid-day, and was surprised to find that our cata I raisedthe tops of a ring of trees rising froed island ”Halloa!” I said to Yamba, ”are we stuck?” ”No,” she replied quietly, ”but look round”
You e ofof tree-tops, scores of huge alligators peering at us with horrid stolidity through the branches, so their capacious jaith a viciousness that left no doubt as to its ed to take refuge in this peculiar but convenient shelter, because the alligators see in vast numbers in that part of the river She had easily forced a way for the cataether again The ferocious monsters could certainly have forced their way into the inclosure after us, but they didn't see quite content to ree, then, our position for yourself--with a scanty food supply, on a frail platfored by crowds of loathso our i, too, was terribly frightened, and sat whining and tre words and caresses from Yamba and myself I confess that I was very much alarmed, for the monsters would occasionally e sound--not unlike the roar of a lion
Hour after hour we sat there on the swaying cataht leave us, and let us continue our journey in peace As darkness began to descend upon the vast waste of waters, it occurred to ers, but Ya antlet under such fearsoht came on How can I describe its horrors? Even as I write, I seem to hear the ceaseless roars of those horrible creatures, and the weird but gentle lappings of the limitless waste that extended as far as the eye could reach Often I was te that there was no hope whatever for us Towards ot on the scent of soht down by the floods, and one and all left us Soone under, the cataain
We ht for a little island some distance ahead of us, and found it uninhabited Black and white birds, not quite so large as pigeons, were very plentiful, as also were eggs Soon my Yamba had a nice meal ready for me, and then we lay down for a e island some nine or ten miles distant, and as we approached we could see that this one _was_ inhabited, froht sight of us
As we ca on the beach toany friendliness, they held their spears poised threateningly, and would no doubt have thrown thens that I wished to sit doith them--to parley with thereat disappointment neither Yae, which was totally different fro was conducted in the usual way--squatting down on our haunches, and then drawing nearer and nearer until ere able to rub noses on one another's shoulders I then explained by ns that I wanted to stay with them a few days, and I was inexpressibly relieved to find that my little passport stick (which never left nised at once, and proved enerally After this I becans that I was looking for white people like o still farther south to find them They took us to their ca mainly of fish, shell-fish, and roots So far as I could ascertain, there were no kangaroo or opossuht it ti convinced that I must be in the vicinity of the Cape York Peninsula--instead of being on the west coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria--I decided not to go south at all, but to strike due north, where I felt certain Somerset Point lay; and I also resolved to travel by sea this ti presentedbehind us the cataht us so many hundreds ofcare, however, never to lose sight of the coast-line on account of our frail craft We passed several beautiful islands, big and little, and on one that we landed I cas on the face of the rock They depicted rude figures of men--I don't remember any anis I had seen in caves up in the Cape Londonderry district
We also landed from time to time on the mainland, and spoke with the chiefs of various tribes They were all hostile at first On one occasion we actually lish They had evidently been out with pearlers at some time in their lives, but had returned to their native wilds many years before our visit I asked them if they knehere white men were to be found, and they pointed east (Cape York), and also indicated that the whites were lance at a reat blunder
Ignorant al the western shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria, that I had struck the Coral Sea, and that all I had to do was to strike north to reach Somerset, the white settlement I had heard about from the pearlers I felt so confident Cape York lay immediately to the north, that I continuedin-shore to caht We lived s at this tiether life became terribly weariso tothe mouth of the Roper River we came to a place which I no to be Point Dale We then steered south into a beautiful landlocked passage which lies between the mainland and Elcho Island, and which at the ti between Albany Island and Cape York I steered south-west in consequence; and after a tiht the points I was on the look-out for, I felt completely nonplused We landed on Elcho Island and spent a day or two there Being still under the iher up, I steered west, and soon found ion We explored almost every bay and inlet we ca result
So stranded on a sandbank, and would have to jump overboard and push our craft into deeper water At others, she would be alh sea, but still we stuck to our task, and after passing Goulbourn Island we followed the coast Then we struck north until we got aoes direct north and south Day after day we kept doggedly on, hugging the shore very closely, going in and out of every bay, and visiting al We were apparently still many hundreds of miles away from our destination
To add to the wretchedness of the situation, my poor Yamba, who had been so devoted, so hardy, and so contented, at length began to ently of the weariness of it all
”You are looking,” she would say, ”for a place that does not exist You are looking for friends of whose very existence you are unaware” I would not give in, however, and persuaded her that all would be well in time, if only she would continue to bear with me Both of us were terribly cramped in the boat; and by way of exercise one or the other would occasionally ju swi, shortly after we had begun our usual trip for the day, and were rounding a headland, I was almost stupefied to behold in front of me the masts of a boat (which I afterwards found to be a Malay proa), close in-shore The situation, in reality, was between Croker's Island and the th reached Soreatest excitement ”Thank God!
thank God!” I shouted to Yamba; ”we are saved at last!--saved--saved--saved!” As I shouted, I pulled the canoe round and made for the vessel with all possible despatch We very soon came up with her, and found her almost stranded, in consequence of the lowness of the tide I proht this rather strange, but as I could see a hut not very far away, close to the beach, I steered towards it This little dwelling, too, was uninhabited, though I found a nu about, which afterwards I found to be _beche-de- dried and s the interior of the hut, a number of Malays unexpectedly appeared on the scene, and I then realised I had had the good fortune to come across a Malay _beche-de-ly surprised at seeing Yae a little they evinced every sign of delight, and forthwith entertained us most hospitably on board their craft, which was a boat of ten or fifteen tons They told me they had come from the Dutch islands south of Ti wildly They said they were prepared to take , if I wished; and I, on ive them all the pearl shells left on my little island in the Sea of Tie--on condition that they called there They even offered Ya with me; but, to my amazeo with theh with fear She was afraid that when once ere on board, the Malays would kill me and keep her
One other reason for this fear I knew, but it in no way ed to decline ould probably beto civilisation For this I had pined day and night for four or five years, and now that escape ithin ed to throw it away For let me emphatically state, that even if civilisation had been but a one a yard towards it without that devoted creature who had been my salvation, not on one occasion only, but practically every erness I tried to persuade Yae her mind, but she re with bitter regret, and in a state of utter collapse, I had to decline the offer of the Malays We stayed with theth they accooons, a little way farther south of their own camp Before they left, they presented s, which make most excellent soup At the place indicated by the Malays, which was in Raffles Bay, the chief spoke quite excellent English One of his wives could even say the Lord's Prayer in English, though, of course, she did not knohat she was talking about ”Captain Jack Davis,” as he called himself, had been for some little time on one of her Majesty's shi+ps, and he told me that not many marches away there was an old European settleo He first led me to an old white settleton, where I found sooes There were, besides, raspberries, strawberries, and Cape gooseberries Needless to remark, all this etting near the hoht that, after all, perhaps Yao with the Malays was for the best, and with high hopes I set out with Captain Davis for another settleton, which we reached in two or three days Another cruel bloas dealt nant dis place of swah there were still a nuardens, and orchards there The blacks told me that at one time it had been one of the most important penal settlements in Australia, but had to be abandoned on account of the prevalence of hbourhood I caraves, which were evidently those of the exiled settlers; and one of the wooden headstones bore the name of Captain Hill (I think that was the name) I have an idea that the fence round this old cemetery still remained There was food in abundance at this place--raspberries, bananas, and rew in profusion; whilst the eese, ducks, white ibis, and other wild-fowl Indeed in the swaious numbers as actually to obscure the face of the sun Here for the first time I saeb-footed birds perched in trees
The blacks had a very peculiar h the reeds into the water almost up to their necks, and then cover their heads with a handful of reeds Re perfectly still, they would imitate the cry of different wild-fowl Then at a convenient opportunity, they would si it down under the water until it was drowned The nule black felloas truly astonishi+ng
After having reton itself, we returned to Raffles Bay, where Ya the blacks and took up our residence a them; for Captain Davis had told me that shi+ps called there occasionally, and it was possible that one ht call soon from Port Darwin The vessels, he added, came for buffalothese people some little time, because they knew so e which would prove useful to hastly discovery--Pitiful relics--A critical ns of civilisation--The great storlee--A dreadful shock--”Welcome home!”--My official protectors--Myself as a cannibal war chief--Preparations for battle--A weird apparition--Generosity to the vanquished--The old desire
I had not been established in this camp many days, however, before I was struck down, for the first time, with a terrible attack of malarial fever, probably produced by the ton There were the usual sys and fever heats, followed by violent fits of shi+vering, which no aate My faithful Yamba was terribly distressed at my condition, and waited upon me with most tender devotion; but in spite of all that could be done for radually weaker, until in the course of a few days I becaood to me, and doctored me, in their quaint native ith certain leaves and powders All to no purpose, however; and for several days I was even unable to recognise my Yamba Then the fever subsided somewhat, and I was left as weak and helpless as a little child
It was some time before I quite recovered fro fits of shi+vering I also experienced an overwhel desire for a drink of milk; why, I am unable to say
Therefore, when some of the blacks told hbourhood--beasts which had fored to settlers, but were now run wild--I resolved, when sufficiently strong, to try and capture one of the cows for the sake of its milk Captain Davis ridiculed the idea, and assured me that it was only possible to slay one with a rifle; but I determined to see what I could do