Part 11 (2/2)

Up to this time we had always found food plentiful On our southward journey a particularly pleasant and convenient article of diet turned up (or fell down) in the form of the _maru_, as it is called, which collects on the leaves of trees during the night Both in its appearance and , this curious substance may be likened to the manna that fell in the wilderness for the benefit of the Israelites This _maru_ is a whitish substance, not unlike raw cotton in appearance The natives make bread of it; it is rather tasteless, but is very nutritious, and only obtained at certain times--for example, it never falls at the time of fullthis great southward journey hts I only wish I could trust ical order

We had several visitations of locusts; and on one occasion, so home, they settled upon the country around us so thickly as actually to e creek On several occasions I have had to dig through a living crust of these insects, six or eight inches thick, in order to reach water at a water-hole These locusts are of a yellowish-brown colour (th from two to four inches

As they rise in the air theysound; and they were often present in such myriads as actually to hide the face of the sun I found therilled on red-hot stones

Ya a fire with her ever-ready fire-stick, which no native woman is ever without; and while she looked after the supply of roots and opossuaroos Our shelter at night consisted hs, and we left the fire burning in front of this e turned in

When we had been fully threehappened, which to nised as a well-known Australian phenorass country, where there was not a tree to be seen foron the ground enjoying aon the horizon, and hailed its advent with the very greatest delight, inased rain--which is always so vitally important a visitation in the ”Never Never” We waited in anticipation until the cloud was right over our heads Then the deluge commenced, and to my unbounded a as whitebait were falling from the clouds_! When this wonderful rain-store pools of water were left on the surface of the ground, and most of these were fairly alive with fish

This surface-water, however, evaporated in the course of a few days, and then, as the blazing sun beat down upon the fish-covered country, we found the region growing quite intolerable on account of the awful stench

Talking of storms, I have seen it stated that the Australian natives are in a state of high glee whenever they hear thunder This is perfectly true, but I have never seen any explanation of this joy It is sies rain, which is always a blessing of great price in that thirsty country

I think this was the first time I had actually _seen_ it rain fish But I had often been surprised, to find water-holes, and even the pools in grassy plains, literally alive with fish a few days after a stor rapidity, provided the water did not evaporate

This was in the vicinity of hbourhood for so on a s ere provided with another dainty in the shape of a worm, which, when broiled over charcoal, had the flavour of a walnut

These worht of ten to twenty feet, and have bare trunks sur bunch of drooping bulrushes The worms were of a whitish colour, and were always found in the interior of a well- stem; so that all we had to do was to push the tree over with our feet and help ourselves

In the course of our wanderings we usually went fro a little tis With some tribes ould perhaps travel a little way south, and only part with them when they were about to strike northwards; and as their course was simply from water-hole to water-hole, as I have told you, it was always pretty erratic

CHAPTER XIII

My usual introduction--A serious entertainment--The power of the bow--Repulsive blacks--Mysterious spears--Waterless wastes--A battle with snakes--More prestige--Rubies throay--Quarrying extraordinary

Occasionally one of the tribes would display hostility towards us at first sight, but I generally races by the exercise of a little diploh,a whiteall their amazement for Bruno's bark and the white man's wonderful performances

Iacross a hostile tribe who fought shy of my friendly advances, I would, without cere into theira few soamins_ display for the benefit of easily-pleased excursionists This queer entertainhter, and set every one at his ease

I re surprised by the sudden appearance over the crest of a hillock of about twenty blacks, all well ar rather a forht of Yamba and myself they halted, whereupon I advanced and called out to the out my passport stick By the way, the efficacy of this talis to the tribes Yamba could make neither head nor tail of these people; they jabbered in a language quite unintelligible to either of us I then reverted to the inevitable sign language, giving theht or two; but they still continued to brandish their spears ominously Yamba presently whispered in my ear that we had better not trouble thenacious This was a very exceptional _rencontre_, because I usually induced the natives to sit down and parley with me, and then I would produceof little account, both I and Bruno would without a an with a few so after He knew his business, and went through his own repertoire with great energy and excite barks were probably involuntary, but they were a great help in astonishi+ng and i the natives

Even in this instance I was unwilling to retire defeated; so suddenly pulling out one oftwo notes, I co toand ferocious-looking blacks was quite hed uproariously at ed to wind up the entertainment with a few somersaults, which impressed them vastly

I had conquered When I had finished they advanced and greeted me most heartily, and from that moment ere friends I had completely done aith their enmity by my simple efforts to amuse them For the most part, this was my invariable experience The natives were the easiest people in the world to interest and a them in this way, they were our warmest friends This band of warriors took us back to their careat feast in s they had seen until far into the night The place where I met these blacks was a broken, stony, and hilly country, which, however, abounded in roots and snakes--especially snakes My hosts had evidently had a recent battue, or fire hunt, for they had a most extraordinary stock of food So co upto rest The expression ”hung up” may seem curious, so I hasten to explain that the natives tied up their spears in bunches and placed theht down a feks on the ith my bow and arrows, and then the a arrows in a straight line astonished the the his woo distance Not one of them, however, was able _to throw a spear upwards_, so I scored over even the most redoubtable chiefs It may be well to explain, that birds are always to be found hovering about a native caers, and their presence in the sky is always an indication that an encampment is somewhere in the vicinity These birds are especially on the spot when the blacks set fire to the bush and organise a big battue At such times the rats and lizards rush out into the open, and the hawks reap a fine harvest

My natives are referred to as ”blacks,” or ”black-fellows,” but they are not really _black_, their hue being rather a brown, ranging frohtness of a Malay I found the coast tribes lightest in hue, while the inland natives were verybeen on an to notice a total difference between the natives I e Gulf district The tribes I was now encountering daily were inferior in physique, and had inferior war implements; I do not remember that they had any shi+elds

The blacks I had whistled and jigged before were, perhaps, the ugliest of all the aborigines I had reat deal Thelittle more than five feet, with low foreheads and hideously repulsive features I noticed, however, that the animals they had for food seemed veryI was grateful to these people for was honey, which I urgently required for medicinal purposes They were very sorry e left them, and a small band of warriors accompanied us on our first day's nals being sent up to infor

Nevertheless, I gradually beca into a country where the greatest of our wonders could not save us from the hostility of the natives We presently encountered another tribe, who not only at first refused to accept our friendly overtures, but even threatened to attack us before I had time to consider another plan I tried the effect of my whistle, but even this failed in its effect; and to ive them an exhibition of my acrobatic powers they had hurled one or tar spears, which whizzed by unpleasantly close tothat vacillation st the care, however, to aim very low, so as not unduly to injure my opponents