The Fire Takes The Place
Of Nightshirt, Pyjamas, Or Blanket - A Poor Substitute On A Cold Night!
Scattered About Were
Several utensils, two wooden coolimans full of water
and grass - this showing that the owners contemplated a journey, for the
Grass floating on the surface is used to prevent the water from spilling.
Two more coolimans were filled with seed - a fine yellow seed from a plant
like groundsel. Close by these were the flat stones (of granite,
evidently traded from tribe to tribe) used for grinding the seed. In the
spinifex wall were stuck numerous spears, varying from eight to ten feet
in length, straight, thin, and light, hardened by fire, fined down and
scraped to a sharp point. Near these was a gin's yam-stick - a stout stick
with a sharp, flat point on one end and charred at the other, used for
digging up roots, stirring the fire, or chastising a dog or child. They
serve, too, as a weapon of defence. Quaintest of all these articles were
the native "portmanteaus," that is to say, bundles of treasures rolled
up in bark, wound round and round with string - string made from human
hair or from that of dingoes and opossums. In these "portmanteaus" are
found carved sticks, pieces of quartz, red ochre, feathers, and a number
of odds and ends. Of several that were in this camp I took two - my
curiosity and desire to further knowledge of human beings, so unknown and
so interesting, overcame my honesty, and since the owners had retired so
rudely I could not barter with them. Without doubt the meat-tins and odds
and ends that we left behind us have more than repaid them. One of these
portmanteaus may be seen in the British Museum, the other I have still,
unopened.
Between the camp and the well, which we easily found, there ran a
well-beaten foot-pad, showing that this had been a favoured spot for some
time past. The well itself was situated in a belt of mulga-scrub, and
surrounded by a little patch of grass; growing near by, a few good camel
bushes, such as acacia and fern-tree (quondongs, by the way, were not
seen by us north of Alexander Spring, with the exception of one near
McPherson's Pillar); enclosing the scrub two parallel banks of sand and
stones, with the well in the valley between. Above the well, to the,
North, high anthills and tussocks of coarse grass appeared. The whole
oasis covered no more than three acres. The well itself resembled those
already described, and appeared to have a good supply, so much so that we
started at once to water the camels, which had had no drink since August
21st, a period of seventeen days, with the exception of two gallons
apiece at Warri Well, where the parakeelia grew.
By midnight all but three - Satan, Redleap, and Misery - had drunk as much
as they could hold. These three had to be content with a small amount,
for we could not get more without digging out the well, and this we
proceeded to do. The night was hot and cloudy, and constant puffs of wind
made work by the light of candles so impossible that we had perforce to
bear the extra heat of a blazing fire. The native well, as we found it,
had been scooped out with hand and cooliman, just large enough to allow
one to descend to a depth of fifteen feet, and the sides of the hole
plastered back with mud, which had baked hard. To follow this hole
further was not feasible, for going down on a slope as it did, any
further deepening would cause the sand to fall in; we had therefore to
start a new vertical shaft from the surface. After a considerable amount
of digging we reached water level, and were preparing to bail the water,
when with a thud the whole thing caved in, and our labour had to be
recommenced. At the time the wedge of ground fell in Godfrey was working
below and narrowly escaped being buried. A timely rope fortunately saved
him. I never saw a man come quicker out of a hole! Now we were a bit
puzzled. Our position was this: six camels were watered, three were not,
our tanks were empty (my fault, for I should have first filled them and
then the camels; but yet if we had water and the camels had none, would
we have been better off?); our well, containing X, an unknown quantity of
water, had fallen in. Query, whether to recommence digging, or to pack up
and follow the blacks? Now, the well might contain a good supply, or
yield no more than a gallon or two; and the blacks might or might not
have gone on to a good water. It was a puzzle. Finally we compromised,
and I sent Breaden and Warri to hunt up the tracks, whilst we started
work again. On one side of the well was rock, and by strengthening the
other by timber we hoped for success. Luckily plenty of good mulga trees
were handy, and we soon had the timber ready for use. This was the second
night without rest or food, and no more than a mouthful of water each,
for on arrival we had given what our tanks contained to the thirsty
camels.
By putting in crosspieces from side to side of the hole, which we soon
discovered to be an underground rock-hole, and by backing these with
twigs and grass, we managed to make the walls of sand secure, and at last
reached water level, and lost no time, as may well be imagined, in raising
a billyful and having the very best drink we had encountered for a long
time. At the moment almost Breaden and Warri returned, having done their
job admirably. They had followed the tracks to the next camp, away to the
North - a dry camp this - and, noticing the direction the blacks had taken,
returned home.
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