A Well-Beaten
Foot-Path Of The Natives Went Down The Creek To The South-East.
My
latitude, according to an observation of Castor, was 12 degrees 11
minutes.
We saw the Torres Strait pigeon; a Wallooroo and a red kangaroo
(Osphranter Antilopinus, GOULD). The old camps of the natives, which we
passed in the forest, were strewed with the shells of goose eggs, which
showed what an important article these birds formed in the culinary
department of the natives; and, whilst their meat and eggs served them
for food, their feathers afforded them a protection against the flies
which swarmed round their bodies during the day.
The arborescent Vitex with ternate leaves, which I had first met with at
the Flying-Fox Creek of the Roper, was also observed here.
At this time we were all sadly distressed with boils, and with a prickly
heat; early lancing of the former saved much pain: the cuts and sores on
the hands festered quickly; but this depended much more on the want of
cleanliness than any thing else. A most dangerous enemy grew up amongst
us in the irresistible impatience to come to the end of our journey; and
I cannot help considering it a great blessing that we did not meet with
natives who knew the settlement of Port Essington at an earlier part of
our journey, or I am afraid we should have been exposed to the greatest
misery, if not destruction, by an inconsiderate, thoughtless desire of
pushing onward.
Dec. 8. - I went to the westward, to avoid the rocky ground, and if
possible to come into the valley of the East Alligator River, if the
country should not open and allow me a passage to the northward, which
direction I took whenever the nature of the country permitted. After
crossing the heads of several easterly creeks, we came upon a large
foot-path of the natives, which I determined to follow. It was, in all
probability, the same which went down the creek on which we had encamped
last night: it descended through a narrow rocky gully, down which I found
great difficulty in bringing the horses; and afterwards wound through a
fine forest land, avoiding the rocky hills, and touching the heads of
westerly creeks, which were well supplied with rocky basins of water. It
then followed a creek down into swampy lagoons, which joined the broad
irregular sandy bed of a river containing large pools and reaches of
water, lined with Pandanus and drooping tea-trees. This river came from
the eastward, and was probably the principal branch of the East Alligator
River, which joined the salt-water branch we had crossed in latitude
about 12 degrees 6 minutes. We met another foot-path at its northern
bank, which led us between the river and ranges of rocky hills, over a
country abounding with the scarlet Eugenia, of which we made a rich
harvest. We encamped at a fine lagoon, occupied, as usual, with geese and
ducks, and teeming with large fish, which were splashing about during the
whole night. The situation of these lagoons was, by an observation of
Castor, in lat. 12 degrees 6 minutes 2 seconds; and about nine miles
north-west from our last camp.
Immediately after our arrival, Brown went to shoot some geese, and met
with two natives who were cooking some roots, but they withdrew in great
haste as soon as they saw him. Soon afterwards, however, a great number
of them came to the opposite side of the lagoon, and requested a parley.
I went down to them with some presents, and a young man came over in a
canoe to met me. I gave him a tin canister, and was agreeably surprised
to find that the stock of English words increased considerably; that very
few things we had were new to him, and that he himself had been at the
settlement. His name was "Bilge." He called me Commandant, and presented
several old men to me under the same title. Several natives joined us,
either using the canoe, or swimming across the lagoon, and, after having
been duly introduced to me, I took four of them to the camp, where they
examined everything with great intelligence, without expressing the least
desire of possessing it. They were the most confiding, intelligent,
inquisitive natives I had ever met before. Bilge himself took me by the
hand and went to the different horses, and to the bullock and asked their
names and who rode them. The natives had always been very curious to know
the names of our horses, and repeated "Jim Crow," "Flourbag," "Caleb,"
"Irongrey," as well as they could, with the greatest merriment. Bilge
frequently mentioned "Devil devil," in referring to the bullock, and I
think he alluded to the wild buffaloes, the tracks of which we soon
afterwards saw. We asked him for "Allamurr;" and they expressed their
readiness to bring it, as soon as the children and women, who both went
under the denomination of Piccaninies, returned to the camp. The day
being far advanced, and their camp a good way off, they left us, after
inviting us to accompany them: but this I declined. About 10 o'clock at
night, three lads came to us with Allamurr; but they were very near
suffering for their kindness and confidence, as the alarm of
"blackfellows" at night was a call to immediate and desperate defence.
Suspecting, however, the true cause of this untimely visit, I walked up
to them, and led them into the camp, where I divided their Allamurr
between us; allowing them a place of honour on a tarpauling near me for
the remainder of the night, with which attention they appeared highly
pleased. The night was clear and dewy, but became cloudy with the setting
of the moon.
Dec. 9. - The natives came to our camp at break of day, and Bilge
introduced several old warriors of a different tribe, adding always the
number of piccaninies that each of them had; they appeared very
particular about the latter, and one of the gentlemen corrected Bilge
very seriously when he mentioned only two instead of three.
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