OUR next day was a repetition of the last; camps in abundance, but no
blacks, and we had as yet seen no signs of the Townsville party. At night
we camped by the side of a large creek, and, after supper, were lying down,
with the intention of making up for the broken slumbers of the previous
night, when Ferdinand, who had moved higher up the stream to get a private
eel for himself and his lady, came back and shook Dunmore, saying -
"Many big fellow fire sit down up creek."
We were on our feet in a moment, and, stealing quietly through the bush,
soon saw the glare, and on our nearer approach, could make out many
recumbent figures round the fire, and one man passing to and fro, on guard.
"By Jove! it's the Cleveland Bay mob," said Dunmore; "we must take care
they don't fire into us. Lie down, or get behind trees, all you fellows,
and I'll hail them."
"Holloa there!" he cried, when we had all "planted" (in Australian parlance
signifying "concealed") ourselves. "Don't fire, we're Cardwellites!"
In a moment the sentry's rifle was at his shoulder, pointed in the
direction whence the voice came; but it was my old friend Abiram Hills,
ex-mayor of Bowen, a thorough bushman, and possessed of great nerve, whose
turn it then happened to be to keep watch over his slumbering companions.
As quickly as it had been raised, his rifle fell into the hollow of his
arm, and shouting out, "Get up, you fellows, here are the Rockingham
Bayers!" he rushed forward, and in a moment was shaking hands with Dunmore,
while the sleepers, uncertain whether it was an alarm, stood rubbing their
eyes, and handling their carbines so ominously as they peered into the
darkness, that we deemed it the best policy to remain under cover until
their faculties had grasped the fact that we were not enemies, and as such
to be slain incontinently.
It is a startling thing to be hailed suddenly in the silence of the bush,
and had a less experienced sentry than Abiram been on guard, he would most
likely have fired. We had also before our eyes the case of a party who not
long before had gone out to chastise the blacks, and having split into two
divisions, opened a brisk fire upon each other when they drew near again,
luckily without effect. Some of these warriors we knew to be amongst
ourselves, so it behoved us to exercise caution.
Our greeting was most cordial, and we were soon all assembled round the
fire - now blazing up with fresh fuel - smoking the pipe of peace, which
we moistened with a modicum of grog from the well-filled flasks of the
Cleveland Bayers, and comparing notes, previous to making our plans for the
morrow. Like ourselves, they had found plenty of camps, but not a living
creature in them; and they were as perplexed as we were as to what had
become of their occupants. On their way up from Townsville, they had seen
smoke-signals thrown up from the mangroves at the mouth of the Herbert
River, and these were answered both from the range behind Cardwell, and
from Hinchinbrook, so it was evident there were blacks on the island,
though most likely concealed in some of the hidden valleys, which, from the
volcanic nature of the country, were so plentiful, and so difficult to find.
Lizzie was now brought forward, and subjected to a most rigid
cross-examination, with which I will not trouble the reader. She said that
they must have crossed over to the main-land, for every place had now been
searched. We were in despair, when Abiram Hills said -
"Baal bora ground been sit down along of Hinchinbrook, Lizzie?"
A "bora ground" is a particular place to which the blacks are in the habit
of resorting at certain seasons of the year, to hold "corroborries" or
dances, and also to perform divers mysterious rites on the young people of
both sexes attaining the marriageable age. What these solemnities really
are, is but little known, and they seem to differ widely in each tribe. In
some, the young girls have a couple of front teeth knocked out; in others
they lose a joint of the little finger; and at that time the hideous lumps
with which the men embellish their bodies must be raised. These curious
ornaments are formed by cutting gashes in the flesh three-quarters of an
inch long, and stuffing the wound with mud, which prevents the edges from
adhering, and when the skin grows over, leaves a lump like an almond. The
number, proximity, and pattern of these adornments are according to the
peculiar tastes of the family, and vary considerably, but the breast, back,
shoulders, and arms are usually pretty thickly sown, giving the appearance
of a number of fresh graves, placed close together in a black soil field.
[ILLUSTRATION - "NATIVE AUSTRALIAN."]
Abiram's question was one of those lucky inspirations that sometimes strike
one, changing, as by magic, obscurity into distinctness, and pouring in a
flood of light where no ray could be seen before.
"My word!" - cried Lizzie, her whole face lighting up with eagerness and
joy - "my word, close up mine been forget. Mine know one fellow bora
ground, plenty black fellow sit down there, mine believe. My word, plenty
d - d fooly me!"
We could see from the girl's face that we were now on the right scent, and
having ascertained that she could take us to the "bora ground" by the
following evening, we finished our pipes, and lay down to sleep, thankful
for what promised a possible solution of the mystery.
The Cleveland Bay party consisted of seven white men and two black boys, so
we now mustered a strong force. Lizzie would hardly allow us time to
swallow our breakfast, so impatient was she to be under weigh; and one
wretched man, lingering for a moment later than the rest of us, over a
slice of beef and damper, found himself the object of general attention,
when our little guide stamped her foot, and, trembling with indignation,
said -
"Plenty big bingey (belly) that fellow.
