We Were Also Disappointed In Not Finding Any Blacks;
But As There Is Nothing So Bad That It Has Not Some Redeeming Quality, So
This Dreary-Looking Swamp Had Its Advantages, For The Trees Were Loaded
With Torres Straits' Pigeons, And Sea-Crabs Were Abundant.
This would
enable us to lay in an extra day's provisions, and to extend our search, if
necessary, before visiting the 'Daylight', from which vessel we were now
separated by more than twenty miles of unknown country, inclusive of a
mountainous range.
We determined not to shoot any pigeons that night, for
they would only keep the less time; and having lit our fire by the side of
a small creek, we had supper, and were soon sleeping the sleep of the
weary, the watch having instructions to call us at an early hour for the
purpose of replenishing our larder before the birds took their departure
for the mainland.
A pint pot of tea swallowed - what a blessing it is that this glorious
beverage is so portable that abundance can always be carried - three of us
sallied forth with our carbines, from which we had extracted the bullets
and substituted shot, each taking a different direction, the troopers
guaranteeing a crab breakfast, and Lizzie cutting and peeling wooden
skewers to roast the game on; for in this climate nothing will keep beyond
a few hours, unless partially cooked. I struck away towards the left with
the intention of making the mangroves as soon as possible, where I knew I
should find plenty of birds. The walk of the day previous had made me a
little stiff; but I felt lightly clad, without the heavy blanket, which I
had left in camp; and, by way of getting rid of the stiffness, I started
off at a run and soon reached my destination, where I sat down until there
was sufficient daylight to enable me to see the game. As I rested on the
root of a tree, perfectly motionless, I saw something large moving among
the mangroves; but the dawn was as yet so uncertain that I could not
distinguish whether it was a human being or not.
"If that is a black fellow," I thought, "he's worth all the pigeons put
together, and I'll wait quietly to try and capture him," for the object I
saw was moving in the direction my companions had taken; and if it were a
native, he would be certain to return by the road he had come, when he
heard the firing. Sitting still, waiting for anything or anybody, when
waited on yourself by hungry mosquitoes, may be agreeable enough to Mr.
Fenimore Cooper's typical Red Indian, but I can safely say that it is
anything but pleasant work to a thin-skinned Englishman. Daylight had now
fully come, and I was beginning to hesitate as to whether I had not better
bag some of the birds that were fluttering over my head, and get out of the
swamp as fast as I could, when I heard the distant report of a gun, and
said to myself, "Well, I'll give the nondescript five minutes more, and if
it doesn't turn up by then, I'll blaze away at the pigeons." Half the
allotted time had barely elapsed, when another report broke the stillness
of the morning, and immediately afterwards I heard a rustling among the
mangrove-leaves, and a slight crackling, as though some heavy weight were
passing over the arched roots.
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