As We Approached We Perceived A Greyish-Looking Form On A Large
Limb About Ten Feet From The Ground, And
A closer inspection revealed to us
that it was unmistakably the body of a white man, rolled up in tea-
Tree
bark, and kept in its position by fastenings of split cane. We could not
examine the corpse very minutely, for it was too offensive; but from the
portions of the face that still remained, and the long blonde locks and red
beard, we satisfied ourselves that the poor wanderer was not one of the
'Eva's' crew; indeed, we judged that his death must have taken place some
time before the loss of that vessel. We were much pleased to observe the
respect with which the natives had treated the remains, and as they think
that exposure either on a platform or in a tree is the most honourable way
in which a corpse can be disposed of, we left the body as we found it, and
returned to the camp, where we passed the night.
Our damper was now at an end, and we had no flour with us, so made up our
minds to return to the boat. On talking the matter over, it seemed quite
clear that the shipwrecked men had never been thrown on this part of the
coast, and that any further exploration would only be lost time. On the
following morning we presented the tribe with our knives, and some matches,
and taking a friendly leave of them, started for the Macalister,
accompanied by two of the warriors. We reached the boat on the sixth day,
found the pilot and his party well, and having dismissed the blacks, with
the present of a tomahawk and a blanket, we started at once for the place
lower down the river, which had been agreed upon with Jack Clark as a
rendezvous. When we arrived at this spot on the following day, the
horsemen had not turned up, so we amused ourselves as best we could,
fishing, shooting, and eating damper thickly plastered over with honey, for
Larry had found a "sugar bag."
The way the trooper performed this feat was not a little ingenious. Having
noticed several bees about, he caught one, and with a little gum, attached
to it a piece of down from a large owl that somebody had shot. Releasing
the insect, it flew directly towards its nest, the unaccustomed burden with
which it was laden serving not only to make it easily visible, but also
impeding its flight sufficiently to admit of the boy following it. The
next was at the top of a large blue gum tree, about three feet in diameter,
and sending up a smooth column for fifty feet without a branch or twig.
Most people would have given up all thoughts of a honey feed for the day;
not so Mr. Larry, whose movements we followed with considerable curiosity.
Divesting himself of his clothing, he repaired to an adjoining scrub, and
with his tomahawk cut out a piece of lawyer cane twenty feet in length.
Having stripped this of its husk, he wove it into a hoop round the tree of
just sufficient size to admit his body. Slinging his tomahawk and a
fishing-line round his neck, he got inside the hoop, and allowing it to
rest against the small of his back, he pressed hard against the tree with
his knees and feet. This raised him several inches, when with a dexterous
jerk he moved the portion of the hoop furthest away from him a good foot up
the stem, and thus - somewhat on the same principle that boys climb a
chimney, for the hoop represented the chimney - he worked himself upward,
and in much less time than I have taken to describe it, was astride on the
lowest branch, and chopping vigorously at the hollow which contained the
golden store. The use of the fishing-line now became apparent, for we bent
on to its end a small tin billy (round can), used for making tea, and by
hauling this up and filling it, Larry soon supplied us with honey enough to
fill our bucket and the boat's baler. As perhaps my readers may be tempted
to wonder why the bees did not attack the naked hide of the robber who was
thus rudely despoiling them, I must state that the wild Australian bee is
stingless. It is a harmless little insect, not much larger than the common
house-fly, and though it produces abundance of honey and wax, it has not
been subjected to domestication, and from its diminutive proportions and
its habit of building on very high trees, probably never will be. The
English bee has been most successfully introduced into Queensland; and many
of the farms in the neighbourhood of Brisbane make a good thing out of
their honey and wax.
A meeting was held the next day, at which it was agreed that all further
search would be useless, and, indeed, I am certain that every possible
measure had been attempted for the discovery of the missing men. There
seems every reason to think that the ill-fated 'Eva' was sunk in the
cyclone. Most likely she went down in deep water, and all on board her
were drowned. Such was the supposition that received most favour at the
time, and with it we must rest content until the great day when all secrets
are revealed.
End of Australian Search Party, by Charles Henry Eden
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