Another Of The Torments To Which The Traveller Is Subjected In The North
Australian Scrubs, Is The Stinging-Tree ('Urtica Gigas'), Which Is Very
Abundant, And Ranges In Size From A Large Shrub Of Thirty Feet In Height To
A Small Plant Measuring Only A Few Inches.
Its leaf is large and peculiar,
from being covered with a short silvery hair, which, when shaken, emits a
fine pungent dust, most irritating to the skin and nostrils.
If touched,
it causes most acute pain, which is felt for months afterwards - a dull
gnawing pain, accompanied by a burning sensation, particularly in the
shoulder, and under the arm, where small lumps often arise. Even when the
sting has quite died away, the unwary bushman is forcibly reminded of his
indiscretion each time that the affected part is brought into contact with
water. The fruit is of a pink, fleshy colour, hanging in clusters, and
looks so inviting that a stranger is irresistibly tempted to pluck it; but
seldom more than once, for though the raspberry-like berries are harmless
in themselves, some contact with the leaves is almost unavoidable. The
blacks are said to eat the fruit; but for this I cannot vouch, though I
have tasted one or two at odd times, and found them very pleasant. The
worst of this nettle is the tendency it exhibits to shoot up wherever a
clearing has been effected. In passing through the dray tracks cut through
the scrub, great caution was necessary to avoid the young plants that
cropped up even in a few weeks. I have never known a case of its being
fatal to human beings; but I have seen people subjected by it to great
suffering, notably a scientific gentleman, who plucked off a branch and
carried it some distance as a curiosity, wondering the while what was
causing the pain and numbness in his arm. Horses I have been die in agony
from the sting, the wounded parts becoming paralysed; but strange to say,
it does not seem to injure cattle, who dash through scrubs full of it
without receiving any damage. This curious anomaly is well known to all
bushmen.
For a couple of hours we followed the tortuous windings of the track,
without we white men having the faintest conception where we were going,
though the troopers and Lizzie declared that we were pushing straight
through. At length a ray of sunlight became visible, and in a few minutes
we emerged from the sombre depths of the jungle, and found ourselves on the
banks of a splendid river, the Mackay. Traces of blacks were seen in every
direction, the white sand being covered with their foot-prints. Abandoned
gungales were plentiful on the opposite bank, which was clear of scrub, and
whilst we were eating the damper and beef with which each of the party was
provided, Lizzie espied a thin column of smoke at no great distance.
We approached it as cautiously as possible, taking advantage of every shrub
that offered a cover, and finally, lying down and worming our way through
the grass on all fours, a mode of progression that is in itself
particularly fatiguing and objectionable, but not without excitement, for
we never knew the moment when we might chance to put our hands on a dormant
snake, or find ourselves sprawling over a nest of bulldog ants.
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