We Were
Successful In Completely Surprising The Camp, Which Consisted Entirely Of
Gins And Piccaninnies, All The Males, As Usual, Being Out Hunting.
The
gins spoke quite a different language from that of the Hinchinbrook and
Herbert River people, and Lizzie was a long time before she could make them
understand.
They seemed to know nothing of any white men, nor, I may say,
of anything else in particular. They were ignorant where the Mackay rose,
or where it debouched, and could give us no information regarding the
waterfall we saw on the distant range, what river it supplied, or what kind
of country was between us and the hills. Altogether they were a most
unsatisfactory lot; and having rummaged their camp without finding any
suspicious articles, and threatened them with wholesale destruction if they
gave warning of our approach to any other tribe, by either smoke signals or
messengers, we departed, much disgusted.
On arriving at the edge of a small copse, at a short distance from the
camp, we found the arsenal of the male portion of the tribe. Why they had
stacked their arms so far away from the gungales we never could make out;
but there they were, consisting of the usual spears and shields, and, in
addition, several of the enormous swords used by these natives, of which we
had often heard, but that few of our party, except Dunmore, had ever seen.
These curious weapons are made of the heaviest iron-bark wood, are about
five feet in length, by as many inches in breadth, and about an inch thick
in the centre - rather more than less, and both edges scraped down to as
sharp an edge as the material will receive. They are slightly curved; but
the most wonderful part about them is the handle, which is so small that a
European can with difficulty squeeze three fingers into it. The mystery
is, how do they use them? for Goliath of Gath could never have wielded an
instrument as heavy as this with one hand. It is supposed that the warrior
raises the cumbrous weapon on his shield, and having got within sword's
length of his enemy, lets it drop on his head. This portion of a black's
frame is undeniably hard; but such a blow would crush it like an egg-shell;
and as he may be credited with sufficient sense to know this, it seems
difficult to understand why he should stand still and allow such a
disagreeable operation to be performed. Whether or not the use of these
weapons has been discovered since I left Australia, I am unable to say; but
certainly up to that time we who lived in their neighbourhood were unable
to appreciate the varied excellencies they doubtless possess.
We pursued our way up the Mackay River in hopes of finding some termination
to the thick scrub on the opposite bank, so that we might return to our
boat without having to thread its intricate mazes again; and in this we
were successful, finding a break in the jungle an hour before sunset, which
at once admitted us to the plain, through the centre of which ran the
Macalister, and in due course we reached our camp, where, after having a
glorious "bogey" (the Australian term for bathing) in the river, and
overhauling each other well, to see that no ticks were adhering to our
skins, we had supper, and turned in, having done little good, except
finding a road to the Mackay less tedious than the one we had taken in the
morning.
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