A Great Difficulty Now Presented Itself, For We Had No Tools
Whatever, And How Could We Dig A Grave?
In such hard ground, knives would
make no impression, and the body must be buried deeply, or it would be
rooted up by the dingoes, whose howl we could plainly hear around us, as
they bayed at the moon.
We spread ourselves out in different directions,
in the hope of finding some rift or recess that would answer the purpose,
but in the imperfect light, we failed to discover anything, so were
compelled to wait for dawn. I do not think any of us slept much. One of
our little party suddenly snatched away in so unforeseen a manner, gave us
all food for reflection - for which of us knew that the same fate would
not befall him to-morrow? When I dropped off into a slumber, it was so
light and broken, that I seemed to be conscious of Lizzie, continuing her
melancholy drone, and battering monotonously on the tin pannikin, nor was I
surprised when in the morning I ascertained that such had really been her
occupation all night; for the purpose of keeping the body from harm, she
avowed, but, I am inclined to think, much more from fear of sleeping in the
neighbourhood of a dead body, for the blacks are dreadfully superstitious,
and frightened to death of ghosts.
At daylight we were lucky enough to find a tree that had been blown down in
the late hurricane, leaving a hollow where its roots had been torn out of
the ground.
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