Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1889-11-29
AMONG THE SLAVES.
Carl LumhOltz Tells About the Cam
nibal Ab0rigines of Australia
Whom He Visited.
They Are Black and Are FOn0 of
Snakes, Lizards, and Insects
as Diet.


Academy of Sciences of Christiana gave a
highly interesting account of his long resi-
dence among the cannibal aborigines of
Australia. He began his narrative with a
description of the chief physical and natural
characteristics of the '.land of the dawn
ing and went ON to state how it fell to
his lot to visit Australia as q naturalist and
investigator. ITO reach the part of north
ern Queensland that visited, he went on
to say. you should take c0asting vessel
and travel up the eastern coast as far as
Herbert river. Then take a horse and
carry your supplies of dried beef. -four,
tobacco, and, if you are naturalist, imple-
ments of taxldermy Photographic camera,
and such other apparatus as experience sug-
gests you will need, and strike into the in
terror. | did so and after a few miles, or
what would seem to an American a few
miles, say fifty, found myself in the heart
of country where few white men had
ever trod. pitched my camp in a de-
serted cattle station. where buildings were
in the charge of one old man. Though we
were the only two Europeans in all that
part of Queensland he was one of the most
disagreeabIe white man ever met. The
white settlers remain in the lowlands and
never come into the thickets of the noun
tain districts. Here, in natural conditions
as yet unchanged. dwell the black aborig-
ines, whom no white man cares to dis
turb. For he can find there neither gold
nor diamonds nor anything else that would
tempt him to encounter the difficulties of
journey to their haunts.
Il had, however, longed to study these
savages, the Australian aborigines, the
lowest of the human race, IN their actual
conditions of life. For the chronological
student no phase of its human life is so in
teresting as the most primitive one. And
as you can get no reliable knowledge of a
people except by living among them Imade
up my mind to live with the sayages in
their nuts A further inducement to risk
the dangers connected with such stay was
nv belief that by their help | could get
many specimens Of Australian fauna which
could IL no other way be procured Of
course, could not at once 90 to live with
them, but had to work my way gradually
Having seen then in Australia more than
a year J mad acquired some experience as
to how to proceed with them. | now first
began to associate with the SO-Calied civil
lied blacks, and through them by degrees
became acquainted with other tribes until
| lived with natives who were in the most
primitive state of life and had never come
into contact with a white man. BY civil
lied blacks we generally understand such
of the natives as have to some degree been
affected by European culture, but the ex-
tent of their civilization may be briefly
summed up thus: That q civilized black
knows that he will be shot dead if he kills
a European; is greatly addicted to tobacco,
and fond of wearing clothes which he con-
cIHarg mn ac a. +b.i,,
ful article
the natives living around my head
quarters at Herbert Vale had during the
last couple of years commenced to visit he
station every now and then and thus they
richly deserved the name of civilized,
though scarcely any of them possessed a
single article of dress. Especially would
they crowd into the station when old Wal
ters, the keeper of the station house, and
Nelly, an aboriginal girl who served us as a
cook, had killed bullock The bones and
the intestimes used to be their share and
this offal of civilization was considered
such delicacy that they caught it eagerly
with teeth and hands. and the possession
OF these valuable leavlngs was not decided
without general fight.
II followed these so-called civilized ma
tIves on their hunting expeditions. wit
messed their fights and their dances, and
grew familiar with their language and
their customs, until found that | could
venture further into the country and meet
the more savage tribes | therefore under
took several expeditions from my head
quarters. The greatest trouble was to get
the blacks to take part IN my excursions,
for they are born idlers and have a fund
amental objection to any kind of work.
Luckily, in the last SIX or seven months of
my stay in that region | happened to find
a really good servant He stuck to me
wherever | went, so that my position from
the time of his advent grew much more
favorable. He was by no means an Ordi-
nary black, but was possessed of peculiar
vein of naivette. and so he often hluTted
out ideas and information of the greatest
value In spite of this he was not at all free
from the treachery characteristic of all the
blacks Nevertheless he was better than
the others and saved my life many time.
OF course dare not trust my life to,him
unreservedly, for all the blacks are like
children, the sport of caprice and the in
spiration of the moment, and are especial
ly prone to deceit. The part ofus fortunate
enough to find. as q rule, four or five of the
blacks willing to 90 with us. sometimes a
whole tribe with its women and children
As far as this method was possible | rode
alone while my blacks went on in front.
one of them leading my back-horse. At
the foot of the mountains a camp was
pitched and here the horses were left be-
hind, while the saddles and brides were
placed III tree. so that the wild dogs
should not get at them. Then we went
up the mountain on foot. the dense under
wood there, 0f course, being impossible
for horses. My provisions consisted of four
teen to fifteen pices of oXfiesh, picked and
dried, with a small quantity of wheat
-four to be baked into bread in the hot
ashes. and some sugar When these pro-
visions were exhausted. which was pretty
quickly. lived like the aborigines. on
young snakes lizards, Larvae. eggs and the
like. My outfit included a large. white
wooen blanket that was standing Won
der and constant envy of the blacks As
soon as | unpacked it they made a chuckl-
ing noise, expressive of delight, with
their tongues, and roared ont: "Tamin.
tamin.' fiat. fat. Any thing that is very
good they call fat
''One of the most inortant things l
brought with me was tobacco. a greater
JOY to the abOrigins than the very best food.
At Herbert river the blacks did not know.
before the arrival of the whites. of any
stimulant at all. The tobacco served me
instead of money and for it they will do
any thing, even to selling their wives.
Among those people tobacco Is always
smoked. never chewed. and have often
seen mother carvings child on her back.
hand it pipe, at which the child would
take couple of puffs with apparent delight
They often used to send in barter small
bits of tobacco wrapped up in grass to
other tribes and in that way tobacco Is
known to the remote tribes who have never
themselves come into contact with
Europeans Next to tobacco nv re-
voiver was of the gretest Importance to
me. Very luckily the natives who did not
themselves possess bows and arrows. have
the greatest respect for firearms 1t Is.
however. necessary to keep up your rePuta-
ton as good marksman else YOU will soon
lose their respect. Their astonishment Is
equally great when You hit a kangaroo In
a resting position a when you bring
down a bird on the wing. They were
especially afraid of my revolver. which
they looked upon as inexhaustible 7
made 1t my business to keep this fear con-
stantly awake. and every night before
creeping into my hut | discharged the
baby gun, as they called 1t. Just in or
der TO refresh their minds as TO the exist
enee Of this dreadful weapon.
Form my first arrival at Herbert Vale
my situation had been gradually growing
more difficult As | have explained. the