Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1898-10-29
Much of the information this news.


Much of the information this news.
paper contained puzzled mo greatly,
and / nearly worried myself into in
sanity over statement that ''the
deputies of Alsace and Lorraine had
refused to vote in the German Parlia.
ment and had walked out" Turn it
over how might, I could not under.
stand how the representatives of two
great departments in my own country
could possibly be in the German Par
liament-knowing absolutely nothing,
of course, of the war OF 1870.
The tribe over which reigned was
composed of beings WHO were certain.
ly low down in the human scale, but
at the same time they have elaborate
laws which govern their daily life pre-.
cisely as in the case of civilized peo-
pie. They are savages, repulsive in
appearance, who have not even risen
to such a point of civilization as to
nave permanent houses. addicted to
cannibalism, and altogether of very
degraded type.
While my natives did not, as u rule,
paint the body on great occasions, such
as corroborees, imitation ceremonies
and other festivities, they point and
decorate themselves elaborately, each
tribe having its own design of decora.
tion, and even a geometrical design
for each ceremony. The pigments
used in decoration are of many colors,
but chiefly yellow, red, white and
black. Ordinarily the only clothing
known consists of a coating OF greasy
clay mixed with charcoal. This serves
many purposes. 1t keeps off the cold
during the winter, and is also pro-
lection against the attacks of insects.
In summer special kind of pigment
is used to keep off insects, anG this
material is scented with e kind of
pennyroyal.
Cannibalism prevails 20 a very great
extent. but is governed by many rules.
Usually it is the slain victims in battle
that ore eaten by the victorious side,
and as the object seems to be to ac-
quire the valor and virtues of the per.
son eaten I endeavored to wean the
tribes from cannibalism by assuring
them that. if they made bracelets,
anklets and necklaces out of the dead
mans hair, they would achieve their
end equally we'll. When q family
grows too large, and the mother---be-
ing the beast of burden-is unable to
carry one of the children, the father
orders it to be dubbed and eaten.
This, however, is entirely actuated by
love, as the natives have "a horror of
natural decay. Manned aud deformed
children are also killed and eaten.
Women and people who die a natural
death are never eaten. When a man
has to be eaten there is always a grand
corroboree. The natives are not
ashamed to confessed cannibalism, nor
is an individual considered un,lean
after joining in feast.
From this account it may appear
that my natives were not pleasant
people to live among. But I found the
reverse to be the case. They were al
ways cheerful, obedient and defer
ential in their manner, and many
times did I owe my life to the care ex-
ercised by my faithful native wife 1t
was possible to devise many occupa-
tions, which were at least sufficient to
pass the time. For amusement I used
to search the beds of the watercourses
for curious stones. In a great many
of these watercourses I found both
coarse and find gold, and in some in
stances the creeks were extremely rich
in alluvial gold.
L found great quantities of gem
stones Of every shape and color,
which could be distinguished by look
ing through them when wet. In some
cases the prevailing color of the stones
would be various shades of red, in
others blue, and in rarer cases green.
This 1 took respectively to be ruby,
sapphire and emerald. On occasion I
came across a range of granite hills
extending several miles, and the ad-
jacent creeks contained large quanti-
ties of pieces of broken reefs aud
lodes and water worn pebbles, also
immense quantities of heavy black
sand, which 1 supposed to be iron,
but which now know to be tin. In
another district found large quanti-
ties of native copper lying about in
pieces.
My wild life came to an end at last.
An epidemic OF influenza swept over
the country and carried off my wife.
Ny surviving children were also swept
away. Thus left alone, without the
old interests that has made life toler-
able, I determined to make last
effort to reach my own people, and
leaving my mountain home l set out
for the southwest. On this, however,
as in all my journeys, was never
able to take direct line, but had to
go hither and thither with the tribes
among whom I was sojourning After
a time I found tree marked Forrest,
the name of the explorer who had
passed that way, and turning south 1
at length met a party of prospectors
many days north of Mount Marga, the
nearest camp.
Taught by bitter previous expert
ence, I knew that before could ap.
pear among the whites should have
to get some OF my natives TO procure
some clothes for me by any means
known to them. When at length I
presented myself before the white
men was afraid they did not at first
look with favor on their guest. an
swered their questions, and when they
heard was without mates aud had
been journeying hither from the in-
terror for nine or ten months they
were convinced I was person of
intellect. A question of my own,
"What year is this?" convinced them
altogether that they were right in
their conjecture. However, in the
end I obtained help and work, and in
1895 reached Melbourne, whence by
slow stages and not without Difficult.
ties got back to Europe.
He Knew ., Chicken.
Onaint aavinOs and dOinoa charac-