The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-10-23


E'she Would Kill Rat or Lizard
tribe along the line of march, always
asked to be taken before the chief, and
when in his presence L presented my
little stick He would at once manifest
the greatest friendlinesS, and would
Offer US food and drink. Then, before
took my departure, he also would in
scribe mis- sign upon it, handing ii back
to ME, and probably sending me on to
another tribe with an escort. 1t often
haPpe ned, however, that I was person.
ally introduced to another tribe whose
frontier" joined that of my late hosts,
and IN such cases my passport was I'M
IeCt *sary.
AT first the country through which
our wanderings led us was billy and
well wooded, the trees being particu-
larly fine, many of them towering to a
height of $50 feet or 200 feet. Our prin-
cipal food consisted of roots, rats,
snakes, opossum and kangaroo. The
physical conditions of the country were
constantly changing as we moved fur
Their eastward, and Yamba's ingenuity
was often sorely taxed 10 detect the
whereabouts of the various roots neces-
sary for food. 1t was obviously unfair
to expect her to be familiar with the
flora and fauna of every part of the
great Australian continent. Sometimes
she was absolutely nonplussed, and had
to stay few days with tribe until
the women initiated her into the best
method of cooking the roots found in
that part Of the country. And often
We could not understand the language.
In such cases, though, when spoken
words were unlike those uttered in
Yamba's country. we resOrted to a
wonderful sign language which appears
10 be. general among the Australian
blacks. All that Yamba carried, by the
way, was a basket made OF bark. slung
over her shoulder and containing a
variety of useful things, including some
bone needles, grinding stones. etc. Day
after day we walked steadily on in an
easterly direction, guiding ourselves in
the daytime by the sun, and in the
evening by the attitude of the ant hills.
which are always built facing the east
We crossed many creeks and rivers,
sometimes wading and at other times
swimming them.
THE DESERT OF RED SAND.
Gradually we left the billy country
behind US and at length got into an
extraordinary desert Of red sand, which
gave off dust from our very tracks
that nearly suffocated US. Each water
hole we came across now began to con-
tain less and less Of the precious liquid.
and our daily menu grew more and
more scanty, until at length we were
compelled to live on practically moth
ing but few roots and stray rats.
Still we plOdded on and on, finally
striking a terrible spinifex country.
Which was inconceivably worse than
we had hitherto encountered.
Not only was water all but unobtain-
able here, but our skin was torn with
thoFns at almost every STEP Yamba
was terribly troubled when she found
she could no longer provide for my
wants. Fortunately the dew fell heav-
lily at night, and sufficient quantity
would collect on the foliage, and more
particularly on the steel blade OF my
tomahawk, TO refresh me somewhat in
the morning. How eagerly would lick
my precious drops from the shining
blade OF that American ak Curiouslv
enough, Yamba herself, up to this
time, did not seem distressed from
lack Of water, but nothing about this
woman surprised me. 1t
took Us about ten days TO pass through
this awful spinifeX desert, and for at
least eight days of that time we were
virtually without water. trampine
through never-ending tracts of scrub,
prickly grass and undulating sandhills
Of reddish color. We were still go
ing due east, but in consequence of the
lack of water holes my heroic guide
it advisable to strike a little
more north
THE AGONIES OF THIRST.
By this time I began to feel delirious.
and l fear was like a baby in Yam
ba's hands. She knew that all 1 want
ed was water. and she became almost
distracted when she could not find any
for me. OF herself she never thought.
And yet she was full of strange re-
sources and devices. When screamed
aloud in an agony of thirst, she would
give me some Kind of grass to chew.
and although this possessed no real
moisture, yet If promoted the flow of
saliva, and thus materially benefited
me.
Things grew worse and worse. how
ever, and the delirium Increased. Hour
after hour through the endless nights
would that devoted creature sit by my
side, moistening my lips with the dew
hat collected on the grass and on the
blade of my tomahawk. On tie fifth
lay without water l suffered the most |
shocking agOnies. and in my lucid mo-
nents l gave myself up for lost. l /
could not stand or walk, nor could I
speak or swallow. My throat seemed |
% be almost closed up, and when l I
opened my eyes everything seemed TO |
De going round and round in the most (
iizZy and sickening manner My heart 4
peat with choking violence, and my
head ached so that i thcsght / was /
soing mad. My bloodshot eyes, so I
famba subsequently told me, project /
d from their sockets in the most ter
flying manner, and an indescribable |
onging possessed me to kill my faith