Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1899-09-21
CHAPTER l.
KILLED BY THE BLACKS.

KILLED BY The BlAChS-
In July. 1885, l was down on my
luck and a wanderer in the wild
Never Never of tropical Australia, by
the comparatively untsnanted shores Of
the Carpentarian gulf. But, though
midwinter in that land of topsy turvy-
dom. the Thermometer stood all day at
90 in the shade, and the relentless sun
blaEed down like a ball of fire from a
cloudless steel blue sky.
This was the year of perhaps the
greatest gold rush that Australia had
ever seen since gold had first been dis
covered on the island continent and |,
Richard Parker, commonly called Dick,
your humble servant, by a remark
able accident was false to the traditions
of a never failing bad luck for once in
not being one Of its victims. When the
discovery of gold was reported IN the
unexplored Kimberley district in West
ern Australia and the cry went mp that
the veritable land Of Orhir had been
found at last, from every spot on earth
where nomadic man wrcsts n living
from Mother Earth men foclsed to the
new FL Dorado
Gold diggers are like sheep: let one Of
them start out for Il 'dutfor' rush,
and all the others will follow him blind
ly.
Ny mate Jacl, and were ON our way
to this rush. But at the time of which
l write had possessed all the gold in
Australia it would have been gladly
f1r dim, L of
water, a sedative, an opiate, or any
thing that would have soothed or sent
me to sleep forever; for my hody was
in the clutches of that demon Of the
gulf the fever and ague' and yet, there
within a hundred yards Of me-was
the creek which 1 could not reach. My
body was consumed by fierce heat
which even water could not cool, and
my head was a chaos of wild, insane
fancies-a prey to the morbid imagin-
ings of my own wretched self.
Ny comrade, Jack Tyndall, had left
camp shortly before me to look for the
horses. l could see and hear, but could
not properly understand nor think, far
less act My delusions, born of the de-
lirium, were painfully vivid. But a
laughing jackass with its loud, absurd
cackle called my wandering senses to
the fact that some one was coming
along the trail 1t was a swagsman; ;
he was tall and dark, and, at first sight,
so like Jack that had it been possible
for me to hav6emoved or called, l would
most assuredly have sung out to him; i;
as it was, l lay in sort of trance.
From my shaded vantage ground he
could be seen slainlX. enough: typical
swagsman, not different from thousands
Of others one may see all over Australia.
He passed within so yards from where
l lay, trudging along weafily, looking
neither to the right nor left.
When he had gone some 80 yards
farther, past that part of the trail oppo-
site Inc, he threw down his swag under
Il great shady bloodwood tree.
l must have gone to sleep or become
unconscious again, for ON coming to my
senses a strange drama was being en-
acted before my eyes. There was such
an air of unreality about it all that |
fancied myself the victim of some optic
al illusion, and therefore did not act
with that promptness the occasion call
ed for.
He sat under the shade of tree,
reading. Before him was a small fire,
upon which his billy rested He had
taken off his boots and hat and was
enjoying pipe. But behind the tree
against which he leaned was naked
black fellow with long, cruel looking
barbed spear raised in one hand So
motionleSs was he that he might have
been carved out of a solid block of
ebony. Close behind him again, wrig-
Cling along the ground like reptiles and
sneaking upon all fours like animals,
were about half n dozen savages with
spears and nulla-nullas in their hands.
Travelling up the creek, they had no
ticed the fire and were now reconnoiter-
ing the unsuspecting man. Yes, they
could manage him. They might have
thought twice about it had he stood
there facing them with rife or re-
volver in his hands.
tried to cry ont 50 as to warn him
of his danger, but my throat and tongue
We're so dry that only a hoarse gurgling
sound escaped from my lips. By an al
most superhuman effort drew my re-
volver and crawled forward few feet
on my hands and knees. / had just
gathered together my scattered senses
and was in the act of resting my re-
volver against q tree and surprising the
aggressors by the unexpected fire, when
there arose hoarse shout. The savage
had been too quick for me. Down came
the spear entering the poor fellow 5
back. With an agonized cry, and before
the cannibals had time to follow up
their advantage, he snatched up his re-
volver, leaped to his feet and fired it
point blank in the face of the savage
who had dealt the treacherous blow.
Then he reeled, with the spear still
protruding from his back, threw out
his hands and fell forward on his face.
at the same moment, like number of
hideous puppets, the black fellows
sprang from the long grass. Singing
out the nearest one, | fired my Colts,
which was as good as a rife, and he
dropped like bullock when it is pithed
in the yard Accounts were squared
with him anyhow. The savage whom
the swagsman shot literally had the
roof of his skull blown off. Jumping
up, fired wildly enough at the others,
who stood for moment rs if paralyzed
by the unexpected attack. Suddenly
there rang out shot in another direc-
tion, and the upraised arm of black
fellow dropped helpless by his side. And
now could be heard the dull thud of
hoofs as a horseman came galloping
through the sandy scrub. l looked
around, but need not have been sur
prised, as Jack, mounted on old Eclipse,
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