The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1900-08-15
THE TASMA NIANS.
Futile Efforts by the English to Pre-
vent Their determination.


There was an interesting descrip.
ton of the last days of the Aborigi-
nal, before he became improved
away" by the English settlers, in a
lecture given by the Agent General
for Tasmania (Sir Philip F'yshl at the
Whitehall Rooms last night. For the
South Sea Islanders. he said nature
has provided, planting, cultivating
and ripening their food so that they
toll not, neither do they spin nor
gather into barns" How different it
was In Tasmania 1t could not In It's
primitive state support a large popu-
| lation. A fungus known as the bread
fruit of the natives, and the kan.
CARGO, wallaby. and wombat were
there. and fish, all to be had by the
spear trap and the practice of amphib-
ious habits but the race was poor
| In physique. neglected. and remorse.
less of infant female life. Each tribe
was In perpetual war with the next.
between whom n river or ii mountain
was the only line of demarcation.
They were exposed to the inclemeney
OF the weather. an animal skin being
their only. If any, clothing attacked
by catarrh and pneumonia, the NOR
tally must have been abnormatly
high and judging by the paucity OF
numbers found by us there, they We're
a doomed race.
Great efforts for their protection
We're put forth. Proclamations of his
Majesty were made by rudely painted
pictures fastened upon trees intended
to explain that II white shot black
the former would be hanged. and if
black speared white the black would
be hanged. Many We're docile, but the
villainies of bushrangers drew upon
the settlers vengeance without dis
elimination, causing an effort so early
as 1880 to collect all the tribes Coy
eminent spent & 10000 and engaged
5000 persons In a Gordon stretched
across the island, called the black line
or Black War, but II was a complete
failure. one man and one boy being
the only captiyes and they by acct
dent.
Among very many settlers who
were true friends of the black. one
man stands out with a history which
is memorial of good deeds. The
black mans friend was G. A. Robin
son, brieklayer by trade and noble
souled philanthropist he trusted
them, he and ms Wife lived with them
for "a time, and by moral suaeiou he
brought them through many n hair
breadth escape himself to camp
around his home in Hobart Their
counsellor and protector. his aseen-
dency became complete. Truganini, n
native woman, was companion to Rob
inson In his journeys among the
blacks. She had lived long enough
at peace with white people to respect
their purposes. Mr., Bonwicls writes Of
her: Her mind was of no ordinary
kind Fertile in expedient. sagacious
in council courageous in difficulty,
she had the wisdom and destinations
of the serpent the intrepidity and no,
bility of the royal ruler of the desert 4"
When collected, they were fed,
clothed and protected in native quar-
tiers and medically comforted under
the care of an Imperial Superintend-
ent The remnant of their number in
1885 was but 203 souls. From n NOR
tality point such paternal care seems
to have been failure. as their mum
Der In 1877 was reduced TO A The
last male native. called King Billy, be
came whaling hand among sailors
adopted their vices and sucCumbcd to
excessea In 1869 Truganini or Tru-
canini lived to the fairly ripe old age
for an aboriginal, OF 65. She was 4
constant visitor to my fruit garden.
| and delighted In and INDUCED much
In the freedom of many other gar
dens until she ended by her death tho
last chapter of her race in the year
| 1876 Pail Mall Gazette.