The Washington weekly post., 1900-12-04
- lh. Il -. cLroaLoI..

California golden days OF -, Tep-atcH
"a f.U year. later !E Australia's Bendigo
aHE BaH4rat. have been once more re-
r.,afI-.J within The last decade on The
s.cay. s.n.sr.cken deserts Of West Aus-
frsEa From the obscurity and poverty
of .f= recent past the new West has
sprung almost at a bound. 10 forefront
position .G the rank Of nations; has daz-
z.sd The world with the apleud0T u her
aurferous resources. and has witnesses
sg aggregation OF capital and labor. pop
citation and commerce. rivaling the Ta.M-
..-t days OF Virginia city or Sutter Creek.
The interior OF AustTalia's island conIf
.r.t is. for the most part. one vast ces-
or Of burning sand and dr0ught-stricken
plains, H. western coast line % over SJJJ
miles has bat two rivers that How al theT
mouths Outside o.! "a narrow fringe
along the Indian Ocean the whole interior
l- as barren as the Sahara, clothed With
s.lHt growth Of stunted mulga scrub and
twisted gum trees. Into this unknown
wilderness a few years ago there poured
from all parts Of the world a stream of
hardy prospectors and miners such as
Alaska and Cape Nome are receiving to-
cay.
Sweeping inlaid over the sterile plains,
eastward TO the South Australian border,
uGlauuted by the perils Of the inhospita-
Die bush, the barren stretches o. salt lake
,ad dreary spinifex prairies, the waterless
waste OF desert sand and the burning rays
ol a tropical sun, the Argonauts OF the
Nineteenth century have founded an Fl
Dorado m a Sahara, adding 10 the worlds
output many millions Of dollars Of gold
annually.
Richest Gold Camps.
T.a.v r.yf-.rTf. nj K.1roorffa ara
two Of the richest gold camps in the
world with a population numbering tens
Of thousands. The cost CT their prosperity
was tho expenditure OF much blood
money. ana toll. Those waterless deserts
are streWu with whitened bones; hundreds
lost their lives In the days Of the first
rush through thirst, famine. or fever, fer
where the lowest race Of blacks known
ekrd out a miserable subsistence a white
man must carry his own food or starva.
Australia is the exact size Of the United
States. and West Australia contains one
third of the continent. It's population be-
fore the gold rush was less than 5000; to-
day # is 125,00O more. Everything the
gold seekers needed to eat, TO wear, to
use. had 10 be brought in from abroad by
sea and esrted up country at a cost Of $3.50
or 500 ton besides the horses and wag-
as well.
The advance OF the white man into the
interior was resented by the hostile blacks,
who, armed with spear. waddy stick. and
boomerang. lay in wait behind rock and
tree, sneaking from bush 10 bush. to repel
the newcomer with a flight of poisoned
spears. Naked and smeared with grease,
The bucks lii their signal fires on the top
or every rock to warn the neighbOring
tribes. After cooking his evening meal
the prOspectOr would wait till dark and
crawl into the scrub near by for his
nights rest 10 ind In the morning a num-
ter OF spears sticking In the ground
around the ashes OF his campfire Row
these same blacks may be seen hanging
round the camps. pleading for the white
mans leavings. degraded and I'm full pos
session Of ali his supplanters vices, with
rome Of his virtues. The blacks are clad
lL a superb nnuated shirt or wear a bright
iri handkerchief round the l0ins, and
nave their peculiar oleaginous Odor. The
gins, or squaws, wear a short shirt only,
while slung over their backs. suspended
from their necks, hangs a sun-dTied kan
giTOO skin containing the baby, a few
fragments Of food. and thesdamily 'lares
and penates." Ham, the son of Noah.
would be iilled with remorse could he but
see the effects Of his curse among his de-
s,endants in West Australia, for the
blacks are certainly more ignorant than
The B1sjesmen Of South Africa, uglier in
feature than the Moiave Indians of Cali
furuia, and dirtier than the Alaskan ST.
washes, which is saying a good deal
They are the most shiftlesS idle brutal
lied creatures imaginable. whose sole idea
Ut life IS 10 cadge for scraps OF neat,
some tea or tobacco, and lie in the shade
u a bush 10 enjoy them. The educated
black can be taught 10 count up 10 five
on his fngers-no further. In his Wild
state he despises his womenkind; they
are his beasts of burden. At meal time
lh- bucks sit round the FIRE IN a circle:
behind them squat the gins behind IhCSe
again are the other Observation-Disclosures
children end female relatives. The meal
kangaroo. lizard. snake or field rats
first divided among the men. who wrench
Ur iu their Jaws the choicest morselS for
themselves, and throw over their shOdl-
d-rs the bones and remaining meat 70
tre women behind them, these repeating
Tie process with the '-ss favored ones In
their rear. Sumptuary laws are strictly
enforced owing TO the scarcity of the
commodities OF life, The young men are
not allowed 10 eat kangaroo Tiesh AT all;
lhe women only al certain seasons OF the
year
CannibaIs In Australia.
Infanticlde is practiced. the child being
cooked and eaten as often as not Canni-
balism has been denied by some authori-
Ties, but since the interior has been eX-
plored and opened up there no longer ex-
lists any doubt on the matter whatever,
though in many cases Il assumes the gu.se
% a religious rite. As for religion-devii
worship. the prOptiatlon of evil spirits
the belief in the shades OF their deceased
ancestors, with fasting and abstinence
during certain phases OF the moon, con-
sltgte their sole catalogue. Twice in a
month The tribe gathers at some WELL
-Fa-r .Vs#a.. Of
r..arees or devil dances. The bucks,
painted with ochre. smeared with grease,
aaI decorated with crude ornaments, 80
through various carefully arranged antics.
There o. the kangaroo dance. the emu
dance the quail dance. ana others, exc
e4ltI with a care eand precision little eA-
Ie...i from such ignorant saYages. the
OLD Iatrarchs Of the tribe and the gins
squat ug the ground IN a ss.nlclrcie rouhu
d.. dancers, beating the TaFd eafth IL
Ul- with short sticks, while emitting 4
g-Fgr.I grunt in unison. IL is weird
s.e.. indeed. the bright moon overhead,
i.r uuu1tOuOus scrub stretching all
E.s... lar open clearing filled WIN swAr-
l.E painted figures, gyrdtlnB IN tlIllc.
swinging their arms, their lean, pare
.m.- ...grrlng together IN the figures OF
ll. dance. and The unearthly gruhtlhs
aA. beating Of the waddy-sticks on the
taE.t ground But now, Ike the Ha-
EH.4u hula-hula, Il is only out back,
Where The white man has not vet civil
.zrI" rle artless aboriginal down 10 the
L.. u. hls own vices. that the cOrroboree
.sa 0e seen iu IT. beauty Of native rhythm
irf grace.
Tho government now looks after the
V.t..- ut the abOrig!nals-a long way
/ E..r .f-t4r The wealthy squattcrs and
rat..a owners have found In the black
n-. a solution OF the cheap-!aboT prob
iym. When "a large sheep run Is IN need
Or L..Lg 90 herd horses or 20 DO the
fetching and carrying. the mounted police
e'r sent into the bush 70 round up as
many blacks as they can md. These are
brought .u 90 The station. where the
.--L-sr Us almost always a justice of the
Fa'. ana are forthwith accused Of sheep
| s.1-.lHs ar yaEabJndage. Tie alternative
| !. iAef't them pt being sent down 20 the
| a. iar trial or Of signing indentuTes
service fsF TWO or three years 10 work
.Ar sIlt'ter. Ignorant OF the mean