The suburban citizen., 1901-06-15
A Railroad Ride
With SaVageS.


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This is a story Of how two hundred
Australian aborigines, the lowest type
Of human beings in the world, got
their first Introduction to civilization
through the agency of a railroad train.
The incident has never been printed
before; its appearance now is due to
the following item that appeared in
the Northern Territory Times Of Feb
ruary 8:
Curly Pete, son of Chief Curly Of
the Womera tribe, was strutting round
town yesterday sttired in white duck
pants and a blue cloth cap. He is as
proud as a peacock. Mr.. Hendry gave
him a job yesterday oiling up engine
8. and all the Womeras believe he is
now In line for the chief justiceship.
Not very many years ago a party of
engineers went up to Port Darwin, at
the extreme northerly point Of Aus
tralia, by steamer from Adelaide,
thousands of miles away, to lay plans
for four hundred mile line of rail
road into the interior to tap the cop
per and tin mines. The enterprise was
q hazardous one, for at that time two
tribes of blacks, the Womeras and AL
ligators, were waging fierce war on
the settlers of Port Darwin.
Gradually, and after hardships that
need not be detailed here, the engin-
eers got the first fifty-mile section Of
their work done, and steamships
brought up thousands of tons Of ma
terial and hundreds of labOrers for the
completion Of the road for that dis
tance. 1t is hard to give an accurate
idea of the way the sight Of these
preparations affected people Of the
character of the aborigines. The
'navvies" went about their work
armed, and, with all the necessary bal
last for the roadbed close at hand it
was only a little over a year before
their labors began to assume definite
shape.
Some blacks were laid away by their
tribesmen with bullet holes in their
bodies as mementoes Of the advance
Of civilization, and a few of the work
men perished miserably from poison
GUS spear wounds before q sort Of tacit
truce was patched up. Plodding stead
lily in the tropical sun, the contractors
pushed ahead through the ferns and
waffle trees, laying rails as they went
80 that construction trains could de-
liver material as the work progressed.
The WOmeras had disappeared al
most as soon as operations started,
but the Alligators hung round in the
bush, making occasional night attacks
on the men till the day when the first
work train went putting south. At
the sight Of 1t they tracked away into
the interior, and all trace of them was
lost till the first section, running down
to Alice River, was completed. The
hrst passenger coaches were put on,
and all Port Darwin made trips along
the line and rejOlced at the improve
ment over bullock team travel.
Soon the natives began to come back
from their bush haunts, timidly at
first and in parties Of two or three,
and gazed with awe, not unmixed
with veneratlon, at the trains speeding
along at a thirty-mfe gait. 1t was
thought well, mainly in order to pre-
vent destruction Of the rails and road
bed, to educate them to the meaning
of the innovation, and after a while a
feW diplomats were sent out to con-
Ter with the head tribesmen.
1t took months Of argument to con-
vince them, but finally the whole Wo-
mera tribe consented to track to Port
Darwin and place themselves in the
hands Of a committee on arrange
ments." So in fear and trembling
they arrived at the settlement, and
one bright afternoon two hundred
men, women and children were select.
ed to make the trip to the river.
A dozen fat cars were put behind IN
engine, and into these the blacks wer.