Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-08-27

what seemed to be band of savages
running away through the thick
underground,
But it was upon Mornington Island
that the party had the most notable
experiences, rather amusing ones, for
tunately. They anchored the cutter off
the island and had their black boys
row them ashore. They had rifles and
revolvers, for the Queensland blacks
are dangerous foes, especially at night
and in tropical forests.
The. two scientists beached the boat
and then the whole party, in skirmish
line formation, the black boys acting
as t1ankers and scouts, made for the
interior of the island. After wading
through the mangrove swamps, the
most marked feature of which was
oozy black mud knee deep, they came
upon higher ground and presently they
saw a thin blue spiral of smoke rising
over some underbrush.
They went toward this and soon
came upon a party of savages, who
scuttled away into the brush like rab--
bits-all but three women. who were
unable to run. The trio covered over
the fire expecting evidently from their
faces to be carved up and eaten by the
white men, but they were soon reas-
sured by the tame blacks and entered
into quite a lively conversation with
them, and also their savage lords, who
kept up steady "Yubbber, yubbber
yubbar" from the bushes where they
lay concealed.
Speak Native Dialect.
1t turned out from the explanations
made by the tame blacks that the
! islanders could understand the native
dialect which is current among the
blacks about Burketon. Burketowr
and Normantown, it should be explain
ed, are the only whites upon the
southern shore of the Gulf of Carpen-
taria, the coast line of which measures
probablyja thousand miles from Cape
York to Port Essington. Dialect is per
haps a misnomer for the Australian
aborigines speak practically the same
tongue, wherever found. There are
however, certain variations of min
or description.
4 Classes Among Aborigines.
Not only could the islanders under
stand the tame boys but they imme
diately recognized the respectiv
classes of the tame blacks. This, like
wise requires explanation, which i
} this: The Australian aborigines, Xix
other savage or barbarous peoples, d
|, vide themselves into classes to repre-
sent the different degrees of relation
ship, such as cousin. sister and broth
, er, to prevent too close tribal intermal
riage. 1t is a primitive custom and be
! gan in primordial times as ethnologist
, will tell you at much greater lengt
and with much more accuracy than ca.
be done here. Only members of th
tribe belonging to the same class ma
, marry, and those belonging to certai
, classes may not even speak to eac
other.
Dr. Roth and Mr.. Hedley were muc
amazed, therefore, after they and thei
black attendants had prevailed upo
some of the timorous islanders to al
t preach them,to note that one of the i
. landers would not speak to one of the
2 boys, but he was fairly affable with a
a other. They began to believe that tn
I Australian language was something {
: a negative quantity on Morington i
, land, but a few words from the blac
! boy to them caused them to recollet
I chronological facts about intertribal T.
! lationships
A Little Romance.
The boy explained that he could M
e converse with the first islander b
a cause he was his "father-in-law" TO
y sooth. On another occasion the tW
d gentlement We're set laughing by tt