The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1906-09-22

During the first two years Of Our eN
pertinent in raising ostriches in Dam
pier Land-from 1890 to 1902-We hat
10 depend for cur supplies on th'
"pearlers' Of King Sound.
There are as yet no regular means Q.
transportation here: but we had
credit account with the general store
at Cossack, two hundred and ten miles
down the coast. and made an arrange
ment with the skipper OF one or another
Of the paarl-fishers TO bring us flour
sugar and canned goods, and land them
1t a little log shed on the beach not
far to the west Of the mouth or the
Fitzroy River.
The distance from our inland ranch
fifteen or sixteen miles--is too great
FOR signalling with rockets or guns.
We could only conjecture when the
pearler might put in there. Sometimes
aer visits would be month, some
times three months apart; and the only
way to find out was for one or aruth-
Dr. of us to go down to the beach.
On an evening in March | set off to
make this trip with our one ''brumby"
pony. We had been having some
trouble with the black-fellows up the
Fitzroy; and they had recently thrown
into our stockaded yard curious hier-
oglyph picture, scraWled on kanga-
ROOFS thigh-bone, which We had no
great difficulty in deciphering, as a
threat to kill and eat three white men
in the course of two moons-and the
Inference was easy that we were the
three
Dampier Land and the Fitzroy River
district all the way UP to Port Darwin
are now almost the only region in
The world where whites are in danger
from aboriginal savages. Here may
still be found black tribes OF the true
stone age, armed only with spears,
'kylies" and flint axes 1t is one CT the
last haunts of primitive savagery.
Provided as we were with modern
breech-loaders, we stood in no special
Tear Of these blacks, and took no no
tice Of their compliments" On The
kangaroo bone, save to keep a sharp
watch. They never showed them
selves near our ranch. The only dan
ger from them, We concluded, was that
they might surprise some one of us
out alone or throw their spears or Ky
lies from the cover Of a thicket. These
FitZroy and Lake Flora blacks throw
4 spear thirty or forty yards with
considerable accuracy; and as for
their kylies, or boomerangs, the dis
lance at which one may get a rap on
the head from this queer missile is al
together problematical.
With all these North Australian
blacks, however, the white settler has
one great advantage; he can travel
anywhere by night in well-nigh per-
tect safety-except from snakes For
owing to superstitious fears of evil
spirits, "Jacky" is generally found ~
Ing up close by his fire during the
hours of darkness. Sight or sound of
anything moving about him at night
afrights him, and he crouches, grow
cling, trembling, and muttering strange
lamentations.
so we usually made these trips down
to the coast by night-if possible, when
there was moonlight. The March heat. |
too. is much less oppressive by night
March is the first month of autumn in |
this southern half Of the world.
After descending from the plateau.
my route lay through a tract of low
land flats, covered with high grass and
, sparse growth of flooded gums"
the roosting-places Of thousands OF |
sulphur cockatoos and bronze pigeons. !
Everywhere on these flats the sea-.
ripe grass came to my brumby's with
ers; and while ambling through it here,
be broke into a bandicoot's hole and
vent lame. All these brumbies are
addicted to shamming lameness: but
soon found that the little chap had
given his near fore leg serious
wrench, and was in no condition to 20
IN.
My first thought was now to 90 back
o the ranch and lead my pony. It
would have been far better for me if
had done SO. But l was already six
n seven miles on my way down to the
ound. We needed to know about our
applies. and l decided to leave the