The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1906-08-09
FOLLOWED HOME BY BLACKPELL0WS
By Curtis Mulhall.

IANNNNNN~N
During the first two years of our eX-
pertinent in raising ostriches in Dam
pier Land-from 1900 to 19O2-we had
to depend for our supplies on the
':pearlers" of King Sound.
There are as yet no regular means OF
TRANSFORMATION here; but we had a
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 pearl-fshers to bring US -four,
sugar and canned goods, and land them
at a little log shed on the beach not
far to the west of the mouth of 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
her visits would be a month, some
times three months apart; and the only
way to find out was for one or anoth-
er 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
Fftzroy; and they had recently thrown
into our stockaded yard curious h!er-
oglyph picture, scrawled on kanga-
@roo's 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 of the
last haunts of primitive savagery.
Provided as we were with modern
breech- leaders, we stood in no special
fear 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 thicket. These
Fitzroy and Lake Flora blacks throw
a spear thirty or forty yards with
considerable accuracy; and as for
their kylies, or boomerangs, the dis
tance at which one may get rap on
the head from this queer missile is al
together problematical.
r. With all these North Australian
blacks, however, the white settler has
one great advantage; he can travel
anywhere by night in well-nigh per-
feet safety-except from snakes. For
owing to superstitious fears Of evil
spirits, "Jacky" is generally found ly-
ing up close by his fire during the
hours Of darkness. Sight or sound Of
anything moving about him at night
affrights him, and he crouches, grow
cling, trembling, and muttering strange
incantations.
. 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 fats, covered with high grass and
q sparse growth of flooded gums"
the roosting-places OF thousands Of
sulphur cockatoos and bronze pigeons.
Everywhere on these flats the scar,
ripe grass came to my brumby's with
ers; and while ambling through it here,
he broke into a bandicoot's hole and
went 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 go
on.
My first thought was now to 60 back
to the ranch and lead my pony. 1t
would have been far better for me if
I had done so. But was already six
or seven miles on my way down to the
sound. We needed to know about our
supplies, and l decided to leave the
pony hitched out in the grass and go
on. So securing the brumby, l shoul-
dered my gun and set off afoot, my
provision for the journey being merely
a smack" Of bread and cheese in
leather wallet.
I had proceeded but little way
across the green fats when the moon
lit sky darkened. Clouds had risen,
and soon a hollow growl of thunder
burst forth Within three minutes it
was raining copiously.
The downpour continued for half an