the magic spear, or, camped with the blacks (1900) by william thomson hill

8/9/2019 The Magic Spear, Or, Camped With the Blacks (1900) by William Thomson Hill

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AGIC SPEAR,

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AUSTRALIAN YOUNG FOLKS* STORYBOOKSODD

Written, Illustrated, and Printed in Australian n n

A Real Bush StoryBUNYIP SAYS SOA True Tale of the Camp where theAnimals and Birds of the Bush hold theirMeetings and tell theirWonderful Stories

By W. M. FLEMING"One of the best. It is an excellent fairy-tale."Melbourne "Age.""Children will find Mr. Fleming a good friend.""The Australasian.""Here is a book that should be wherever there

are Australian children." "Stock and Station"Journal.

ODD108 Pages Illustrated

One Shillingn n n

EDWARD A. VIDLER, PUBLISHER, MELBOURNE


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THE MAGIC SPEAROR

CAMPED WITH THE BLACKS


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AUSTRALIAN YOUNG FOLKS' STORY BOOKS

THE MAGIC SPEARORy i*EAfcOne of the men went to a gunyah, and brought

forth a "fire-stick," with which he proceeded tomake "bikya" (fire). This fire-making apparatusconsisted of two straight sticks, which fittedclosely into a round lump of resin, or gum, shred-

MAKING FIREaed over with red berries. Below this head, thesticks were wrapped carefully in folds of yellowreed, which were lined with gum to keep the sticksperfectly dry.The black drew the two sticks from their caseand, placing one on the ground, he fitted the pointof the other, which he held upright, into a socket


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FIRE-MAKING 25in the horizontal stick, and twirled it rapidly be-tween his hands. Soon a tiny column of smokerose from the socket, showing that the wood wasbecoming hot enough to burn, as the result of rub-bing the two sticks together.Some finely-shredded bark and leaves were now

placed around the smoking stick, which wastwirled faster than before, two men working to-gether, and drawing their hands down the uprightstick as they twirled it, causing it to press moreheavily in the socket underneath, and thus causegreater heat. This was kept up until the stickbecame red hot, and a smoking coal broke off theend.

Picking up a handful of tinder, with the red-hot coal in the centre, the black waved it to andfro until it burst into flame. He then placed itunder a small heap of dry leaves which had beengathered from the gunyahs and other shelteredplaces, and soon had a fire burning merrily.Harry was keenly interested when he saw a fire

kindled without matches, and said to Quandini:"Now, I call that really clever. I'll never be

stuck in future when I want to make a fire."Quandini then related to him the legend toldby the blacks to show how they obtained fire in

the first place."Long time before, baas, black pfeller no have

fire. Everything very much bad. He no cook'possum or kyemery (kangaroo). No keepum


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26 THE MAGIC SPEARwarm on cold day. Then Uri-uri (spirit) comegibbit fire to two lubras. They belonga bad spirit,he hate poor blackpfeller berry much, baas.Lubras keepit bikya (fire) all to self; no gibbitblackpfeller. One day one man come; he goodfriend to blacks. He come say he get bikya fromlubras, gibbit bikya to blacks. So he go to lubras,makit out him friend. He stay with lubras everyday. One day he steal bikya, and puttem it behindhim back. Bikya burnit him back; him no care.Then he go away from lubras, takit fire-stick, too.Him gibbit fire to blackpfeller."Long time after, baas, him turned into little

bird by Uri-uri, gibbit him little red mark ontail. Dat red mark made by fire, baas. Ebersince dat time, poor blackpfeller habbit bikya tomake him warm and cookit 'possum."Harry listened to this story with interest ; then

he said:"Oh yes, I know that bird, Quandini. We callhim the fire-tail.""Dat right, baas ; him fire-tail. Him gibbit fire

to blackpfeller long time before."Harry now thought it was time for him toshow the blacks how he could light a fire; so he

collected a little heap of dry leaves and grass, and,having struck a match, soon had a bright fireburning. The blacks were filled with awe whenthey saw this magic, and gazed at Harry withwonder. The lad then offered the box to Tomboko,one of the tribe, who stood near, but the black


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was afraid to touch the magic box, much lessattempt to use it."Too much debbil debbil, him tinkit, baas,"said Quandini. "Him say it bad Uri-uri cometakit poor Tomboko, so him no touchit firebox."King Yang-uia (the left-handed) then held out

his hand, as he wished to try the magic fire-boxof the white men. Harry handed him the boxand, for a joke, held out the spent match, whichhe had blown out after lighting the fire.Yang-uia rubbed the dead match up and down

the edge of the box, but without result. Then hehanded it back to Harry, who quietly took out an-other match while he explained matters to theKing by means of dumb-show. Then he struck thematch on the box, and a light instantly flamed up.

This was too much for the King and his tribe,none of whom would touch the magic fire-box,and Harry was looked upon as a wizard, whocould make bikya by means of magic.Meanwhile the lubras had been at work cook-ing breakfast, so the warriors, with Harry amongthem, sat down and enjoyed a hearty meal.


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H THE MAGIC SPEARCHAPTER VI.A DAY IN THE CAMP.

After breakfast the blacks settled down to per-form various duties about the camp. They hadbeen engaged in hunting on the previous day;and, as game was plentiful, there was plenty offood on hand for the present needs. Harry in-quired of Quandini in which direction they hadbeen hunting, and, on hearing his reply, came tothe conclusion that the hunters were indirectlyresponsible for the accident which had cast him,a stranger, amongst them. It was when attackedby the hunters that the mob of kangaroos hadcome crashing through the bush, frightening hishorse, and causing it to break away from thecamp, while Harry was resting beside the creekon the previous day.Harry wandered about the camp, an interested

spectator of the various groups. He was eagerto learn something of the lives of the natives,and as he watched the various workers, and notedthe skill with which they performed their differenttasks, he was filled with wonder. He had alwaysheard the blacks spoken of as a very stupid race,very low down in the human scale; but as hewatched them at their tasks, and saw theamount of skill and intelligence which they putinto their work, he realized that they were capableof teaching many people who thought themselvesfar superior to the poor blacks.


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A DAY IN THE CAMP 19First he watched the lubras at work over the

fire, and noticed that their cookery consistedchiefly in baking and roasting. They knew no-thing of boiling, as they had no skill in the makingof pots. Some of their baskets were capable ofholding water, but, of course, they would notstand the fire. A favourite method of cookingwas by covering the animal or bird with clay androasting it, fur or feathers and all, just as Harryhad seen the ducks treated when he had his firstmeal with the blacks on the previous evening.A porcupine, spines and all, was covered withwet clay and roasted in the ashes. When it waswell cooked, the clay was knocked off, and theskin, spines and all, came away, leaving the fleshready for eating. Harry was much amused atthis novel method, and made up his mind to tellhis aunt all about it when he reached home. Oneof the lubras offered him a piece of the porcupine,but the lad did not fancy such food, as theporcupine lives chiefly on a diet of ants; but hesampled a piece of brush turkey which had beentreated in the same way, and found it very good.He then strolled across to where a group of menwere at work sewing skins together to make rugs.The thread used was made from the tail sinewsof the kangaroo, and the work was beautifullydone. Some lads were engaged in scraping theskins and tanning them for the rug makers.

Other blacks were at work mending weapons,which had been damaged in the chase, and carving


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JO THE UAGlCnew ones. Their tools consisted of a stone chiselfor the rougher work, while for the delicatecarving they used a sharp tool made from anopossum's tooth, firmly fixed into a wooden han-dle. The carvings were all worked out withoutany curved lines, only patterns of straight linesand herring-bone being used; but many of themlooked very neat indeed.One man was repairing spears which had been

broken. Some of these were made of reeds, chosenbecause of their straight stalks, and tipped withemu's bone. Others were made of myall, or otherhard wood, which had been charred in the fire,and fastened to reeds. These were so well joinedthat, when poised on the finger, the reed and thewooden part balanced each other perfectly.A number of lubras sat at a little distance,weaving baskets and nets, and plaiting fibres ofbark. Each woman used a heavy stone to keepher work in place, and this allowed her to use bothhands (peeyin) constantly, the band of fibre beinglooped about the big toe (daybon) of the rightfoot. These women chatted or sang while theyworked, just as white women chat with theirfriends or read books while engaged in knitting.Some other women were preparing thread fromthe fibres of the balyan (bulrush). They strippedthe root of its outer bark, and placed it in theashes for a few moments; they then twisted itto loosen the fibre, and by chewing the rootobtained a quantity of gluten, which looked very


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A DAY IN THE CAMP 31much like wheaten flour. This gluten forms aplentiful and wholesome supply of food for thosetribes who live in swampy districts.The women chewed the roots till nothing wasleft but the fibre, which looked like hemp. A ball

NATIVE IMPLEMENTS AND WEAPONS(1) Stone Knife; (2) Sheath; (3) Stone Pick; (4) Stone Axe;(5) Boomerang; (6) Stone Chisel; (7) Possum-tooth Chisel;

(8) Firemakers; (9) Spear; (10) Bark Canoe

of this fibre was then drawn out and rubbed withthe palm of the hand on the bare thigh, whilethe fingers of the other hand twirled a smallwooden spindle, which twisted and held thefinished thread.


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32 THE MAGIC SPEARHarry was amused at the novel method in which

the lubras carried their picaninnies. A narook(opossum rug) was slung over the mother'sshoulder in such a way as to form a bag, and herethe little one nestled in comfort, while the motherhad both her hands free to perform any task shewished. The babies wore bracelets and ankletsof opossum skin, for the mothers believe thatthese act as charms to ward off illness and to maketheir children grow up strong and healthy.After watching the basket and net makers for

some time, Harry strolled in the direction of thelake. Here he saw several blacks busily engagedin making a bark canoe. Having selected atainya (big tree) with a good, smooth trunk, oneof the blacks climbed it, notching the bark withhis byaduc (stone axe) to secure a foothold, buttaking care not to mark the selected piece of bark.Then he proceeded to cut the bark in the shape ofa canoe, and, by pressing the handle of his axeand a piece of wood between the bark and thetrunk on either side of the cuts, he and his matesoon stripped the koon-toom (sheet of bark) fromthe tree. The bark was then warmed over a fire,and beaten into the required shape, after beingturned inside out. The tree selected was a stringybark, and as the bark on the outside was veryporous, the inner surface was used to withstandthe action of the water. When a red-gum wasselected, the bark was not turned inside out.When the shaping of the canoe was finishedto their liking, the blacks tied the two ends


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A DAY IN THE CAMP 33securely with fibre, and plugged clay into thechinks to make a water-tight joint. Any smallholes or cracks in the bark were then blocked upwith gum, and several sticks were fastened insidethe boat to act as spreaders. It was then readyfor use. It was a fine canoe, eighteen feet long,and capable of carrying six men.When the canoe was finished Harry strolledback to the camp, where several old men were

seated near the fire. As any young black finisheda piece of work he brought it to one of the eldersfor his opinion. The old men were looked up toby these young blacks, for they had had muchexperience in the making of spears, boomerangs,shields, and other weapons, and were able to in-struct the younger members of the tribe.The old men are of great importance in every

native camp. They are not equal to the fatigueof the chase, so they remain in the camp, wherethey see that the laws are obeyed, and keep orderamongst the members of the tribe. They alsoreceive any visitors from other tribes, and arrangeany business between their own tribe and out-siders. On the whole, they conduct themselveswith dignity, and hold a position of honour.

After wandering about all the morning andwatching the various members of the tribe atwork, Harry began to feel hungry, and was notsorry when the signal was given that the mid-daymeal was ready.


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34 THE MAGIC SPEARCHAPTER VII.

HOW THE PICCANINNIES ARE TAUGHT.As soon as dinner was over, Harry noticed a

party of boys, each armed with a light spear, .moving towards the lake, accompanied by one ofthe old men. He at once followed this party, as hewished to see what was about to happen. The oldman went to a gum-tree, from which he cuta round piece of bark about the size of a dinnerplate. Then, choosing a level grassy plot of ground,he ordered the boys to stand in a line.When they were quite ready, the old man threwthe disc of bark with a sharp, down jerk, so thatit bounded over the turf. Then each boy, in turn,threw his spear at the moving target, no boybeing allowed to throw out of his turn. In thisway they were taught, not only to become success-ful hunters, but also to learn such fine qualitiesas steadiness, obedience, self-command, and asense of fair play.Another group of lads was being trained in

throwing the boomerang. The old man whoacted as teacher stood facing the wind, holding aboomerang in his right hand. He then threw theweapon with a slight, downward jerk of his arm.The boomerang skimmed along the ground; thenrose into the air, described a circle about fiftyyards in diameter, and dropped right at the feetof the thrower, The boys then tried, using


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THE PICCANINNIES ARE TAUGMt 35smaller boomerangs, suitable to their strength.Some were successful in their efforts, and wereable to catch their boomerangs as they returned,for by this time they were moving quite slowly.

A LESSON IN BOOMERANG THROWINGOthers were not so fortunate, for their weaponsfell at some distance from where they stood. Theold black was a very patient teacher, and praisedany boy who made good progress. Needless tosay, they all tried hard to win words of praisefrom their teacher. Nothing seemed to be too


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M THE MAGfC SPEARmuch trouble in teaching the boys, who would oneday take their places as men in the ranks of thewarriors.Some other boys were being taught to use nets

on the lake, but Harry did not stay with themlong, as he had already had some experience inthis work, and knew as much about it as theydid. He was more interested in watching a partyof lads who were learning to track game in thewoods. The slightest signs were pointed out bythe old man in charge of the party, and the boyswere most watchful, each trying to discover somefaint sign that had escaped those trained, ex-perienced eyes. A few grains of sand on the trunkof a tree ; the faintest scratch on the bark ; a hairon a leaf such faint signs were noted, andpointed out with pride by the sharp-eyed pupils,who were anxious to hear the old man praise theirpowers of observation and their patience.

While the boys were being trained in thosearts which would fit them for taking their placesamong the hunters and warriors of the tribe, thegirls were not idle. Under the guidance of anold lubra, a party of girls was engaged in collect-ing gum, and in choosing suitable rushes andgrasses for- the purpose of weaving baskets andnets. Another band of girls sat together, learningto weave baskets from these reeds and grasses.Another party was being taught the art of

building a gunyah. The old woman in charge


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THE PICCANINNIES ARE TAUGHT 3?collected bushes, which she wove together so asto form a bush shelter. The girls watched care-fully; then, working in pairs, tried to copy thework of the old lubra. Each pair built a smallgunyah. When the work was finished, it wasinspected by the old woman, who praised thosegirls whose work was neatly done.

After spending a couple of hours at work, theyoungsters were dismissed to amuse themselves.A favourite game among the boys was dialk(ball). A bladder was blown up, and thrown orkicked by the boys, who stood in a circle, the win-ner being the boy who caught the ball the greatestnumber of times.Another popular game was wrestling. If anyboy wished to challenge another, he threw ahandful of dust in his direction. Then a tusslebegan in real earnest. The older blacks took greatinterest in this sport, and gave all kinds of adviceto the boys. A good wrestler was held in highesteem by the tribe, as he was able to hold hisown when brought into a hand-to-hand conflictwith an enemy. The boys were therefore en-couraged to practise this sport as often as possible.The younger children played a game somethinglike our "hide-and-seek." A boy hid himself inthe depths of the forest, and, when ready, whistledto the others, who then sought him, following thedirection from which the sound had come.

Another game in which they delighted was"digging the wombat." In this game a boy got


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38 THE MAGICinto a hole, and the others attempted to dig himout. Judging by the laughter and chattering, thepicaninnies enjoyed this game very much.Harry noticed that, while the youngsters

were enjoying themselves, several blacks hadgathered about a high tree, towards which thelubras were carrying firewood; so he left theyoungsters to enjoy their game, and walkedacross to see what was happening at the foot ofthe big tree.

CHAPTER VIII.THE COMING-OF-AGE CEREMONY.

When Harry reached the party of blacks whohad gathered at the foot of the big gum-tree, hesaw that they were stacking brushwood aroundthe butt. Presently one of the Koradgee menapplied a fire-stick to the tinder, and in a fewminutes the butt of the tree was ablaze. Beforelong it was a charred, blackened mass. Harrythought it a pity to spoil so fine a tree; so hesought out Quandini, in order to ask the reason."Ah, baas," said the black, "him one younga

blackpfeller pucka (die). This tree belonga himmoa (dead man) so we makit bikya (fire) aroundhim tainya (tree), then tainya belonga him al-ways." From this speech of the black, Harrygathered that the tree was being charred as a


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THE COMING-OF-AOE CEREMONY 39monument to the dead member of the tribe. Ithad been his tree while he was alive, and nowthat he was dead, the tree was being killed also,in memory of the dead man.

Quandini also told the lad that, when a boyreached the age of fifteen years, he was admittedas a full member of the tribe. Before he wastaken as a member, however, he had to go througha trial, and prove that he could bear pain withoutflinching. He was taken by the Koradgee meninto the depths of the forest, where his two frontteeth, in the upper jaw, were knocked out. Theseteeth were then brought back into the camp, andhanded over to the mother (kama) of the youth,who selected a high tree, among the topmostbranches of which the teeth were safely hidden.This tree was then said to belong to the youngwarrior, though he himself did not know wherehis teeth were hidden. That was a close secret,known only to his parents and the Koradgee men.If the son (yaka) died, the tree which held hisfront teeth was killed by fire, and its dead trunkleft as a monument to the dead warrior.The coming-of-age ceremony, or Narra-mang,

as it was called, was a form of religious servicewith the blacks, and no white man was allowed towitness it, unless he had been admitted to thetribe as a brother, and was held in favour by theold men. It so happened that there was to bea Narra-mang performed that evening, and asHarry Pascoe had been admitted as a brother of


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40 THE MAGIC SPEARthe tribe and a corrobboree held in his honour, hewas allowed to be present.The lads who were to be admitted to manhood,three in number, were led into the dense forest.Here, in the centre of a glassy glade, a circle wasmarked out on the ground, and a gunyah wasbuilt near it. A Koradgee, painted with pipeclay,and adorned with emu feathers, led the youthsinto the circle, while the other Koradgee menchanted these words:

"Kannaka kanya, marra, marra,Karndo kanya, marra, marra,Pilberri kanya, marra, marra."

The boys were then taken back to the gunyah,from which they were brought forth one at atime. As each took his place in the circle, aKoradgee stepped forward, armed with a stonetomahawk and a piece of wood shaped like apunch. The boy was ordered to lie on the ground ;then the Koradgee held the punch against his twoupper front teeth, and with a blow of the toma-hawk knocked them out. When this operation,which, to say the least, must have been very pain-ful, had been performed, the lad was taken back tothe gunyah, and another took his place in thecircle.When all had been treated in the same manner,the Koradgee men took the newly-made membersof the tribe into the gunyah, which was soclosely woven that not even a beam of light couldbe seen from the outside. The rest of the war-


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THE COMiNG-OF-AQE CEREM6MY 41riors sat about on the grass. They were silent,and Harry noticed that they looked in the direc-tion of the camp, as though expecting somebody.

Soon a wild chanting was heard in the forest;it gradually came nearer, and a party of lubrascame into the glade, each carrying a lighted pinetorch. They marched round the gunyah, chantinga weird strain in honour of the newly-made mem-bers of the tribe. Harry did not understand aword of this song, but he learned afterwards thatit meant:

* " 'Tis now that you are ill ;But soon will grow your beard,And on the magic musk-duckYou with the men shall feed."

The three Koradgee men now came from thehut, each bearing the front teeth of one of thethree lads. These they handed to the mothersof the youth and the women, accompanied byone of the Koradgees, went away to hide the teethin the forest, as has already been told.

According to the custom of the black race, theyouths who have been newly admitted to the ranksof the warriors are compelled to stay in the forestfor the period of one moon. They are hidden fromthe sight of all but the Koradgee men. Shouldthey chance to be seen by a woman during thatperiod, they would, according to Quandini, bestricken with instant death, for Pund-jel is veryangry if the law is not strictly obeyed.


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42 THE MAGIC SPEARWhen the month is over, the youths return to

the camp, and take their places among the menaround the camp-fire. They are then treated asfull members of the tribe, and are allowed to eatthe flesh of my-loa (the black swan) ; joh-gah (themusk-duck) ; also the fat of the emu.Harry Pascoe was not sorry when the man-

making scene was over. He shuddered as hewatched the dentists at work, but the youths didnot murmur; they bore the fearful pain bravely,for it was an important day in their lives, whentheir powers of endurance were being tested, andit was considered unmanly to show fear or to cryout.As the party returned to the camp, Harrythought of all he had seen, and thanked his luckystars that he was a white lad, who had to passthrough no such trying ordeal upon coming ofage.As he lay awake that night, he thought of hishome and the anxiety of his people. He knew that

his uncle would be searching for him, and thathis aunt would perhaps be mourning him as dead.

"Poor Auntie!" said Harry to himself. "If sheonly knew that I was in no danger, I wouldn'tcare a scrap."He tossed about for a long time, and at lastdropped off to sleep; but his rest was disturbedby a fearful nightmare. There before him stoodhis Uncle Jim, armed with a big axe and a mightypair of pincers, ready to extract all his front teeth,


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A DAY WITH THE HUNTERS 43while all around him lurked little demons, wholaughed and jeered at him in a horrible manner.His uncle raised his arm, ready to strike, when

ah, joy ! He awoke, to find that day was break-ing, and that the fearful laughter was not madeby demons, but by a flock of kookaburras perchedon a gum-tree overhead.

CHAPTER IX.A DAY WITH THE HUNTERS.

Harry jumped up, glad to see the daylight, andto escape from the horrors of the nightmare. Hefound the camp in a state of bustle and hurry;and, on asking the reason, was told by Quandinithat the men were going on a hunting expedition.Harry heard this news with pleasure, as he washoping to learn something as he watched theblacks at work tracking and hunting game. Hehad already had one lesson, amusing as well asinstructive, which showed him that the blackscan hold their own, even with so cunning a birdas the crow.On the previous day a flock of crows had been

cawing noisily among the trees. Now the crow'sflesh is considered by the blacks to be a specialdainty, whether his song is sweet or not ; and oneblack, Tomboko by name, when he saw the crowsin the trees and heard their harsh notes, feltthat there was nothing he desired so much $s a


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4-4 THE MAGIC SPEARmeal of crow's flesh. He set to work in a novel wayto procure that dainty fare.Holding a piece of fish in his hand, he stretchedhimself upon a rock, as if asleep in the sun. Oneof the crows, seeing the piece of fish and notobserving any movement on the part of the native,at once pounced down upon the fish, and wascaught in an instant by the wily black, who, afterkilling it and cooking it over the fire, settled downto a meal which, for pure enjoyment, might havebeen envied by anyone.

After an early breakfast, the hunters set out.They were well prepared ; their spears were sharp ;their boomerangs and axes were thrust into theiropossum-skin belts; while each man had a bag,woven from bark-fibre, thrown over his shoulder.

Quandini told Harry that he and Tomboko weregoing after a mob of kangaroos, whose tracksthey had discovered not far from the camp; soHarry followed them as they crept silentlythrough the bush. Soon they caught sight of amob of kangaroos feeding in a grassy glade.Taking note of the direction of the wind, the twoblacks separated. Quandini remained where hewas, while Tomboko crept off through the under-growth, so as to come up on the other side of theirquarry, against the wind. Kangaroos are verykeen of scent and hearing, so that, unless this pre-caution is taken, it is a difficult matter to approachwithin spear-throwing distance.As the ground beyond the kangaroos was not


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A DAY WITH THE HUNTERS 45well timbered, Tomboko had made himself a screenof bushes, behind which he crept steadily nearerto his prey. Meanwhile Quandini, who remained

CATCHING KANGAROOShidden from view, began to make slight noisesby breaking twigs, in order to attract the atten-tion of the kangaroos in his direction, and


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46 THE MAGIC SPEARgave his mate a chance to creep upon them unseen.

Suddenly Tomboko dropped his leafy screen,and, running forward, hurled his spear with allhis force. His aim was true, for a fine kangaroofell, pierced through the heart. The rest of themob, alarmed by the suddenness of the attack,dashed off like the wind.Having secured their prize, the blacks preparedto follow the mob, and after half an hour's tramp,

saw them in the distance, feeding on a patch ofplain country. As there was no cover within twohundred yards of the mob, there was not muchhope of creeping upon them, especially after thefright they had just received. Harry then offeredto shoot one of the kangaroos with his rifle. Helay on the ground, and after taking careful aim,fired. There was a flash and report; then a fineyoung buck leaped into the air, and fell back,dead.At the sound of the shot Tomboko, who had

been watching Harry intently, fell to the groundin terror, and lay there writhing and jabbering inhis own language, which the lad did not under-stand."Why, what's the matter with your mate?"

asked Harry, of Quandini."Baas, him tinkit your gun one debbil-stick,"

answered the black. "Him say 'no kill poor Tom-boko with thunder and lightning/ "

"Oh, I won't hurt him," laughed Harry. "Tellhim to go and get the kyemery" (kangaroo),


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A DAY WITH THE HUNTERS 4?

CLIMBING TREES AFTER OPOSSUMS


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48 THE MAGIC SPEARDuring the morning the lad shot several kan-

garoos, and the blacks were delighted with theplentiful supply of meat which he had secured soeasily with his "thunder-stick."As they were returning to the camp, Harry saw

a couple of blacks climbing trees after opossums,which during the day were lying asleep insidehollow tree-trunks. Before climbing a tree, theblacks carefully examined the bark for signs of'possum. They breathed on the bark, in order todetect the presence of hairs or grains of sand;they looked for the faintest scratches on the sur-face. If they found traces of 'possum, theyclimbed the tree. First, a black cut a notchin the trunk, about four feet from theground. Putting his big toe into this hollow, hedrew himself up; then, holding on tightly, he cutanother notch. In this way he climbed up to theplace where a branch had broken off. Then, hav-ing found the 'possum, he soon got him out bycutting a hole in the tree-trunk.As he watched these men, Harry realized why

the old blacks had taken such pains in teachingthe boys the science of hunting. No sign was unim-portant in their eyes; they neglected nothing,however small it might appear. It was thisthorough attention to detail that made the blackssuch wonderful hunters.While Harry was watching the 'possum hunters,

lie saw a black rushing towards him through theforest, as though he had suddenly gone mad. But


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A DAY WITH THE HUNTERS 49the black was not mad ; he was engaged in nothingmore dangerous than gathering honey. The nativeway of finding a hive was rather clever. Havingcaught a wild bee which is little bigger than theordinary house-fly the native stuck a bit of whitedown or feather to its body, and gave it itsfreedom. Then he watched the direction of itsflight, and rushed after it like a madman, stum-bling over rocks and roots, but never for an instantlosing sight of the bee. In this way he found thetree in which the hive was hidden, and was wellpaid for his trouble. Though not so firm as gardenhoney, the wild variety has a very fine flavour,and is much prized by the blacks.Another thing that interested Harry very muchwas the way in which a black stalked a wild tur-key. He carried a snare made from a long sticklike a fishing rod, and provided at the small endwith the skin and feathers of a little bird.There was also a running noose, the end of whichwas held in the hand of the black.

Hidden behind a leafy screen, and waving hisdecoy to and fro, the man slowly approached theturkey, the attention of which was soon caughtby the fluttering wings of the little bird on thestick. When near enough the black slipped hisnoose over the turkey's head and, bearing hisprize in triumph, returned to the camp.While the men were hunting, the lubras had not

been idle, but had been engaged in digging foryams and truffles. These fungi, which grow under


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50 THE MAGIC SPEARthe surface of the ground, are regarded by theblacks as a great treat. When cut open they havethe appearance of unbaked loaves of brown bread.Sometimes they grow to a great size; the lubrasfound one that was at least fifty pounds in weight.Another kind of food collected was the leaves ofthe "pig-face." These thick, pulpy leaves werrgathered either before the tips had turned red, orafter they had quite dried up.As it was by this time well past mid-day, Harrywas very glad when "luncheon was served." Hemade a hearty meal of kangaroo steak, roastedtruffles, and yams ; which he found very much tohis taste. After lunch he went for a walk bythe lake, where a band of blacks had gone fish-ing, also snaring wild-fowl. Here he found muchto interest him, and the afternoon slipped by alltoo soon.

CHAPTER X.ON THE LAKE.

As Harry reached the lake, the blacks launchedtheir large bark canoe, which he had seen themstrip from the tree on the previous day. Theymade signs to him to take a seat; then theypaddled out to the middle of the lake.Harry was charmed with the beautiful sight.The water was fringed with rushes and reeds,


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ON THE LAKE 51

CATCHING WILP DUCK


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52 THE MAGIC SPEARwhile the sloping banks were hedged with greentrees and undergrowth. Scores of wildfowl weredotted here and there on the surface of the water,while many more were wading among the reedsin search of food.The lad was greatly interested in the method

employed by the blacks in catching ducks. A net,about fifty yards in length, was stretched acrossthe lagoon, and held by two natives so that thelower edge was about four feet above the surfaceof the water. Two other blacks then went alongopposite shores for some distance and, movingslowly and cautiously, so as not to frighten thebirds into rising, they succeeded in driving themclose to the net. When he judged them to be nearenough, one of the blacks drew a piece of barkfrom his belt. This was cut in the shape of ahawk. Watching his chance he hurled the barkhawk amongst the ducks, at the same time makinga cry like that of a hawk. The ducks, hearing thiscry, dipped under the surface, and at the samemoment the two blacks allowed the net to fall,and several ducks were caught in its folds.The canoe was then paddled across the laketowards a large bed of reeds, near which manyducks were swimming about. When they wereas near as they could go without alarming thebirds, one of the blacks slipped into the water,earrying a hollow reed in his hand. Swimmingunder water, and breathing through the reed, heapproached the ducks without noise. Reaching


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ON THE LAKE 53up his hand, he seized a duck by the feet, andpulled it under quickly to prevent splashing.Having wrung its neck, he thrust it into hisbelt. In this way he captured six ducks, withwhich he proudly returned to the canoe.The blacks were expert swimmers and divers,and seemed to be as much at home in the wateras on dry land. Some of them could remainunder water for as long as two minutes withoutcoming up for breath in fact, one of them stayedunder for so long that Harry began to fear thatthe poor fellow had been caught among the reedsor snags; but he reappeared after a while, andseemed none the worse for his long stay underwater.Among the reeds were several fine pelicans,

with bills almost as large as their bodies. Theywaddled about in the mud, searching for yabbiesand frogs. Harry pointed them out to Quandini,and asked why the blacks did not hunt them asthey did swans and ducks."Ah, baas," said Quandini, "him pelican that

pfeller. He no lubbit blackpfeller. Listen, baas,mine tellit you story. Long time before, manymoons six, ten, plenty much," and Quandinirolled his eyes, as if to convey by these words thatit was a very long time ago "there bin plentybig flood. Water cover ground everywhere; allblackpfeller him drown; only one man, threelubras left. They libbit on mud-bank, baag, irmiddle of water. Then him pelican come in canoe.


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54 THE MAGIC SPEARWhen he see people, he go helpit them. He seeone lubra, and wantit her for him lubra. Whenshe try to get in canoe, him pelican say 'not now,you waitit next time.'

"So he takit the others, and say he come backfor lubra. While him gone, lubra left alone, gettitmuch frighten, baas; so she wrappit up log ofwood in 'possum rug, makit log look like lubra binsleep; then she swimmit away."When pelican come back he say to log, 'Comeon now, mine takit you.' But he gettit no answer.Then he gettit wild, and gibbit kick to log; makithim toe sore. When he findit out that lubra gone,he gettit mad. He paint himself white, tolook out fight with blackpfeller."When him half painted, black and white, onemore pfeller pelican comit along and see funnyblack and white pfeller pelican. Then he gibbit ahit with him beak, and killit painted pelican. Be-fore that, baas, pelican black all ober; now heblack and white like you see."Harry was delighted with this story. He had

often heard his uncle speak of the quaint legendsof the natives, and now he was learning some ofthem for himself. He realized from Quandini'sstory that even the blacks had some idea of agreat deluge, in which the world was drowned,and thought to himself that he would be able tosurprise his uncle, when he told him all thethings he had seen and heard.Soon after this the canoe was paddled inshore,


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ON THE LAKE 55and, stepping out, Harry strolled along the water'sedge. At that moment a flock of galahs came cir-cling over the lake, their beautiful rose-tintedplumage glowing as they wheeled in the sunlight.As the birds approached the shore, one of thenatives took a boomerang from his belt and stoodready for action. Suddenly he darted forward andhurled his weapon. It skimmed over the surfaceof the water; then rose with a peculiar zig-zagmotion which completely puzzled the birds. Rightamongst them flew the boomerang, dealing deathas it went. Three galahs fell to the water; twodead, the third with a broken wing.Taking the wounded bird, the black fastened it

to a tree to act as a decoy. Its cries soon had thedesired effect; for the birds, hearing the call oftheir wounded mate, circled over the lagoon againand again, with the result that, in a little while,the hunter had captured more than a dozen birds.

Next, Harry visited the fishermen, who were atwork at the lower end of the lake. The King,Yang-uia, was an expert at spearing fish. As hestood upon a log overlooking the water, his three-pronged fishing spear poised in his hand, he lookedlike a figure carved in ebony, so motionless washe. Suddenly the figure awoke to life as a fineperch rose to snap at a fly. There was a quickthrust of the spear, and in a twinkling the fishlay struggling on the grass.Two or three men were engaged in netting fisha short distance away. Each was armed with a


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56 THE MAGIC SPEARnet, semi-oval in shape, about twenty inches longand seven inches deep. These nets were kept irshape by a wooden hoop at the top. The native?

SPEARING FISH

dived to the bottom of the lake, searching amongthe weeds for fish. As soon as he located one,the black gently pushed his net under the fish:then, rising suddenly, he held his victim at arm'slength above his head. Having bitten the fish's


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THE KORADGEE'S MAGIC 57head to kill it, he threw it on the shore, and divedagain.The natives were very skilful at this kind ofwork, and it was an interesting sight to watchseveral men diving together in a friendly contestto see who could secure the finest fish. Meanwhile,the scared fish swam wildly about, seeking shelterin the mud and weeds, where they only succeededin becoming an easier prey to the clever fisher-men.As Harry watched the different parties at work,

he realized that, after all, he knew very littleabout bushcraft, and his respect for the blacksrose considerably.

CHAPTER XI.THE KORADGEE'S MAGIC.

It was Hippy-Yhuko (sunset) when the party offishermen returned to camp, where a variety ofsmells announced the fact that the lubras werebusy over the fires. There was to be a feast thatevening, for both the hunters and fishermen hadbeen successful and there was plenty of food.Plenty was needed, too, for it was surprising tosee the amount of meat which a hungry blackcould dispose of at a sitting. When the blackssaw the kangaroos which Harry Pascoe had shot,they were loud in his praises, and his magic fire-stick was the object of much attention. Harry


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58 THE MAGIC SPEARtook care to unload the rifle, as he did not wishto see anyone injured while examining the won-derful stick which could make thunder and light-ning, and kill kangaroos so easily.

Just as the feast was about to begin, a manwas seen tottering towards the camp as thoughbadly wounded. This was Toolabor, one of thetribe, who had been hunting during the day. Heappeared to be very weak, though Harry couldnot see any marks on him. The poor fellow toldhis story with difficulty. He said that, while re-turning to the camp, he had been pounced uponby a bad uri-uri (spirit) who had held him fast,and, opening up his back, had robbed him of hiskidney-fat.When one of the blacks becomes ill or dies, hisfriends believe that he has been bewitched. Some-one is therefore to blame, and the death of a rela-tive must be avenged. When wounded in battle,a black will bear great pain without a murmur.He understands his condition then ; he has foughtand has been wounded by an enemy. But whensickness comes and there are many causes, suchas hunger, or over-eating, or drinking bad water

then he thinks that he has been bewitched, andthat some wizard or spirit is trying to take hislife. Thus it was that Toolabor, feeling ill, hadcome into camp, firmly believing that hehad been set upon by a wild spirit, whohad stolen his kidney-fat.Harry could see from the looks of fear on their


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THE KORADGEE'S MAGIC 59faces that this was looked upon as a very seriouscase by the tribe. The men at once seated them-selves around their sick comrade, forming a three-fold circle with the old men in the centre; nextcame the middle-aged warriors, while the youngermen occupied the outer circle. Orders were givenfor silence to be kept, and everybody was told totread very softly, so that no breaking of branchesor twigs should be heard by the bewitched man.About three paces from the sick man a small

fire of bark had been made. No flame was allowed,but only a smouldering, smoky fire. From thisfire, smoking pieces of bark were laid, at intervalsof about one hundred yards, in the direction of theplace where Toolabor had been bewitched.When all these preparations had been made,Kooloorlook, the chief Koradgee man, appeared onthe scene. This wizard, or doctor, professed tohave great powers. He claimed to be able to flythrough the air as fast as an eagle ; he could alsoleave the earth and visit the abode of spirits when-ever he wished. In fact, if one believed his ownaccount, he was quite a wonderful person; and,strange to say, he was able to convince all theother blacks that he was a wonder, too.These wizards are great imposters. They claimto know all things. They can not only cure, but

also cause, disease by means of their charms. Theypretend to draw stones, such as pieces of quartzcrystal, out of the bodies of persons who are saidto be bewitched, and in this way they cure the


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60 THE MAGIC SPEARevil, or claim to do so, and win great respect fromthe other blacks. They are lazy, and seldom huntor fish for a living or do any kind of work, forthat matter. Their trade is to deceive the restof the tribe. They wander about at night, whenthe other blacks are in their gunyahs, and makefearful noises, in order to terrify them. They sleepin the daytime, while the rest of the tribe areat work. By means of their cunning they are ableto deceive their fellows, and at the same time livevery comfortably on the profits of their powerover them.

Kooloorlook advanced to the inner circle, andlooked at poor Toolabor. Then he said that hemust make a flight over the tree-tops to the sky,in order to bring back the stolen kidney-fat. Aftercommanding the whole party to sit quite still, hewent off into the darkness, while the rest of theblacks sat motionless, as they feared that anymovement on their part would bring about theinstant death of the bewitched man.Soon a great crackling of bushes announced the

fact that the old wizard was winging his wayabove the tree-tops. Then Kooloorlook's voicewas heard, shouting "Goo, goo, goo," a great wayoff.

"Goo, goo, goo," answered the elders, who wereseated close to the sick man.

Kooloorlook did not at once find the evil spirit,so he was compelled to make quite a long tripthrough the sky. After about twenty minutes,


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THE KORADGEE'S MAGIC 61the rustling of branches announced his return.The old men then called in their language:"Come, bring back the fat! Make haste!"

Kooloorlook soon appeared, and without utter-ing a sound, seized the almost dying man in asavage manner, rubbing him violently and beatinghim on the sides and back with all his force. Aftera few minutes of this treatment, he jumped up.and announced that the cure was complete. Greatwas the joy in the camp, where a short time be-fore had been silence and grief. Then, to Harry'sastonishment, the sick man got up, quite wellagain, and took his place amongst his friends bythe fire, quite at his ease.Quandini told Harry that Kooloorlook had flownas a hawk, swooped down on the spirit of the wildblack, and taken the kidney-fat before the spiritknew that the wizard was near him. Had he beenone minute later, the wild spirit would have eatenpart of the fat. "Den, baas," said Quandini, "himToolabor bin die; no save him. He havit nokidney fat.""But how did the old wizard fly up to the sky?"

asked Harry. "Nobody saw him do it, you know.Besides, he brought nothing back with him."

"Baas," said Quandini, in a serious tone, "youbin see him Toolabor sick, lostit kidney fat. Koo-loorlook him come to him. He go away, then hecomit back, gibbit kidney fat to Toolabor, he getbetter. He sick ; he get better. That sure proof,baas."


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62 THE MAGIC SPEARYong-wida (the moon) had risen over the tree-

tops and bathed the camp in her silver light, be-fore the tribe settled down again to the feast.The meal was in full swing when there arose agreat barking of dogs, which announced thearrival of strangers. Then a black lad came run-ning to the fire, shouting something, which Quan-dini explained to Harry thus :"White pfeller him come; kee-gap, pullet, bigheap plenty." (One, two, very many).At this news Harry jumped up, and ran to meetthe newcomers, for he knew that his own peoplehad found him, and that his stay with his duskyfriends was at an end.

CHAPTER XII.CONCLUSION.

When Harry's horse had bolted from the campby the creek, it had made its way back to thehomestead. It must have travelled all night, forwhen Mr. Pascoe arose next morning, he was sur-prised to see the animal standing there at the slip-rails. He at once called Sam Treloar, and pre-pared to go in search of Harry, who was, morethan likely, lying wounded by the roadside.Sam Treloar at once rode off to the homesteadof John Harris, their nearest neighbour on theriver, with the news of Harry's accident. The newssoon spread, and before long there was a party


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CONCLUSION 63of horsemen assembled at the farm, ready to goin search of the missing lad. They knew thedirection in which he had gone, and soon foundthe tracks of his horse; but these were hardto follow, as they were two days old; besides,there had been a shower of rain in the meantime.

Just before sundown they came to the placewhere Harry had camped beside the creek, on thenight he had left home. They knew that they wereon the right track then, and decided to camp at thespot for the night, and to scour the bush next dayfor signs of the missing lad.During the next afternoon they found the place

from which Harry's horse had bolted, and decidedto separate, in the hope of picking up the lad'stracks. Soon they heard a shout from the direc-tion of the creek. It was Sam Treloar, who, infollowing the course of the stream, had comeacross the prints of Harry's boots in the soft mud.This showed that the lad had travelled down-stream, so the party followed the creek till theycame to the waterfall at the head of the lagoon.

Here they lost all traces of the lad; and, as itwas sunset, they decided to camp, and in the morn-ing to divide their party and search both sides ofthe lake. Just then one of the party gave a shout,and pointed to the far end of the lake, where a thincolumn of smoke could be seen curling above thetree-tops. The party at once pressed forward, andsoon caught sight of the camp-fire. Their ap-proach was soon made known by the native dogs,


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64 THE MAGIC SPEARand the shouts of the young blacks. You mayimagine their joy when they found Harry, aliveand well.

Mr. Pascoe was most grateful to the nativesfor their kind treatment of his nephew, and pro-mised that, when he reached home, he would dosomething practical to show his gratitude.The rescue party sat about the fire till a latehour, listening to Harry's story; then they"turned in," as they wished to ride away early.

In the morning Harry said farewell to hiscoloured friends, and set out for his home. Hewas received with open arms by his aunt, alsoby Mary, the kitchen maid, who looked uponHarry as a hero. What stories he told them, asthey sat around the fire in the comfortable farmkitchen !Mr. Pascoe did not forget his promise. He and

Harry returned to the camp, their pack-horsesladen with those things which blackfellows lovebright steel axes, knives, red cloth and beads; butbest of all in the eyes of the chief, at any .ratewas a brass plate, in the form of a half-moon,on which was rudely engraved :

To Yang-Uia, the Left-Handed,As a token of gratitude,from J.P.

THE END.


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the magic spear, or, camped with the blacks (1900) by william thomson hill

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