"And say supernal powers! who deeply scan
Heaven's dark decrees, unfathomed yet by man,
When shall the world call down, to cleanse her shame,
That embryo spirit, yet without a name."
CAMPBELL.
The blacks commenced their obsequies with a lugubrious mien; and after
collecting the bodies, which numbered nearly a hundred, prepared to
entomb them according to their own peculiar custom. Usually, upon the
death of a black, the surviving relatives bemoan their loss by
besmearing themselves with coloured clay or mud, and venting their grief
for days in fasting, frantic gestures, and wails; while the gin (if the
deceased be a man possessed of one) covers her head with white
feathers, which species of mourning she wears for a "moon," _i.e._, a
month. On this occasion, however, the deceased were nearly all the
members of separate families, and the survivors had little sympathy for
them, except in common; consequently, the last rites were performed in
uniform silence.
For each body was erected four forked posts (standing about four feet
high), on which were formed a platform of boughs, so as to make a sort
of foliate table to support the lifeless clay. The bodies, when duly
placed, were then over-spread with long dry grass, and, afterwards,
with an outer covering of boughs, which, to be prevented being removed
by the weather, were tied together at each end as a bundle of sticks.
These impromptu sepulchres were elevated from the ground just
sufficiently to prevent the access of the native dogs, and protected
overhead from the molestation of carnivorous birds by the covering we
have described. They are, however, no more defended, than a subterranean
tenement would be, from the depredations of insects and vermin; the
most numerous of which, who attack this, or any other carrion in the
Australian bush, being ants; which have rightly been designated
"nature's scavengers."
In such encasements it is not to be wondered at that the flesh is
speedily removed from the bones; and, after a short time, they stand
inoffensive monuments to the memory of departed friends. They remain
intact for years; until, either consumed by some bush fire, washed away
by some gigantic flood, or the supports give way under the decay of
successive seasons, the sepulchre and its enshrined contents fall
together to the earth to reunite with their parent dust.
When the blacks finished their toil, the cemetery had a most
extraordinary appearance. With nearly a hundred four-legged tombs, of
various size placed side by side, and their heads set facing the rising
sun, they almost filled the centre space of the camp; and, with the
conical gunyahs around them in a wide circle, they presented, at the
cessation of the buryer's work, one of the most novel and picturesque
scenes that could be imagined.
Upon being informed by Jemmy Davies that he could now speak to the
blacks Mr. Wigton called them together, and addressing them in their own
language, said: "My friends! you say I am the white man who speaks of
the great Spirit; I would speak of him to you now. I know that you say
there is no good Spirit, only an evil one; but you are wrong, for there
are both; and of the good one I will now tell you. A very long time ago
he made all the big hills, and large rivers, the plains, and the great
sea; and he made man, and all the beasts, birds, and fishes; he made
white men, and black men; he made everything. When he made the first
man, he told him he would love him, and teach him great wisdom, if he
would do what the great Spirit wished. He gave him a wife and put them
both in a large country, where was plenty fruit that possums and
parrots like, and which was very good for man. But one tree was there
that they were not to touch; because it belonged to the evil spirit. The
good Spirit told man, that if he eat the fruit that grew on that tree he
would be wicked, and the good Spirit wouldn't love him. But when the
good Spirit left him, and the man and his wife 'walked all about,' and
saw a very fine country with plenty of fruit to eat, and plenty of
animals who would not do him any harm, but come to him when he called
them, he was very much pleased. But the evil spirit presently came to
the woman and said to her, 'Now, you take that fruit that the good
Spirit says belongs to me, and that is not good; you will find it very
good, the best in the country; it belongs to me and you may take as much
of it as you like.' Now the woman did not care what the good Spirit had
told her, so she took it, and gave some of it to the man, after telling
him what the evil spirit had said to her, and they both eat it. But when
the good Spirit knew it, he was very angry; and told the man and the
woman, that as they had done what he had told them not to do, and had
stolen the fruit off the tree which he told them not to touch, he would
turn them out of the country into another country where there was no
fruit growing, and where the beasts were all wild and where they would
have to work for their food, and always be in danger and trouble. So you
see the first trouble that there was in the world, was from stealing and
disobeying the good Spirit; and the man and woman were punished, though
they did not die like your friends this morning.
"Well, my friends, the man and woman lived a long time together, and
they died; and others grew up, and they died; and so on, until by and
bye a great many people lived on the earth, who forgot all about the
good Spirit; just as you have done. Then the good Spirit was very sorry
for them, because they did as the evil spirit told them; and when they
died, they all went to the evil spirit, and lived with him in fire. But
the good Spirit wished them to live with Him in a beautiful country,
where they would never want to eat and drink, but would always be happy.
So He sent them His Son to tell them what to do to please Him, and make
themselves happy, when they 'jump up' again in the sky, after they die
on the earth. He told them what to do, but very few of the people did
it; for the evil spirit always persuaded them not to notice Him, or
believe Him. But the good Spirit did many good things for them. He
brought to life again some of their friends after they had died; and He
made food 'jump up' when they were hungry, their clothes never to wear
out, and plenty such things. And He told them that if they did as he
said they would go to His Father's country in the sky, and live there
with Him in happiness and never die; but that if they would not do as He
told them, they would have to go to the evil spirit, where they would be
always burning, and never die either; while their sufferings would
always continue. To escape this, and procure happiness, He told them
what they must do. The good Spirit loved them; so they must love the
good Spirit. The good Spirit hated murder, theft, lies, and cruelty; so
they must hate them too. They must be peaceable and kind to one another,
and, next to the good Spirit Himself, they must love one another,
especially the poor; and He told them if they would do all this, the
good Spirit would be very pleased, and would take care of them; but if
they would not do so, then He would be very angry and punish them. Now,
a good many people believed what the Son of the good Spirit said, and
did as he told them; and when they died they all went to the good
Spirit. But the evil spirit persuaded a great many more not to believe
Him; and they didn't, but killed Him; but He 'jumped up' again and went
back to his Father, the good Spirit, and the people that killed Him,
when they died, all went to the bad spirit to be punished. Now, the bad
spirit is always telling people to do bad things, to vex the good
Spirit, and get the people himself. They are very foolish, and do what
the evil spirit tells them, and therefore get sent to his place of
fire, and are very wretched. And I must tell you, my friends, both the
Good and evil spirit still live, and are always walking about. They are
both here just now, and were here last night; the good Spirit told you
not to steal the white man's food, and you were good and did not steal
it; but the evil spirit told Dugingi and his friends to go and steal it,
and they did, and died.
"Now, my friends, which of these would you like for your master? The
good Spirit? then do as he tells you. Love him and give up killing one
another, and stealing, and telling lies, and hating the white man. I
will stop with you, and teach you how to love the good Spirit; so that
when you die you will go to the good Spirit in the sky. But if you will
not love the good Spirit, and will not do as He tells you, then you
will be the friends of the evil spirit, and be burnt up with him in his
fire. The evil spirit is a very bad spirit, and will tell you all sorts
of things to make you not to love the good Spirit. He will tell you it
is of no use; that the good Spirit does not care for you, and will not
trouble about you, and that he only cares for the white man; but do not
believe him, for he wants to get you for himself. You try to live as the
good Spirit tells you, and you will not only enjoy the happiness with
the good Spirit when you die, but you will be happy while you live here;
and now, my friends, I will pray to the good Spirit for you."
Mr. Wigton then lifted his voice in earnest supplication to his Master,
to beseech in His unbounded beneficence, that He would dispel the
darkness from the minds of the poor benighted heathen before Him, and
reflect on them the light of His gospel. He concluded his exhortation
and prayer, and found Jemmy Davies still standing by his side, where he
had remained during the whole time of the short discourse, deeply
interested with the truths that flowed from the preacher's mouth. Not
so, however, the rest of the tribe; for Mr. Wigton had noticed with
pain, that after the first few minutes of his addressing them, they lost
all interest in his gospel story, and showed evident signs of impatience
and uneasiness; even indulging in frivolities, and taking no notice of
his speaking at all. Though grieved at this, he yet did not despair of
bringing them to a knowledge of the truth. He had frequently on former
occasions preached to the blacks with similar success; but his heart was
undaunted; he persevered in his work; and, in the tribe to whom he was
then appealing, he had hopes (with the blessing and assistance of God)
of planting the seed in their sterile souls and, by the aid of heaven's
grace, of seeing it germinate and "bring forth fruit meet for
repentance." That such a hope was visionary, all his friends were in the
habit of telling him; they repudiated the idea of the possibility of
infusing the truth of the gospel into the natures of the blacks; but he
had a more exalted faith, and believed the omnipotence, as well as the
mercy of the Almighty, would still work the regeneration of this outcast
race. He was, therefore, stimulated to pursue his course in the
instruction of these rude children of nature, to endeavour to impress
upon them an application of things divine; and he determined to remain
in their neighbourhood as long as possible, and devote to the work as
much of his time as he could command.
The party now took their leave of Jemmy Davies and his tribe, and left
the scene of the late distress for the home of the Fergusons; where they
found the news of the massacre had preceded them, and their two black
boys, Billy and Jemmy, decamped to join the remnant of the tribe. But in
the meantime we will trace the steps of William Ferguson, after he left
the camp to join Mr. Billing.
William found the storekeeper waiting very patiently for Tom
Rainsfield's return; and he rather sententiously communicated to him
what he had witnessed, leaving him to conjecture much of the detail. As
he felt in no humour to be bored by Billing's loquacity, he excused
himself from accompanying him on the road, on the plea that he was
anxious to get to Strawberry Hill, his sister being there waiting him;
and he left his companion, and rode on.
When he arrived at the Rainsfields' house he met Mrs. Billing and the
children going out for a walk; and, upon enquiring for the ladies, he
was told they had been expecting him for some time, and were at that
moment taking a stroll towards the bridge. After leaving his horse,
thither he followed them; and found that his sister was ready habited
for her ride, and her friends had stepped out for a short walk with her
before she took her departure. When they saw William, they all rallied
him on his dilatoriness and want of punctuality; but he, finding that
they knew nothing of the tragedy amongst the blacks, refrained from
making any explanation; simply pleading guilty to the indictment of his
fair friends, and begging leniency at their hands.
His sister replied that she had intended, if he had not made his
appearance before their return from their walk, to have taken off her
habit and stopped at Strawberry Hill, just to teach him punctuality. But
stepping up to him, and laughingly patting his cheek, she said that, as
he had acknowledged his negligence, she would not disappoint him, but
start whenever he pleased.
William and his convoy returned to the house, where they found the table
spread with a light repast ready waiting them; after partaking which,
the girls took an affectionate leave of one another; and, with repeated
mutual regrets at parting, promises from Kate to speedily revisit them,
and many extorted pledges and solemn obligations from William, to
frequently bring his sister over, they parted; and Kate and William left
Strawberry Hill at a canter, at which pace they continued until they
reached Fern Vale.
Upon their arrival there, the little house-keeper was received with all
honours, and duly installed in possession of her domicile and in the
importance of her office, with a gaiety which even Kate's unpractised
eye could detect to be assumed. There was a gloom upon the whole party,
particularly Tom Rainsfield, that ill accorded with their usual manner;
and it did not fail to strike her. She saw there was some mystery; and,
looking from one to the other in a state of perplexity, at last
requested an explanation. Tom excused himself from the task, possibly
from a feeling of delicacy in shocking her young and innocent mind with
a recital of the horrible events of the past twelve hours; but her
brother John, thinking it better that a knowledge of the circumstances
should be imparted to her by themselves, in preference to their reaching
her ears through some other channel, communicated to her as much as he
deemed necessary in the meantime for her to know.
To say that the story horrified her would but inadequately describe the
sensations with which she heard the dreadful narrative. She wept! though
not at the usual standard of young ladies' tears that are shed upon the
most trivial occasions when effect is deemed by them desirable; such
tears are easily conjured into existence, and have no impression on the
beholder other than as the sparkling dew on the morning flower excites
the admiration or pleases the fancy of the florist. Her's were tears of
true sympathy, gushing forth from a warm and affectionate heart; and the
burst of feeling grief of one who was always joy and sunshine touched
the hearts of her assembled friends; and more than one strong man, that
had calmly looked on the misery of the poor victims in the very presence
of death, now turned away their heads to conceal their moistened
eyelids.
As soon as Tom Rainsfield could sufficiently muster his courage to
speak, he took the two hands of Kate in his, and said in a voice
tremulous with emotion: "My dear Miss Ferguson, your kind sympathy for
these poor blacks does you infinite honour and credit; but pray calm
yourself. Much as the circumstances are to be regretted, it is more than
probable they will be found to result to our benefit, as the greatest
ruffians of the whole tribe have been removed; and we may now hope to
live without fear of any molestation."
The rest of the day passed ordinarily enough. The Fergusons were fully
occupied in putting their house in order; and Tom took his leave to see
his brother and communicate to him details that he could not expect from
Mr. Billing. He promised, before he went, to return the following
morning and join Mr. Wigton in revisiting the camp and sepulchres of the
blacks. True to his engagement, the next day Tom presented himself at
Fern Vale; when he, Mr. Wigton, and John, took their departure on their
meditated errand; leaving William at the station, to superintend some
work which required the presence of either him or his brother.
As the trio rode on their way, Tom was the first to break the general
silence, by remarking, "I am sorry to say Jemmy Davies was only too
correct, when he surmised that the flour had been poisoned as well as
the meat. I have tested it on some animals, with a fatal result; which
leaves it beyond doubt that it contained poison; while my brother's
explanation of the fact is very equivocal. He may be, and I trust he is,
sincere in his asseverations; but I must confess that the whole matter
appears to me inexplicable. He denies the possibility of the flour being
poisoned, unless it were from contact with the meat, or by their own
inadvertent use of the arsenic; which he says they must have taken from
the store with the other things, under the impression of its being
sugar. Now, though it is possible that the blacks might have made use of
the fat of the meat in making their damper, in the other supposition I
don't think there is a shadow of probability. However, let it rest
between his conscience and his God. I only trust he will enlighten his
wife on the subject, for I would not like that duty to devolve upon me,
as I could not so far dissemble as to disguise from her my suspicions;
and I know the knowledge of her husband's criminality would break her
heart."
"You need not doubt, my dear sir," said Mr. Wigton, "but what she will
hear of it from your brother. He will be sure to tell her, if it is only
to prevent her crediting any other version that she may hear; so you
need have no apprehension on that head. But let us consider now, that we
are about to revisit these wretched blacks, what we can do to ameliorate
their condition."
"I share with you, Mr. Wigton, your sympathy for these poor creatures,"
said Tom, "and would gladly render you all assistance that lies in my
power; though that assistance will necessarily be limited. But I fear
their regeneration is a task of far greater magnitude than you
conceive; and I am afraid you are too sanguine."
"Why so? my dear, sir," asked the clergyman; "nothing is impossible with
God! and with his blessing I have no fear, but that I shall be able to
work great changes in them."
"True," replied Tom, "you may with the blessing of Providence; but you
must excuse me, my dear sir, if I remind you, that we must not expect
the Almighty to deviate from his prescribed laws of nature, and work
miracles in the conversion of these savages."
"I don't quite understand you," replied the minister.
"I will explain," said Tom. "You are aware that these people's habits
and customs, are totally different from ours, and their peculiar
prejudices are deeply rooted. Now, I don't deny for a moment the
possibility of the application of the gospel to them, or the probability
of a few of their number accepting it (though of that I must confess I
have little hope); but I certainly do think that no great progress will
be made until you can get them to assimilate their ways to those of
civilisation; and that is the point where you will find the difficulty."
"For the sake of argument," said Mr. Wigton, "and to hear your views, I
will grant your theory that civilisation must precede the preaching of
the gospel; as I take it, that is what you mean. Then I would ask; what
is to prevent their being induced to domesticate themselves, and live as
we?"
"Nothing," replied Tom, "that I see, except their inherent antipathy to
a settled life, and an existence where they require to labour to gain a
subsistence. Numerous attempts have been made to wean the blacks from
their wandering, lazy, and unsettled habits, but without success. You
could not have a better instance than Jemmy Davies; one perfectly
civilized you may say, yet living a savage life. But for the influence
of his tribe, and his home associations (which he could not be induced
to renounce), he might have been made a respectable member of society;
and may yet become one, for he has had the rough edge of his savage
nature worn off. You may have another instance in John Ferguson's black
boys, who are better specimens than the general class. You see they, at
the slightest breath of excitement, leave their work and join the camp.
Any attempts to cultivate their intellects like Jemmy Davies would be
useless, unless like him they were removed from the influence of their
people. Again, you have another instance in little Joey; he has been
taught to accommodate himself to the ways of the whites, and never
desires to change his condition. But that is owing to the fact that he
has known no other, by his having been taken from his home when quite
young, educated with whites, and never having imbibed the prejudices of
his race.
"To christianize the blacks I believe they must be civilized; and to be
civilized they must be removed from the influence of their natural
predilections and superstitions; for if they are not thoroughly and
effectually eliminated from all domestic influence they will never
retain their civilisation, but return to their tribes upon the earliest
opportunity. On the other hand if they are segregated, and kept beyond
the contamination of their kindred, they become, from the absence of
their natural habits, alienated from them; and of necessity they
assimilate their ways to civilisation. I could mention examples of
these, but need only advert to the native police; who, possibly you are
aware, when they are drafted from their tribes, are instantly removed to
a distance for active service. The consequence of this is that they
remain in the force because they have no opportunity of leaving it
without coming into contact with other tribes; the natural animosities
of whom against one another are such as to render a passage through them
to their own tribe extremely perilous. There is no propinquity or
friendly intercourse between them; and the native police are therefore
retained in service, if not from choice, at least from a knowledge of
security.
"Do not imagine, Mr. Wigton, that I argue the impracticability of your
scheme from any spirit of opposition; nothing is further from my
intention. I am far rather desirous to accomplish their disenthralment,
though I fear it cannot be effected without alienating them first from
their own peculiar habits."
"I will not attempt to argue with you on the subject," replied Mr.
Wigton, "because I cannot but deny the theory that questions the
attributes of the Almighty. I will rather hope to prove to you the
fallacy of your sophistry by results. You say that Jemmy Davies is
educated; I can see that he is civilized; and can also perceive, from
his attention to me yesterday, that he is willing to be instructed, and
susceptible of the Christian impress. And I ask, why cannot the others
of his tribe be made the same? His training has been purely of a secular
kind; whereas it would have been as easy, while he was being taught the
rudiments of the English language, to have had the truths of the gospel
inculcated; and he would now have been in all probability, if not a
Christian, at least a moral man, and less prone to return to his former
barbarous nature. I would propose, while instructing the mature, to have
a school for the young, so as to put them under a regular course of
training; and I have no doubt whatever that the result would be a speedy
regeneration."
"Then, my dear sir," replied Tom Rainsfield, "to effect it you would
have to remove the children entirely from the influence of their
parents; as otherwise you would never be able to retain them under you
care. The parents would soon begin to feel the restraint of your
tuition, and would remove to escape it; while the children, nothing
loath to resume their freedom, would gladly accompany them. To make
such a system effective I believe you would require to detain the
children, even against the wishes of their parents; and, when their
education was complete, remove them elsewhere to learn some handicraft
so as to accustom them to labour. Then having been brought up in the
comforts of the whites, and having learnt to earn a livelihood by the
use of their own hands, they would have lost all yearnings after the
life of their kindred; especially as their parents, by that time, would
have been taught to look upon them as lost. In a word, to accomplish
their amelioration, you must carry out a system of domestic
expatriation, continuing to separate the young from the old until the
former will all have been reclaimed, and the latter in the course of
time (as a new generation grows up) will have totally disappeared."
"I think there is some feasibleness in your separation scheme," said Mr.
Wigton, "but I think it would be a cruel alternative to dismember
families in that way; and I do not despair of effecting the desired
object without such stringent measures, which I question if the
government and society would sanction. However, here we are at the camp;
we will see the result of our present interview, and then have an
opportunity of further speculation on this theme."
But as the party rode into the area of the camp they were surprised to
see that it was empty. Not a black was visible; and to our friend's
repeated "cooeys" not a return sound was to be heard, not even the
distant bark of the aborigines' dogs. So they concluded that the camp
had been broken up, and Jemmy Davies and his tribe retired to another
part of the scrub; and as they turned, disappointed to retrace their
steps, Tom said to Mr. Wigton, "I think you have in this conclusive
evidence of there being no guarantee that without restriction the blacks
will ever receive instruction."