Some queer dishes--Water wizards--A mysterious deputation--I protest
against cannibalism--My marriage ceremony--A startling proposition--Daily
routine--A diet of worms--I proceed cautiously--The cannibal poet sells
his wares--Fishing extraordinary--How emus were caught--Eternal fires--A
coming horror--The first cannibal feast.
I saw very little of Gunda from the moment of landing. I feel sure that
the fact of his having seen so much of the world, and travelled such a
long distance--to say nothing about bringing back so wonderful a creature
as myself--had rendered him a very great man indeed in the estimation of
his friends; and in consequence of this so much honour was paid him that
he became puffed up with pride, and neglected his faithful wife.
Everywhere I went the natives were absolutely overwhelming in their
hospitality, and presents of food of all kinds were fairly showered upon
me, including such delicacies as kangaroo and opossum meat, rats, snakes,
tree-worms, fish, &c., which were always left outside my hut. Baked
snake, I ought to mention, was a very pleasant dish indeed, but as there
was no salt forthcoming, and the flesh was very tasteless, I cannot say I
enjoyed this particular native dainty. The snakes were invariably baked
whole in their skins, and the meat was very tender and juicy, though a
little insipid as to flavour. The native method of cooking is to scoop
out a hole in the sand with the hands, and then place the article to be
cooked at the bottom. Some loose stones would then be thrown over the
"joint." Next would come a layer of sand, and the fire was built on the
top of all. Rats were always plentiful--often so much so as to become a
serious nuisance. They were of the large brown variety, and were not at
all bad eating. I may say here that the women-folk were responsible for
the catching of the rats, the method usually adopted being to poke in
their holes with sticks, and then kill them as they rushed out. The
women, by the way, were responsible for a good many things. They were
their masters' dressers, so to speak, in that they were required to carry
supplies of the greasy clay or earth with which the blacks anoint their
bodies to ward off the sun's rays and insect bites; and beside this, woe
betide the wives if _corroboree_ time found them without an ample supply
of coloured pigments for the decoration of their masters' bodies. One of
the principal duties of the women-folk, however, was the provision of
roots for the family's dinner. The most important among these
necessaries--besides fine yams--were the root and bud of a kind of water-
lily, which when roasted tasted not unlike a sweet potato.
There was usually a good water supply in the neighbourhood of these
camps, and if it failed (as it very frequently did), the whole tribe
simply moved its quarters elsewhere--perhaps a hundred miles off.
The instinct of these people for finding water, however, was nothing
short of miraculous. No one would think of going down to the seashore to
look for fresh water, yet they often showed me the purest and most
refreshing of liquids oozing up out of the sand on the beach after the
tide had receded.
All this time, and for many months afterwards, my boat and everything it
contained were saved from molestation and theft by a curious device on
the part of Yamba. She simply placed a couple of crossed sticks on the
sand near the bows, this being evidently a kind of Masonic sign to all
beholders that they were to respect the property of the stranger among
them; and I verily believe that the boat and its contents might have
remained there until they fell to pieces before any one of those cannibal
blacks would have dreamed of touching anything that belonged to me.
After a time the natives began pointedly to suggest that I should stay
with them. They had probably heard from Yamba about the strange things I
possessed, and the occult powers I was supposed to be gifted with. A day
or two after my landing, a curious thing happened--nothing more or less
than the celebration of my marriage! I was standing near my boat, still
full of thoughts of escape, when two magnificent naked chiefs, decked
with gaudy pigments and feather head-dresses, advanced towards me,
leading between them a young, dusky maiden of comparatively pleasing
appearance.
The three were followed by an immense crowd of natives, and were within a
few feet of me, when they halted suddenly. One of the chiefs then
stepped out and offered me a murderous-looking club, with a big knob at
one end, which ugly weapon was known as a "waddy." As he presented this
club the chief made signs that I was to knock the maiden on the head with
it. Now, on this I confess I was struck with horror and dismay at my
position, for, instantly recalling what Yamba had told me, I concluded
_that a cannibal feast was about to be given in my honour_, and
that--worst horror of all--I might have to lead off with the first
mouthful of that smiling girl. Of course, I reflected they had brought
the helpless victim to me, the distinguished stranger, to kill with my
own hands. At that critical moment, however, I resolved to be absolutely
firm, even if it cost me my life.
While I hesitated, the chief remained absolutely motionless, holding out
the murderous-looking club, and looking at me interrogatively, as though
unable to understand why I did not avail myself of his offer. Still more
extraordinary, the crowd behind observed a solemn and disconcerting
silence. I looked at the girl; to my amazement she appeared delighted
with things generally--a poor, merry little creature, not more than
fifteen or sixteen years of age. I decided to harangue the chiefs, and
as a preliminary I gave them the universal sign to sit down and parley.
They did so, but did not seem pleased at what they doubtless considered
an unlooked-for hitch in an interesting ceremony.
Then in hesitating signs, slaps, clicks, and guttural utterances, I gave
them to understand that it was against my faith to have anything whatever
to do with the horrid orgy they contemplated. The Great Spirit they
dreaded so much yet so vaguely, I went on to say, had revealed to me that
it was wrong to kill any one in cold blood, and still more loathsome and
horrible to eat the flesh of a murdered fellow-creature. I was very much
in earnest, and I waited with nervous trepidation to see the effect of my
peroration. Under the circumstances, you may judge of my astonishment
when not only the chiefs, but the whole "nation" assembled, suddenly
burst into roars of eerie laughter.
Then came Yamba to the rescue. Ah! noble and devoted creature! The bare
mention of her name stirs every fibre of my being with love and wonder.
Greater love than hers no creature ever knew, and not once but a thousand
times did she save my wretched life at the risk of her own.
Well, Yamba, I say, came up and whispered to me. She had been studying
my face quietly and eagerly, and had gradually come to see what was
passing in my mind. She whispered that the chiefs, far from desiring me
to kill the girl for a cannibal feast, were _offering her to me as a
wife_, and that I was merely expected to tap her on the head with the
stick, in token of her subjection to her new spouse! In short, this blow
on the head was the legal marriage ceremony _tout simple_. I maintained
my dignity as far as possible, and proceeded to carry out my part of the
curious ceremony.
I tapped the bright-eyed girl on the head, and she immediately fell
prostrate at my feet, in token of her wifely submission. I then raised
her up gently, and all the people came dancing round us, uttering weird
cries of satisfaction and delight. Oddly enough, Yamba, far from
manifesting any jealousy, seemed to take as much interest as any one in
the proceedings, and after everything was over she led my new wife away
to the little "humpy," or hut, that had been built for me by the women.
That night an indescribably weird _corroboree_ was held in my honour, and
I thought it advisable, since so much was being made of me, to remain
there all night and acknowledge the impromptu songs that were composed
and sung in my honour by the native bards. I am afraid I felt utterly
lost without Yamba, who was, in the most literal sense, my right hand.
By this time she could speak a little English, and was so marvellously
intelligent that she seemed to discover things by sheer intuition or
instinct. I think she never let a day go by without favourably
impressing the chiefs concerning me, my prowess and my powers; and
without her help I simply could not have lived through the long and weary
years, nor should I ever have returned to civilisation.
The very next day after my "marriage," having been still further
enlightened as to the manners and customs of the natives, I waited upon
Gunda, and calmly made to him the proposition that we should exchange
wives. This suggestion he received with a kind of subdued satisfaction,
or holy joy, and very few further negotiations were needed to make the
transaction complete; and, be it said, it was an every-day transaction,
perfectly legal and recognised by all the clans. Yamba was full of
vigour and resource, while the only phrase that fitly describes her bush
lore is absolutely miraculous. This will be evinced in a hundred
extraordinary instances in this narrative.
But you may be asking, What of my dog, Bruno? Well, I am thankful to
say, he was still with me, but it took him a long time to accustom
himself to his new surroundings; he particularly objected to associating
with the miserable pariah curs that prowled about the encampment. They
would take sly bites out of him when he was not looking, but on the
whole, he was well able to hold his own, being much more powerful than
they.
I settled down to my new life in the course of a few days, but I need
hardly remark I did not propose staying in that forlorn spot longer than
I could help. This was my plan. I would, first of all, make myself
acquainted with the habits and customs of the blacks, and pick up as much
bushmanship and knowledge of the country as it was possible to acquire,
in case I should have to travel inland in search of civilisation instead
of oversea. I knew that it would be folly on my part to attempt to leave
those hospitable regions without knowing more of the geography of the
country and its people. There was always, however, the hope that some
day I might be able either to get away by sea in my boat, or else hail
some passing vessel. The blacks told me they had seen many pass at a
distance.
Every morning I was astir by sunrise, and--hope springing eternal--at
once searched for the faintest indication of a passing sail. Next I
would bathe in a lagoon protected from sharks, drying myself by a run on
the beach. Meanwhile Yamba would have gone out searching for roots for
breakfast, and she seldom returned without a supply of my favourite water-
lily buds already mentioned. Often, in the years that followed, did that
heroic creature _tramp on foot a hundred miles_ to get me a few sprigs of
saline herbs. She had heard me say I wanted salt, which commodity,
strange to say, was never used by the natives; and even when I gave them
some as an experiment they did not seem to care about it. She would also
bring in, by way of seasoning, a kind of small onion, known as the
_nelga_, which, when roasted, made a very acceptable addition to our
limited fare. The natives themselves had but two meals a day--breakfast,
between eight and nine o'clock, and then an enormous feast in the late
afternoon. Their ordinary food consisted of kangaroo, emu, snakes, rats,
and fish; an especial dainty being a worm found in the black ava tree, or
in any decaying trunk.
These worms were generally grilled on hot stones, and eaten several at a
time like small whitebait. I often ate them myself, and found them most
palatable. After breakfast the women of the tribe would go out hunting
roots and snaring small game for the afternoon meal, while the men went
off on their war and hunting expeditions, or amused themselves with feats
of arms. The children were generally left to their own devices in the
camp, and the principal amusement of the boys appeared to be the hurling
of reed spears at one another. The women brought home the roots (which
they dug up with yam sticks, generally about four feet long) in nets made
out of the stringy parts of the grass tree; stringy bark, or strong
pliable reeds, slung on their all-enduring backs. They generally
returned heavily laden between two and three in the afternoon. I always
knew the time pretty accurately by the sun, but I lost count of the days.
The months, however, I always reckoned by the moon, and for each year I
made a notch on the inside of my bow.
My own food was usually wrapped in palm leaves before being placed in the
sand oven. Of course the leaves always burned, but they kept the meat
free from sand; and my indefatigable wife was always exercising her
ingenuity to provide me with fresh dainties. In addition to the ordinary
fare of the natives, I frequently had wild ducks and turkeys, and--what
was perhaps the greatest luxury of all--eggs, which the natives sent for
specially on my account to distant parts of the surrounding country, and
also to the islands of the coast where white cockatoos reared their young
in rocky cliffs.
At the time of my shipwreck I had little or no knowledge of Australian
geography, so that I was utterly at a loss as to my position. I
afterwards learnt, however, that Yamba's home was on Cambridge Gulf, on
the NNW. coast of the Australian continent, and that the central point of
our camping ground at this time was near the mouth of the Victoria River,
which flows into Queen's Channel.
Almost every evening the blacks would hold a stately _corroboree_,
singing and chanting; the burden of their song being almost invariably
myself, my belongings, and my prowess--which latter, I fear, was
magnified in the most extravagant manner. Besides the _corroboree_ they
also would assemble for what might not inaptly be termed evening prayers,
which consisted of a poetical recital of the events of the day. I ought
to mention that at first I did not accompany the men on their excursions
abroad, because I was far from perfect in their language; and
furthermore, I was not skilled in hunting or in bush lore. Therefore,
fearful of exciting ridicule, I decided to remain behind in the camp
until I was thoroughly grounded in everything there was to be learned.
Supposing, for example, I had gone out with the blacks, and had to
confess myself tired after tramping several miles. Well, this kind of
thing would certainly have engendered contempt; and once the mysterious
white stranger was found to be full of the frailties of the ordinary man,
his prestige would be gone, and then life would probably become
intolerable.
Thus everything I did I had to excel in, and it was absolutely necessary
that I should be perpetually "astonishing the natives," in the most
literal sense of the phrase. Accordingly, for the next few weeks, I used
to accompany the women on their root-hunting and rat-catching
expeditions, and from them I picked up much valuable information.
The _corroboree_ was, perhaps, the greatest institution known to the
blacks, who, obliged to do no real work, as we understand it, simply had
to pass the time somehow; and there can be no doubt that, were it not for
the constant feuds and consequent incessant wars, the race would greatly
deteriorate. The _corroboree_ after a successful battle commenced with a
cannibal feast off the bodies of fallen foes, and it would be kept up for
several days on end, the braves lying down to sleep near the fire towards
morning, and renewing the festivities about noon next day. The chiefs on
these occasions decked themselves with gorgeous cockatoo feathers, and
painted their bodies with red and yellow ochre and other glaring
pigments, each tribe having its own distinguishing marks. A couple of
hours were generally spent in dressing and preparing for the ceremony,
and then the gaily-decorated fighting-men would dance or squat round the
fires and chant monotonous songs, telling of all their own achievements
and valour, and the extraordinary sights they had seen in their travels.
The words of the songs were usually composed by the clan's own poet, who
made a living solely by his profession, and even sold his effusions to
other tribes. As there was no written language the purchaser would
simply be coached orally by the vendor poet; and as the blacks were
gifted with most marvellous memories, they would transmit and resell the
songs throughout vast stretches of country. These men of the north-west
were of magnificent stature, and possessed great personal strength. They
were able to walk extraordinary distances, and their carriage was the
most graceful I have ever seen. Many of them were over six feet high,
well made in proportion and with high broad foreheads--altogether a very
different race from the inhabitants of Central Australia. One of their
favourite tests of strength was to take a short stick of very hard wood
and bend it in their hands, using the thumbs as levers, till it snapped.
Strange to say, I failed to bend the stick more than a quarter of an
inch. The women are not very prepossessing, and not nearly so graceful
in their bearing and gait as the men. Poor creatures! they did all the
hard work of the camp-building, food-hunting, waiting, and serving.
Occasionally, however, the men did condescend to go out fishing, and they
would also organise _battues_ when a big supply of food was wanted. These
great hunting-parties, by the way, were arranged on an immense scale, and
fire figured largely in them. The usual routine was to set fire to the
bush, and then as the terrified animals and reptiles rushed out in
thousands into the open, each party of blacks speared every living thing
that came its way within a certain sphere. The roar of the
fast-spreading fire, the thousands of kangaroos, opossums, rats, snakes,
iguanas, and birds that dashed hither and thither, to the accompaniment
of bewildering shouts from the men and shrill screeches from the women,
who occasionally assisted, flitting hither and thither like eerie witches
amidst the dense pall of black smoke--all these made up a picture which
is indelibly imprinted on my mind.
As a rule, hosts of hawks and eagles are to be seen flying over the black
man's camp, but on the occasion of a bush fire they follow its train,
well knowing that they will obtain prey in abundance. With regard to the
fishing parties, these went out either early in the morning, soon after
sunrise, or in the evening, when it was quite dark. On the latter
occasions, the men carried big torches, which they held high in the air
with one hand, while they waded out into the water with their spears
poised, in readiness to impale the first big fish they came across.
When the spearmen _did_ strike, their aim was unerring, and the
struggling fish would be hurled on to the beach to the patient
women-folk, who were there waiting for them, with their big nets of grass
slung over their backs. Sometimes a hundred men would be in the shallow
water at once, all carrying blazing torches, and the effect as the
fishermen plunged and splashed this way and that, with shouts of triumph
or disappointment, may be better imagined than described. In the daytime
a rather different method was adopted. Some acres of the shallow lagoon
would be staked out at low water in the shape of an inverted V, an
opening being left for the fish to pass through.
The high tide brought the fish in vast shoals, and then the opening would
be closed. When the tide receded, the staked enclosure became, in
effect, a gigantic net, filled with floundering fish, big and little. The
natives then waded into the inclosure, and leisurely despatched the fish
with their spears.
Nothing was more interesting than to watch one of these children of the
bush stalking a kangaroo. The man made not the slightest noise in
walking, and he would stealthily follow the kangaroo's track for miles
(the tracks were absolutely invisible to the uninitiated). Should at
length the kangaroo sniff a tainted wind, or be startled by an incautious
movement, his pursuer would suddenly become as rigid as a bronze figure,
and he could remain in this position for hours. Finally, when within
thirty or forty yards of the animal, he launched his spear, and in all
the years I was among these people I never knew a man to miss his aim.
Two distinct kinds of spears were used by the natives, one for hunting
and the other for war purposes. The former averaged from eight to ten
feet, whilst the latter varied from ten to fourteen feet in length; the
blade in each case, however, consisting either of bone or stone, with a
shaft of some light hard wood. Metals were, of course, perfectly unknown
as workable materials. The war-spear was not hurled javelin-fashion like
the hunting-spear, but propelled by means of a wommerah, which, in
reality, was a kind of sling, perhaps twenty-four inches long, with a
hook at one end to fix on the shaft of the spear. In camp the men mainly
occupied their time in making spears and mending their weapons. They
hacked a tree down and split it into long sections by means of wedges, in
order to get suitable wood for their spear-shafts.
To catch emus the hunters would construct little shelters of grass at a
spot overlooking the water-hole frequented by these birds, and they were
then speared as they came down for water. The largest emu I ever saw, by
the way, was more than six feet high, whilst the biggest kangaroo I came
across was even taller than this. Snakes were always killed with sticks,
whilst birds were brought down with the wonderful boomerang.
As a rule, only sufficient food was obtained to last from day to day; but
on the occasion of one of the big _battues_ I have described there would
be food in abundance for a week or more, when there would be a horrid
orgy of gorging and one long continuous _corroboree_, until supplies gave
out.
The sport which I myself took up was dugong hunting; for I ought to have
mentioned that I brought a harpoon with me in the boat, and this most
useful article attracted as much attention as anything I had. The
natives would occasionally put their hands on my tomahawk or harpoon, and
never ceased to wonder why the metal was so cold.
Whenever I went out after dugong, accompanied by Yamba (she was ever with
me), the blacks invariably came down in crowds to watch the operation
from the beach.
But, you will ask, what did I want with dugong, when I had so much other
food at hand? Well my idea was to lay in a great store of dried
provisions against the time when I should be ready to start for
civilisation in my boat. I built a special shed of boughs, in which I
conducted my curing operations; my own living-place being only a few
yards away. It was built quite in European fashion, with a sloping roof.
The interior was perhaps twenty feet square and ten feet high, with a
small porch in which my fire was kept constantly burning. When we had
captured a dugong the blacks would come rushing into the sea to meet us
and drag our craft ashore, delighted at the prospect of a great feast.
The only part of the dugong I preserved was the belly, which I cut up
into strips and dried.
The blacks never allowed their fires to go out, and whenever they moved
their camping-ground, the women-folk always took with them their
smouldering fire-sticks, with which they can kindle a blaze in a few
minutes. Very rarely, indeed, did the women allow their fire-sticks to
go out altogether, for this would entail a cruel and severe punishment. A
fire-stick would keep alight in a smouldering state for days. All that
the women did when they wanted to make it glow was to whirl it round in
the air. The wives bore ill-usage with the most extraordinary
equanimity, and never attempted to parry even the most savage blow. They
would remain meek and motionless under a shower of brutal blows from a
thick stick, and would then walk quietly away and treat their bleeding
wounds with a kind of earth. No matter how cruelly the women might be
treated by their husbands, they hated sympathy, so their women friends
always left them alone. It often surprised me how quickly the blacks'
most terrible wounds healed; and yet they were only treated with a kind
of clay and leaves of the wild rose.
I am here reminded of the native doctor. This functionary was called a
_rui_, and he effected most of his cures with a little shell, with which
he rubbed assiduously upon the affected part. Thus it will be seen that
the medical treatment was a form of massage, the rubbing being done first
in a downward direction and then crosswise. I must say, however, that
the blacks were very rarely troubled with illness, their most frequent
disorder being usually the result of excessive gorging when a
particularly ample supply of food was forthcoming--say, after a big
_battue_ over a tribal preserve.
In an ordinary case of overfeeding, the medicine man would rub his
patient's stomach with such vigour as often to draw blood. He would also
give the sufferer a kind of grass to eat, and this herb, besides clearing
the system, also acted as a most marvellous appetiser. The capacity of
some of my blacks was almost beyond belief. One giant I have in my mind
ate a whole kangaroo by himself. I saw him do it. Certainly it was not
an excessively big animal, but, still, it was a meal large enough for
three or four stalwart men.
In a case of fever the natives resorted to charms to drive away the evil
spirit that was supposed to be troubling the patient. The universal
superstition about all maladies is that they are caused by the "evil
eye," directed against the sufferer by some enemy. Should one member of
a tribe be stricken down with a disease, his friends at once come to the
conclusion that he has been "pointed at" by a member of another tribe who
owed him a grudge; he has, in short, been bewitched, and an expedition is
promptly organised to seek out and punish the individual in question and
all his tribe. From this it is obvious that war is of pretty frequent
occurrence. And not only so, but every death is likewise the signal for
a tribal war. There is no verdict of "Death from natural causes."
Punitive expeditions are not organised in the event of slight fevers or
even serious illness--only when the patient dies. A tribe I once came
across some miles inland were visited by a plague of what I now feel sure
must have been smallpox. The disease, they said, had been brought down
from the coast, and although numbers of the blacks died, war was not
declared against any particular tribe. As a rule, the body of the dead
brave is placed upon a platform erected in the forks of trees, and his
weapons neatly arranged below. Then, as decay set in, and the body began
to crumble away, the friends and chiefs would come and observe certain
mystic signs, which were supposed to give information as to what tribe or
individual had caused the death of the deceased.
It must have been within a month of my landing on Yamba's country, in
Cambridge Gulf, that I witnessed my first cannibal feast. One of the
fighting-men had died in our camp, and after the usual observations had
been taken, it was decided that he had been pointed at, and his death
brought about, by a member of another tribe living some distance away. An
expedition of some hundreds of warriors was at once fitted out. The
enemy was apparently only too ready for the fray, because the armies
promptly met in an open plain, and I had an opportunity of witnessing the
extraordinary method by which the Australian blacks wage war. One of the
most redoubtable of our chiefs stepped forward, and explained the reason
of his people's visit in comparatively calm tones. An opposing chief
replied to him, and gradually a heated altercation arose, the abuse
rising on a crescendo scale for ten or fifteen minutes. These two then
retired, and another couple of champion abusers stepped forward to
"discuss" the matter. This kind of thing went on for a considerable
time, the abuse being of the most appalling description, and directed
mainly against the organs of the enemy's body (heart, liver, &c.), his
ancestors, "his ox, his ass, and everything that was his." At length,
when every conceivable thing had been said that it was possible to say,
the warriors drew near, and at last some one threw a spear. This, of
course, was the signal for real action, and in a few minutes the
engagement became general. There was no strategy or tactics of any kind,
every man fighting single-handed.
But to return to the battle I was describing. After a very few minutes'
fighting the enemy were utterly routed, and promptly turned tail and fled
from the scene of the encounter, leaving behind them--after all the
uproar and the flood of vilification--only three of their warriors, and
these not dead, but only more or less badly wounded. Quarter being
neither given nor expected in these battles, the three prostrate blacks
were promptly despatched by the leader of my tribe, the _coup de grace_
being given with a waddy, or knobbed stick. The three bodies were then
placed on litters made out of spears and grass, and in due time carried
into our own camp.
There were so many unmistakable signs to presage what was coming that I
_knew_ a cannibal feast was about to take place. But for obvious reasons
I did not protest against it, nor did I take any notice whatever. The
women (who do all the real work) fell on their knees, and with their
fingers scraped three long trenches in the sand, each about seven feet
long and three deep. Into each of these ovens was placed one of the
bodies of the fallen warriors, and then the trench was filled up--firstly
with stones, and then with sand. On top of all a huge fire was built,
and maintained with great fierceness for about two hours. There was
great rejoicing during this period of cooking, and apparently much
pleasurable anticipation among the triumphant blacks. In due time the
signal was given, and the ovens laid open once more. I looked in and saw
that the bodies were very much burnt. The skin was cracked in places and
liquid fat was issuing forth. . . . But, perhaps, the less said about
this horrible spectacle the better. With a yell, several warriors leaped
into each trench and stuck spears through the big "joints." And the
moment the roasted carcasses were taken out of the trenches the whole
tribe literally fell upon them and tore them limb from limb. I saw
mothers with a leg or an arm surrounded by plaintive children, who were
crying for their portion of the fearsome dainty.
Others, who were considered to have taken more than their share, were
likewise fallen upon and their "joint" subdivided and hacked to pieces
with knives made from shells. The bodies were not cooked all through, so
that the condition of some of the revellers, both during and after the
orgy, may best be left to the imagination. A more appalling, more
ghastly, or more truly sickening spectacle it is impossible for the mind
of man to conceive. A great _corroboree_ was held after the feast, but,
with my gorge rising and my brain reeling, I crept to my own humpy and
tried to shut out from my mind the shocking inferno I had just been
compelled to witness.
But let us leave so fearful a subject and consider something more
interesting and amusing.