The following casual anecdotes, though trivial in themselves, will assist
in illustrating some of the peculiarities of the native mind and
character.
MIAGO'S IMAGINARY SPEECH AS GOVERNOR.
Speech that the native Miago would have addressed to the aborigines of
Perth if he had landed as Governor instead of His Excellency Mr. Hutt. He
came into my room directly after the Governor had landed, and made this
imaginary address.
Yiee, nap yongar Perth bak-ad-jee yuado--Moon-dee Moondee gurrang,
gurrang boola: Mir-ga-na, Mir-ga-na gurrang, gurrang boola: Yal-gon-ga,
Yal-gon-ga, gurrang, gurrang boola; yarn bal?
Buck-il-bury Wattup gidjee, yam bal gurrang boola?
Bun-bury gurrang, gurrang boola.
Golam-bidie gwab-ba: Mam-me-rup wan-gow-een boola.
Goo-lam-bidie wilgey nab-bow, yago mial, Goo-lam-bidie donga broo:
mam-me-rup meno been boola, mam-me-rup gurrang gaduck, golambidie
gid-jee; Dule.
Waumma Governor yool: yahi Perth yongar bak-ad-jee yu-a-do;
gwab-ba-litch.
MIAGO'S SPEECH AS GOVERNOR.
Henceforth this people of Perth must not fight. Moon-dee, Moon-dee, you
are always quarrelling. Mir-ga-na, Mir-ga-na, you are always quarrelling.
Yal-gon-ga, Yal-gon-ga, you are quarrelsome--what is the reason of this?
Bucklebury speared Wattup, what reason had he to be in such a passion
(or, why was he so very angry)?
Bun-bury, you are very quarrelsome.
The young men behave very well, the old ones are always wrangling.
The young men paint themselves, and the women look at them; the young men
are not aware of this, but the old men are very jealous--and being in a
passion spear the young men--this is very wrong.
Now another Governor is come, and you people of Perth must fight no more.
This is very good.
...
WARRUP'S ACCOUNT OF HIS JOURNEY WITH MR. ROE.
The following is Warrup's account of his journey with Mr. Roe in search
of the party left by me under Mr. Walker. (See above.):
1st day.
At Dundalup we ate fish; then onwards, onwards, onwards, till we slept at
Neerroba.
2nd day.
Onwards, onwards, till we reached Nowergoop, where the horses drank
water; then onwards, onwards, onwards, until Manbabee, where we ate flesh
and bread. Onwards, onwards, onwards, until Yungee, where we shot ducks,
and the horses drank water. Onwards, onwards, onwards, onwards, to
Boongarrup, where we slept one sleep.
3rd day.
Onwards through a forest, onwards through a forest, onwards through a
forest. We slept at Neergammy, a pleasant resting-place; the land was
good, the herbage good; pleasant was our resting-place, and our hut was
good.
4th day.
Onwards, onwards, onwards, we entered a woody country. Onwards, through a
forest, onwards through a forest; we now see the waters of Kajeelup: we
eat flesh and bread. Onwards through the forest, onwards through the
forest, onwards through the forest. We see the tracks of natives; we
shout aloud, and then proceed conversing with natives; they sit down.*
(*Footnote. They halt or remain.)
Onwards go we, onwards, onwards, onwards; the horses drink water;
by-and-bye we see tracks. Onwards, onwards, onwards; we see a large
water; we shoot ducks. On the one side we see two waters, on the other
side one water we see. Onwards, onwards, onwards, onwards, onwards; we
see no other water. Onwards through the forest, onwards through the
forest, onwards through the forest; we see a river. You had here eaten
freshwater mussels: at this river we sleep. Barramba is the place's name.
5th day.
Onwards through the forest, through the forest, through the forest,
through the forest onwards; water we see not. Through the forest onwards;
through the forest onwards; we see a water, but a worthless water. Yours
and Kaiber's footsteps we see. Here there is no grass. You had here shot
a bird--a cockatoo you shot. Maribara was this place's name.
Onwards through the forest, through the forest onwards, through the
forest onwards; we see no other water; the herbage is worthless. We still
go onwards, onwards through the forest. We see natives; a few natives we
see: the men are two, the women one, the children two. We see the place
called Nowergup.
We say, "Where is there water? here the water is bad." The natives say,
"Yonder the water is good, here it is bad: at Boranyup the water is
good."
We go onwards, onwards, onwards: at Boranyup we sleep; rain falls as we
sleep at Boranyup.
6th day.
Onwards through the forest, onwards through the forest, onwards through
the forest some of the others sit down; Auger sits down; Hunt sits down.
Mr. Roe, Mr. Spofforth, and I on horseback, go onwards, onwards, onwards,
onwards, through the forest onwards, through the forest onwards, through
the forest onwards, through the forest onwards. We see the sea; then
onwards, onwards, onwards; along the sea-shore onwards, along the
sea-shore onwards, along the sea-shore onwards. We see the tracks of
white men.
Then we turn back again, away we go back again, back again away; through
the forest away, through the forest away, through the forest away; back
again. We move, move, till we sit at Boranyup; we then eat kangaroo; Hunt
and Auger had brought it in. At Boranyup we lie down: we sleep.
7th day.
The next day away, away, away, away, returning, returning, on our tracks
returning, on our tracks returning, on our tracks returning. At Barramba
we sit down: we eat bread and meat; they eat freshwater mussels; the
natives eat not freshwater mussels.
Away, away, away, away, away; we see the water of Djunjup; we shoot game.
Away, away, away, through a forest away, through a forest away; we see no
water. Through a forest away; along our tracks away, along our tracks
away, along our tracks away, along our tracks away. We sleep at
Ka-jil-up: rain falls; the water here is good: the horses feed, well did
the horses feed.
8th day.
Away, away; along our tracks away, along our tracks away; hills
ascending: then pleasantly away, pleasantly away, away; through a forest
away, through a forest away, through a forest away; we see a water--the
water of Goonmarrarup. Along the river away, along the river away; a
short distance along the river we go: then away, away, away, through a
forest away; a short distance through a forest we go.
Then along another river away, away; we cross the river; away, a short
distance away. At Neergammy we sleep, raising huts.
The others continue returning; we go away, away: in the forest we see no
water; we see no footsteps; we see some papers, the papers put by Mr.
Mortimer we see: still we go onwards, along the sea away, along the sea
away, along the sea away: through the bush away, through the bush away:
then along the sea away, along the sea away. We see white men--three of
them we see; they cry out, "Where is water;" water we give them--brandy
and water we give them. We sleep near the sea.
Away, away go we (I, Mr. Roe, and Kinchela) along the shore away, along
the shore away, along the shore away. We see no fresh water; along the
shore away, along the shore away. We see a paper, the paper of Mortimer
and Spofforth. Away we go, away, away, along the shore away, away, away,
a long distance we go. I see Mr. Smith's footsteps ascending a sandhill,
onwards I go regarding his footsteps. I see Mr. Smith dead. We commence
digging the earth.
Two sleeps had he been dead; greatly did I weep, and much I grieved. In
his blanket folding him, we scraped away the earth.
We scrape earth into the grave, we scrape the earth into the grave, a
little wood we place in it. Much earth we heap upon it, much earth we
throw up. No dogs can dig there, so much earth we throw up. The sun had
just inclined to the westward as we laid him in the ground.
...
The following are extracts from a journal kept by me whilst resident at
King George's Sound.
ROBBERY BY PEERAT'S WIVES. TRANSACTIONS WITH THE NATIVES IN A CASE OF
POTATO STEALING.
Thursday January 23.
Directly after breakfast a soldier came to me with a complaint that the
natives had last night robbed his garden in the settlement of nearly one
hundred weight of potatoes; I was determined to have here no repetition
of scenes similar to what had recently taken place; and therefore
resolved to act promptly and vigorously upon this first offence.
My first object was, in my punishment, not to involve the innocent and
guilty together, which is too often done by the Europeans in these
colonies.
I therefore got hold of an intelligent native of the name of Moyee-e-nan,
and, accompanied by him, visited the garden whence the potatoes had been
stolen; he found the tracks of three natives and, availing himself of the
faculty which they possess of telling who has passed from their
footmarks, he informed me that the three thieves had been the two wives
of a native of the name Peerat, and a little boy named Dal-be-an, the son
of Peerat. Being now well acquainted with the natives I was well
satisfied that this evidence was of the most conclusive nature, and
proceeded to act upon it by trying to arrest the delinquents; but I found
that they had, immediately after committing the theft, walked off into
the bush, thereby hoping to avoid suspicion and with the intention of
remaining absent until the affair had blown over.
MEASURES FOR APPREHENDING THEM.
My mind was soon made up to pursue my friend Peerat and his fugitive
wives, but it was necessary that I should proceed with great caution in
order not to alarm the guilty parties when they saw us approaching, in
which case I should have had no chance of apprehending them; and I did
not intend to adopt the popular system of shooting them when they ran
away. I therefore determined to take no Europeans, but only four natives
who could track the delinquents.
Previously however to my quitting the town one gentleman joined me, and
thus reinforced we started on Peerat's tracks; these we followed for
about seven miles in a west by north direction from the settlement, when
we suddenly saw the bush set on fire and thus became aware of our
proximity to a party of natives. My European friend was here
unfortunately taken ill, and, as the natives were evidently more numerous
than I expected to have found them, I was sorry to lose his services at
this period; he however faithfully promised to await my return, and I
thus knew that I had a point d'appui to retire on in the event of
anything taking place.
Accompanied by the natives I now pressed forward in the direction of the
fire, and, after proceeding for about two miles further in a west by
north direction, I fell in with several natives, one of whom was old
Tooleegatwalee, well known in the settlement. I at once intimated to Mr.
Tooleegatwalee and his friends the object of my mission; I told them that
Peerat's wives and son had stolen potatoes, that I had come out to make
them prisoners, that if they were given up to me they should only undergo
the regular punishment for petty theft; but if they were not delivered
over that I would stop the regular allowance of flour which was issued to
all the natives every two months, thus punishing them all; and that I
would moreover return home, and then come out with a party of soldiers
and fire upon Peerat and his party wherever I found them. This last part
of my announcement was made in a very decided tone, and with a most
ferocious look.
NATIVE DELIBERATIONS.
The natives hereupon entered into a deliberation amongst themselves, and
eventually were unanimously agreed on several points, as follows:
1. That stealing potatoes was a very heinous offence, more particularly
in women.
2, That women were notorious thieves, and altogether worse characters
than men.
3, That beating women was an every-day occurrence.
4, That losing flour was a great bore; and
5, That in consequence of the above considerations, they would give
Peerat, his wives, and son, up to me.
Each of these propositions was lengthily discussed by them, but when they
were all agreed to, they came in a body and asked me, did I speak the
truth, and lie not, when I said that I myself was not angry with Peerat
and his wives, and that they should not be killed but only slightly
punished? I assured them that I told the truth, and lied not. We then
proceeded in a body in search of Peerat, whom we found with some more
natives about half a mile further on.
DISCUSSION WITH PEERAT.
He waited quietly to receive us, not having indeed the slightest idea of
what was the object of my unexpected visit; when however he heard what I
wanted he abused his wives in most unmeasured terms, and assured me that
he would thrash them soundly, but as to giving them up prisoners, or his
son either, that he declared he would not do; and then very openly and
fairly challenged any one of the other natives, or all of them together,
to take him up, assuring them that he would spear the first man through
the heart that attempted to lay a finger on him. I interfered so far in
this dispute as to announce to Peerat that I considered my own person as
sacred, and I then cocked both barrels of my double-barrelled gun and
concluded by assuring him I should shoot him if he resisted me.
All native altercations are vociferous and noisy in the extreme, and are
usually accompanied with a great deal of running and leaping about and
quivering of spears; these circumstances I now took advantage of, and,
whilst the others threatened to spear one another in all imaginable
places, I wended my solitary way towards Peerat's fire, where I
discovered Master Dalbean, but could see nothing whatever of the ladies,
who, I presume, were absent digging roots.
HIS PLEADINGS FOR HIS SON.
The young native was seized hold of before he could attempt to escape,
and, as I told him if he now moved I should shoot him, he accompanied me
very quietly; the others meanwhile capering about and abusing one another
in the distance. Peerat however soon found out what had taken place and
came running after me. These natives are always ardently attached to
their children, and this the boy's father now evinced in the strongest
manner: he first of all declared that the boy had been asleep with him,
and that it was the mother only who had stolen; and he produced about a
dozen witnesses who all asserted that this was the case. I however
refuted this evidence by mentioning the fact of his footmarks being in
the garden. They then urged that Peerat's second wife had also been
engaged in the theft, and that she was just the size of the boy; this
however again was over-ruled from the fact of her footmarks having been
also seen there.
PEERAT'S SON SECURED.
The father now urged upon me the youth of the boy, and that he was under
the influence of the mother, and then fairly wept upon his child's neck,
who begged his father, and all the other natives by name, to save him. I
was now holding him by the wrist, for the feeling of the public began at
this affecting exhibition to turn against me, even my own natives urging
me to let the little fellow go; had I followed the dictates of my own
heart I should have done so, but I knew that by being in this instance
very determined I should effect eventually much good. I therefore held
fast by my prisoner. I now saw some of the other natives giving Peerat
spears, which is always a sign that they espouse a man's quarrel and
expect him to make use of the weapons they give him. As matters therefore
now were rather a serious aspect, I again told Peerat that I personally
had no cause of quarrel with him, but that I was resolved not to allow
either the natives to wrong the Europeans or the Europeans to wrong the
natives; that it was far better for the natives themselves that I, an
impartial person, should see that they were properly punished for theft,
than that the Europeans should fire indiscriminately upon them, as had
lately been done in another quarter; that I should now talk no more, but
that if he did not instantly take himself off and bring his wives in to
the settlement to be punished I would shoot him. He proceeded again to
answer me, but I cut him short by saying that if he spoke again I would
shoot him at once; I thus had the last speech and therefore, as a matter
of course, was in possession of the public favour: Peerat was
consequently hurried off by his friends, whilst myself, the young
prisoner, and two of the natives who had accompanied me, started on our
return for the settlement.
Although the affair had so far terminated well I was by no means sure
that Peerat might not after my departure induce the others to attempt a
rescue. I therefore hurried on to the spot where I had left my European
friend, but I only found a slip of paper on a tree, with the following
words on it: "Returned slowly to the settlement." We moved rapidly on
again and reached Albany without further adventure, and on our arrival I
lodged Dalbean in the jail.
January 24.
Peerat did not bring in his wives, and to all the solicitations which
were offered me on the part of the natives for the release of my little
prisoner I answered that, when Peerat's wives were brought in and given
over to the hands of justice, I would punish the boy and release him; but
if the other delinquents were not given up I should conceive it to be a
sign that the natives were not satisfied with my decision, and therefore
send the boy on to Swan River to be tried. I further added that, if
Peerat did not in the course of the next day appear with his wives, I
should cease to act as mediator, and taking a party of soldiers would go
out and apprehend him.
HIS ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE.
January 25.
This morning information was given me that little Dalbean had made an
attempt to break out of jail. I therefore went up to the jail with
another magistrate and found that the little fellow had yesterday, during
the absence of the turnkey, taken up a loose stone from the floor and had
battered a hole in the door with it. It evinced altogether more strength
and determination than one could have supposed such a boy to have been
endowed with. When I taxed him with it he stoutly denied it, asserting
that whilst he was asleep sorcerers from the north, who had a spite
against him, had entered the cell through some airholes in the wall and
had done this; and in spite of all our cross-questioning and charging him
with falsehood he still persisted in the same tale, and really appeared
to think that he could persuade us of the truth of the assertion. I told
him that it was his duty to have taken care that these sorcerers had not
injured the door, and that in future if he did not give the alarm when
they came he should be well whipped for neglect, and that in the meantime
I had a great mind to have him whipped for telling a story; I however
satisfied myself by giving him a severe lecture upon the crime of lying.
He defended himself upon this head by ingenious arguments, altogether
overlooking the abstract question of whether lying was a virtue or a
vice, and defending himself solely upon the plea of its general
usefulness and prevalence in the world. I got rather worsted in the
argument, and therefore, confining myself to admonitions and a few
common-place maxims, I departed.
PEERAT'S WIVES SURRENDERED. THEIR PUNISHMENT.
In the course of the forenoon Peerat presented himself at my window. The
tale he told was a very pitiful one. He had two wives, and to govern them
both required no ordinary ability; he assured me that he had beaten them
both soundly, but notwithstanding he could not induce them to come into
the settlement until, finally losing his temper, he had threatened to
spear them, and had thus induced them to follow him; he assured me that
he had done nothing but weep and lament since he had last seen me, at one
time for the loss of his son, and then again at the obstinacy and bad
temper of his wives, and as some recompense for his sufferings he begged
to be allowed to beat his wives himself.
I told him to bring them at once to the garden they had robbed, and then,
followed by several natives, I repaired to the appointed place. The
native women soon appeared, dreadfully cut and mangled from the beating
they had already suffered. One was a nice-looking girl, about fourteen,
but an incorrigible thief. Peerat threw back his skin to give his arm
fair play, and then, brandishing his meerro, was going to hit her a
tremendous blow upon the head, which must have laid it open. The poor
girl stood with her back towards her husband, trembling and crying
bitterly. I caught Peerat's arm, picked up a little switch from the
ground, and told him to beat her on the shoulders with that. He gave her
two slight blows, or rather taps, in order to know where it was I meant
him to strike; but the poor girl cried so bitterly from fear that I
stopped him, told her that for this time she should be pardoned, and then
called the other woman up, but she had already been severely beaten and
had at that moment a little child sitting on her shoulder, who cried
piteously when he saw his mother weeping, so I let her also go free.
Before they started however I gave them and the assembled natives a
lecture, talking to them in a ferocious style about my future intentions
in the event of robbery being committed, and warning them not to judge of
me from my present clemency.
During the five months I had been at King George's Sound this was the
first act of petty theft, or indeed of theft of any kind, committed by
the natives; there had on several occasions been as many as two hundred
in the settlement who had no means of subsistence but a chance job from
the colonists, and the spontaneous productions of the earth, yet during
that period the only criminals had been those above mentioned, namely, a
woman, a girl, and a boy, who had rooted up some potatoes from a retired
garden, and they had even purposely left the large potatoes and had only
taken away the small ones, in the hope that by so doing they would lessen
the crime.
RELEASE OF PEERAT'S SON.
In the afternoon I walked up to the jail attended by Peerat, his wives,
and a crowd of natives, to release little Dalbean. Peerat and myself
alone entered the jail; I told the jailor to hand him the whip, he took
it, and said, "Yes, yes, I will strike him; let not another beat him,
Governor."
The door of the cell was then opened and the little boy was led out: his
father ran up to him, caught him in his arms, and began kissing him;
having done this he told him he was going to beat him. The little fellow
did not answer a word, but, standing as firm and erect as possible,
presented his back to him, the father gave him one blow, and it was
ended--justice was satisfied; the criminals had surrendered to salutary
laws, of which they had but a vague and undefined knowledge. It was their
first offence; I explained to them the nature of the laws they had
broken, warned them to be careful in their future conduct, and let them
go. Little Dalbean, directly we got outside the jail, walked up to me,
took my hand, and squeezed it, and then turned to his mother; he just
looked at her, she cried, but did not dare to kiss him, or to show any
symptom of emotion; and the whole party, after showering thanks
innumerable upon my head, moved off, saying, "What a good fellow--what a
good fellow;" or, to give a literal translation, "One good man--one good
man."
Sunday January 26.
Old Manniotte, a native dressed in an old uniform, attended the church
service as usual this day and was apparently as attentive as any other
member of the congregation.
JUDICIAL CASE OF ASSAULT.
February 14.
This evening a native came up to me as I was in the Commissary's house,
and said: "Djanga kain nganya goree bomb-gur"; "A white man has just
struck me." At the same time he showed me his side which was severely
bruised. I accompanied him to the beach and there found a number of
liberty men from some American whalers walking about. There were also
several natives on the beach who were in a state of great excitement, and
came hurrying up to me. I had sent for the constable, and as I was coming
up I saw a sailor moving off to the boats, on which the natives all
shouted out, "Now, now, walk away."
The natives were soon satisfied that strict justice would be done them,
and as the sailor who had struck the native was a man belonging to the
Russel, commanded by Captain Long, who had previously taken me to Shark
Bay, it was arranged with him that the offender should be brought before
me at 11 o'clock the next day to answer the charge.
February 15.
This morning Taalwurt the native, attended by his various friends, came
to me before I went to the Courthouse, to insist upon his right to speak
first, as he appeared to think that a great deal depended upon his having
this advantage over his opponent. I explained to him that, as plaintiff,
this right of course belonged to him, and he thereupon withdrew, followed
by his adherents. At the appointed hour I repaired to the Courthouse and
found the natives assembled; the Europeans had not yet arrived. I called
therefore upon Taalwurt for an information, which was as follows:
THE ACCUSATION. ATTEMPTS AT ELOQUENCE. ADJUDICATION OF THE CASE.
Colony of Western Australia, to wit: The information and complaint of
Taalwurt Tdondarup, of Albany, in the said Colony, made before me, George
Grey, Esquire, one of H.M. Justices of the Peace in and for the said
Colony, the fifteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and forty.
The said Taalwurt Tdondarup complaineth and saith:
"Nganya kype yoor-ril gool-gur, boye bomb-gur."
"I in the water carelessly walked along, a stone struck me."
But at this point his eloquence totally deserted him, and he was pulled
back by his friends, who pushed forward another native, and who stated as
follows:
Lindoll Mongalung saith: "Wal-bur wat-to Taalwurt: Djanga Taalwurt
kyle-gut bomb-gur.
"Taalwurt djanga neyp bomb-gur, kyle-gut Taalwurt neyp bomb-gur: Waum
djanga Taalwurt matta boorn boola bomb-gur: Taalwurt yoor-ril watto, waum
djunga nar-rail ngob-barn boye koombar bomb-gar."
"Along the beach was walking Taalwurt; one of the dead struck him under
the ear. Taalwurt then very slightly struck this one of the dead; under
the ear Taalwurt very lightly struck him. Another of the dead then struck
Taalwurt very forcibly on the legs with a stick: Taalwurt went walking
along quickly; another of the dead, in the ribs with an exceedingly big
stone, extremely hard hit him."
A murmur of applause ran through the assembled natives. The ngob-burn
boye, koom-bur bomb-gur, or exceedingly big-stone, extremely hard hit,
was evidently regarded by them as a masterpiece of eloquence; and the
contrast between this and the neyp bomb-gur, very gently struck, of Mr.
Taalwurt, undoubtedly evinced its superiority in their estimation; but as
Taalwurt was a stout able fellow, and one by no means given to deal
gentle blows when in a passion, I did not place implicit faith in this
poetical narration. I had however no doubt that Taalwurt had been first
struck and was thus the injured party; but now I knew he had returned the
blow I was also sure that he had given at least as good a one as he had
taken.
The case therefore did not tell in Taalwurt's favour as much as I
expected it would; and on the offender being produced, I found that he
was a native from the island of Timor, and not much more civilized than
his opponent. The mate of the vessel who came up with him stated that the
man bore an excellent character, and that he was willing to make any
compensation Taalwurt might require. Before the case came on I had
explained this to the King George's Sound native, who compounded the
matter for half-a-crown, and then walked off with his friends, fully
resolved to get assaulted again upon the first good opportunity.