MANNERS AND HABITS OF THE NATIVES.
The shyness which the savages of Australia frequently exhibit in their
first intercourse with Europeans is not at all surprising; indeed, it is
rather remarkable how soon they get over this feeling, if they are not
interfered with, and no unpleasant occurrences take place. As Captain
Flinders has very justly observed, "were we living in a state of nature,
frequently at war with our neighbours, and ignorant of the existence of
any other nation, on the first arrival of strangers, so different in
complexion and appearance to ourselves, having power to transport
themselves over, and even living upon an element which to us was
impassable,[56] the first sensation would probably be terror, and the
first movement flight." We should watch these extraordinary people from
our retreats, and if we found ourselves sought out or pursued by them,
their designs would be suspected; otherwise, upon seeing them quietly
engaged in their own occupations, curiosity would get the better of
fear, and, after observing them more closely, we should ourselves seek
to open a communication. This is precisely what takes place with the
native tribes in New Holland, when the discoverers conduct themselves
prudently, and no particular cause of offence or dislike occurs. But
where all appears equally strange and suspicious to them, it cannot be
wondered if they often mistake the meaning of European customs and
actions. For example, when Major Mitchell was desirous of taking the
portrait of a native in Eastern Australia, the terror and suspicion of
the poor creature, at being required to stand steadily before the artist
were such, that, notwithstanding the power of disguising fear, so
remarkable in the savage race, the stout heart of Cambo was overcome,
and beat visibly; the perspiration streamed from his breast, and he was
about to sink to the ground, when he at length suddenly darted away; but
he speedily returned, bearing in one hand his club, and in the other his
_boomerang_ or _kiley_, with which he seemed to gain just fortitude
enough to be able to stand on his legs until the sketch was finished.
[56] This remark, which is here applied to the people on the south
coast of New Holland, does not hold good of all the natives of that
vast island. On the authority of the same able navigator, Flinders,
we learn that, in the northern part of the country, about Torres Strait,
some of the tribes are very skilful in managing their long canoes. See
an interesting account of the natives of the Murray Islands, in
Flinders' Voyage, vol. ii. pp. 108-110.
To the observer of human nature it is, indeed, a curious spectacle to
watch the several contrary feelings and impulses by which the Australian
savage is actuated in his intercourse with the more civilised portions
of our race. Attachment, very strong attachment to his own customs, and
wild roving mode of life,--admiration of the evident superiority, the
luxury, abundance and comfort, enjoyed by Europeans,--doubt and alarm
respecting the final issue of the changes which he sees taking place
before his eyes,--an increasing taste for many of the useful or
agreeable articles which are to be procured only from the hands of the
strangers,--these and other similar feelings alternately sway the mind,
and prompt the actions, of the native of the bush in Australia, so as to
give an appearance of inconsistency, not merely to the varying conduct
of different persons, but frequently to the behaviour of the very same
person at different times. Sometimes the perplexed savage decidedly
prefers his piece of whale to all the luxuries of English fare;[57] at
another time he despises the common food of the bush--kangaroo flesh,
or fish,--and presuming upon his usefulness as a guide, nothing but
_wheaten flour_, at the rate of two pounds and a half a day, will
satisfy his desires.[58] One day, fired with a wish to emulate his
betters, the black man assumes the costume of an European, likes to be
close-shaved, wears a white neck-cloth, and means to become entirely "a
white fellow." Another day, wearied with the heat and thraldom of dress,
and tempted by the cool appearance, or stung by the severe taunts of his
brethren in the bush, off he flings his encumbrances and civilisation,
and gladly returns to a state of nature again.
[57] See p. 99.
[58] See Mitchell's Three Expeditions, vol. i. p. 39.
The barber's art appears, in several cases, to have caught the attention
of these savages. The following ridiculous account of an operation of
this kind, performed upon some natives of the country a little southward
of Port Jackson, is given by Flinders. "A new employment arose up on our
hands. We had clipped the hair and beards of the two Botany Bay natives,
at Red Point; and they were showing themselves to the others, and
persuading them to follow their example. While, therefore, the powder
was drying, I began with a large pair of scissors to execute my new
office upon the eldest of four or five chins presented to me; and as
great nicety was not required, the shearing of a dozen of them did not
occupy me long. Some of the more timid were alarmed at a formidable
instrument coming so near to their noses, and would scarcely be
persuaded by their shaven friends to allow the operation to be finished.
But when their chins were held up a second time, their fear of the
instrument, the wild stare of their eyes, and the smile which they
_forced_, formed a compound upon the rough savage countenance, not
unworthy the pencil of a Hogarth. I was almost tempted to try what
effect a little snip would produce, but our situation was too critical
to admit of such experiments."[59]
[59] Flinders' Voyage, vol. i. Introd. pp. 99, 100.
It has been repeatedly stated, upon good authority, that the health of
the natives of the bush has suffered greatly, and that their lives have
been frequently shortened, by the habits and indulgences which they have
learned from their more civilized neighbours. In their original state,
although beyond question the average duration of life was considerably
below that of European nations, yet an advanced age was not uncommonly
attained among them. Numbers die during the period of infancy, for none
except very strong children can possibly undergo the hardships, the
privations, and the perpetual travelling, which most of the infants born
in the bush must brave and endure. Besides which, there is the chance of
a violent death in some of the frequent quarrels which arise and include
in their consequences all the relatives of the contending parties. But,
due allowance having been made for these causes by which the average
duration of life in those wild regions is shortened, it does not appear
that their inhabitants are a particularly short-lived race, although by
some persons this has been thought to be the case. It is impossible
exactly to ascertain the age of the Australian savages, who have no mode
of keeping account of this themselves; but from instances of youths,
their father, grandfather, and great uncle being alive, and in the
enjoyment of tolerably good health, or from similar cases, it may be
safely concluded that they frequently reach, or even pass beyond, the
boundary term of life, three score years and ten. To one horrible mode
of departing from life, which is strangely common in more polished
nations, these barbarians are, happily, strangers. Captain Grey says, "I
believe they have no idea that such a thing as a man's putting an end to
his own life could ever occur; whenever I have questioned them on this
point, they have invariably laughed at me, and treated my question as a
joke." The period of old age must be as happy as any other time in the
life of a savage, if not more so, since aged men are always treated with
much respect, and rarely take an active part in any fray. They are
allowed to marry young wives, and to watch them as jealously, and treat
them as cruelly, as they please; and they appear to suffer less from
weakness and disease than the aged amongst us usually endure. The old,
too, are privileged to eat certain kinds of meat forbidden to the young.
Thus Piper, a native, who accompanied Major Mitchell, would not eat the
flesh of emu, even when food was scarce; but when he had undergone the
ceremony of being rubbed over with the fat of that bird by an old man,
he had thenceforth no objection to it. The threatened penalty was, that
young men, after eating it, would be afflicted with sores all over the
body; but the fact is, that it is too rich and oily for the old men to
allow any but themselves to partake of it. So that, upon the whole, in
New Holland, as in most other uncivilised countries, old age is a
period of much dignity, and of considerable enjoyment of life.
But, whatever may be the troubles, or whatever the enjoyments, of old
age, they are, in their very nature, even above our other troubles or
enjoyments, brief and transitory. The aged warrior of Australia can
plead no exemption from the common lot of mortality, and death draws
a veil over the chequered existence,--the faults and follies, the
talents and virtues, of every child of Adam. The various customs and
superstitions, connected with the death and burial of their friends,
are very numerous among the tribes of Australia, and some of them are
curious and peculiar. It would be impossible to give a full account of
them, but a few of the most remarkable may be selected. Throughout
all the funeral solemnities of savage and heathen nations the same
distinguishing mark is to be observed,--they are the vain devices, the
miserable inventions of men who sorrow for their departed friends as
those that have no hope. Nothing, it is asserted, can awake in the
breast more melancholy feelings than the funeral chants of the
Australians. They are sung by a whole chorus of females of all ages, and
the effect produced upon the bystanders by this wild music surpasses
belief. The following is a chant, which has been heard upon several such
occasions, and which, simple though it be, fully expresses the feelings
of a benighted heathen mourning over the grave of a friend whom he has
lost (as he thinks) for ever:--
_The young women sing_ My young brother, }
_The old women_ My young son, } again,
In future shall I
never see.
My young brother, }
My young son, } again,
In future shall I
never see.
But previously to our entering upon the subject of the funeral
rites practised in New Holland, it will be necessary to notice the
superstitions respecting sorcerers, which in that country are so
intimately connected with the very idea of death. When an individual
life is taken away by open violence, then, as we have seen, it is
avenged upon the supposed murderer, or his relatives. But when death
occurs from accidental or natural causes, it is usually attributed to
the influence of sorcery, and not unfrequently is it revenged upon some
connexion of the parties believed to have practised that art. So that,
generally speaking, the death of one human being involves that of
another, which is no small check to population. In truth, it would
almost seem that the natives have no idea of death occurring, except by
violence or sorcery;[60] and these strange notions must not be dealt
with too severely, in a country like England, where (within the last 200
years, and in no uncivilised state of society) persons have been burnt
for witchcraft; and in which, even in the present day, every vile
imposture and godless pretence of supernatural power is sure of finding
eager listeners and astonished admirers. The _Boyl-yas_, or native
sorcerers, are objects of mysterious dread, and are thought to have the
power of becoming invisible to all eyes but those of their brethren in
the same evil craft. As our northern witches were supposed to have the
power of riding upon a broom-stick, so these southern sorcerers are said
to be able to transport themselves at pleasure through the air. If they
have a dislike to any one they can kill him, it is said, by stealing on
him at night and consuming his flesh, into which they enter like pieces
of quartz-stone, and the pain they occasion is always felt. Another
sorcerer, however, can draw them out, and the pieces of stone pretended
to be thus obtained are kept as great curiosities. Perhaps the clearest
ideas of the imaginary powers of these sorcerers, and of the dread in
which they are held, will be found from the following account, obtained
from a native with the utmost difficulty, (for the subject is never
willingly mentioned,) and reported _verbatim_ by Captain Grey.
[60] "The natives do not allow that there is such a thing as a death
from natural causes; they believe that were it not for murderers, or the
malignity of sorcerers, they might live for ever."--GREY'S _Travels in
Western Australia_, vol. ii. p. 238.
"'The _Boyl-yas_,' said the trembling Kaiber, 'are natives who have the
power of _boyl-ya_; they sit down to the northward, the eastward, and
southward; the _Boyl-yas_ are very bad, they walk away there' (pointing
to the east). 'I shall be very ill presently. The _Boyl-yas_ eat up a
great many natives,--they eat them up as fire would; you and I will be
very ill directly. The _Boyl-yas_ have ears: by and by they will be
greatly enraged. I'll tell you no more.'
"'The _Boyl-yas_ move stealthily,--you sleep and they steal on
you,--very stealthily the _Boyl-yas_ move. These _Boyl-yas_ are
dreadfully revengeful; by and by we shall be very ill. I'll not talk
about them. They come moving along in the sky,--cannot you let them
alone? I've already a terrible headache; by and by you and I will be two
dead men.'
"'The natives cannot see them. The _Boyl-yas_ do not bite, they feed
stealthily; they do not eat the bones, but consume the flesh. Just give
me what you intend to give, and I'll walk off.'
What secrets can the human breast contain,
When tempted by thy charms, curst love of gain!
"'The _Boyl-yas_ sit at the graves of natives in great numbers. If
natives are ill, the _Boyl-yas_ charm, charm, charm, charm, and charm,
and, by and by, the natives recover.'"
Nothing further could be learned from this terrified and unwilling
witness. The custom spoken of in the last part of his evidence, that of
sitting at the graves of the dead, is found in nearly all the known
portions of Australia, and the object of this practice is to discover by
what person the death of the deceased individual has been caused, which
is supposed to be declared by dreams or visions. A similar custom among
the Jews is reproved by the prophet Isaiah, chap. lxv. 4, 5.
Once, when Major Mitchell had been harassed, and two of his party killed
by the hostile natives, he reached a spot of security, where, while
admiring the calm repose of the wild landscape, and the beauteous beams
of the setting sun, he was anticipating a night free from disturbance.
He was alone, waiting the arrival of his party, but his reveries were
dissipated in the most soothing manner, by the soft sounds of a female
voice, singing in a very different tone from that generally prevailing
among the Australians. It sounded like the song of despair, and, indeed,
it was the strain of a female mourning over some deceased relative; nor
could the loud "hurra" of the men, when they came up, angry at the
recent pillage and murder of some of the party, put to flight the
melancholy songstress of the woods. On these occasions it is usual for
the relatives of the deceased to continue their lamentations, appearing
insensible of what people may be doing around them.
The rude verses, given below, and forming the substance of a chant, sung
by an old woman to incite the men to avenge the death of a young person,
may serve at once for a specimen of the poetry and superstition of the
Australian wilderness:--
"The blear-eyed sorcerers of the north
Their vile enchantments sung and wove,
And in the night they sallied forth,
A fearful, man-devouring drove.
"Feasting on our own lov'd one
With sanguinary jaws and tongue,
The wretches sat, and gnaw'd, and kept
Devouring, while their victim slept.
Yho, yang, yho yang, yang yho.
"Yes, unconsciously he rested
In a slumber too profound;
While vile Boyl-yas sat and feasted
On the victim they had bound
In sleep:--Mooligo, dear young brother,
Where shall we find the like of thee?
Favourite of thy tender mother,
We again shall never see
Mooligo, our dear young brother.
Yho, yang yho, ho, ho.
"Men, who ever bold have been,
Are your long spears sharpened well?
Fix anew the quartz-stone keen,
Let each shaft upon them tell.
Poise your _meer-ros_, long and sure,
Let the _kileys_ whiz and whirl
Strangely through the air so pure;
Heavy _dow-uks_ at them hurl;
Shout the yell they dread to hear.
Let the young men leap on high,
To avoid the quivering spear;
Light of limb and quick of eye,
Who sees well has nought to fear.
Let them shift, and let them leap,
While the quick spear whistling flies,
Woe to him who cannot leap!
Woe to him who has bad eyes!"
When an old woman has commenced a chant of this kind, she will continue
it until she becomes positively exhausted; and upon her ceasing, another
takes up the song. The effect some of them have upon the assembled men
is very great; indeed, it is said that these addresses of the old women
are the cause of most of the disturbances which take place. Thus, even
amid the forests of New Holland, the _influence of woman_ will, in one
way or another, make itself felt.
The ceremonies observed at the funeral of a native vary, as might be
expected, in so great a space, but they are wild and impressive in every
part of New Holland. According to Collins, the natives of the colony
called New South Wales were in the habit of burning the bodies of those
who had passed the middle age of life, but burial seems the more
universal method of disposing of their dead among the Australians. Some
very curious drawings and figures cut in the rock were discovered by
Captain Grey, in North-Western Australia, but whether these were
burying-places does not appear. For the account of these works of rude
art, which is extremely interesting, but too long to transcribe, the
reader is referred to the delightful work of the traveller just
mentioned.
The shrieks and piercing cries uttered by the women over their dead
relatives, are said to be truly fearful, and agreeably to the ancient
custom of idolatrous eastern nations mentioned in 1 Kings xviii. 28,
and in Jer. xlviii. 37,[61] they tear and lacerate themselves most
frightfully, occasionally cutting off portions of their beards, and,
having singed them, throwing them upon the dead body. With respect to
their tombs, these are of various sorts in different districts. In the
gulph of Carpentaria, on the Northern coast, Flinders found several
skeletons of natives, standing upright in the hollow trunks of trees;
the skulls and bones, being smeared or painted partly red and partly
white, made a very strange appearance. On the banks of the river
Darling, in the interior of Eastern Australia, Major Mitchell fell in
with a tribe, which had evidently suffered greatly from small-pox,[62]
or some similar disease, and in the same neighbourhood he met with some
remarkable mounds or tombs, supposed to cover the remains of that
portion of the tribe which had been swept off by the same disease that
had left its marks upon the survivors. On a small hill, overlooking
the river, were three large tombs, of an oval shape, and about twelve
feet across in the longest diameter. Each stood in the centre of an
artificial hollow, the mound in the middle being about five feet high;
and on each of them were piled numerous withered branches and limbs of
trees, forming no unsuitable emblems of mortality. There were no trees
on this hill, save one quite dead, which seemed to point with its hoary
arms, like a spectre, to the tombs. A melancholy waste, where a level
country and boundless woods extended beyond the reach of vision, was in
perfect harmony with the dreary foreground of the scene.
[61] See Deut. xiv. 1, where the very spot is mentioned,--"between
the eyes,"--which is always torn and scratched by the Australian female
mourners.
[62] This disease made dreadful ravages among the natives about the same
time as the colony in New South Wales was settled. "The recollection of
this scourge will long survive in the traditionary songs of these simple
people. The consternation which it excited is yet as fresh in their
minds, as if it had been an occurrence of but yesterday, although the
generation that witnessed its horrors has almost passed away. The moment
one of them was seized with it, was the signal for abandoning him to his
fate. Brothers deserted their brothers, husbands their wives, wives
their husbands, children their parents, and parents their children; and
in some of the caves of the coast, heaps of decayed bones still indicate
the spots where these ignorant and helpless children of nature were left
to expire, not so much, probably, from the virulence of the disease
itself, as from the want of sustenance."--WENTWORTH'S _Australia_,
vol. i. p. 311. Third edition. See also COLLINS' _New South Wales_,
p. 383.
Indeed, to those who have been from infancy accustomed to the quiet
consecrated burying places of our own land,--spots which, in rural
districts, are usually retired, yet not quite removed from the reach of
"the busy hum of men;" to those who have always looked upon a Christian
temple,
"Whose taper spire points, finger-like, to heaven,"
as the almost necessary accompaniment of a burial-place, the appearance
of the native tombs in the desolate wilds of a savage and uncultivated
country, must be dreary in the extreme. Scenes of this character must
appear to the eye of a Christian almost emblematical of the spiritual
blank--the absence of any sure and certain hope--in the midst of which
the natives, whose remains are there reposing, must have lived and died.
How striking is Captain Grey's description of another tomb, which was
found in a totally different part of New Holland, near the western
coast, and at no great distance from the Swan River settlement! The
scenery, not, indeed, in the immediate vicinity, but very near to the
newly-made grave, is thus described. Even at mid-day, the forest wore a
sombre aspect, and a stillness and solitude reigned throughout it that
were very striking. Occasionally, a timid kangaroo might be seen
stealing off in the distance, or a kangaroo-rat might dart out from a
tuft beneath your feet, but these were rare circumstances. The most
usual disturbers of these wooded solitudes were the black cockatoos;
"but I have never, in any part of the world," adds the enterprising
traveller, "seen so great a want of animal life as in these mountains."
It was not far from this lonely district, in a country nearly resembling
it, only less wooded and more broken into deep valleys, that a recent
grave was found, carefully constructed, with a hut built over it, to
protect the now senseless slumberer beneath from the rains of winter.
All that friendship could do to render his future state happy had been
done. His throwing-stick was stuck in the ground at his head; his broken
spears rested against the entrance of the hut; the grave was thickly
strewed with _wilgey_, or red earth; and three trees in front of the
hut, chopped with a variety of notches and uncouth figures, bore
testimony that his death had been bloodily avenged. The native Kaiber,
who acted as guide to the travellers, gazed upon this scene with concern
and uneasiness. Being asked why the spears were broken, the trees
notched, and the red earth strewed upon the grave, his reply was,
"Neither you nor I know: our people have always done so, and we do so
now,"--quite as good a reason as many who think themselves far more
enlightened are able to give for their actions. When a proposal was
made to stop for the night at this solitary spot, poor Kaiber resisted
it; "I cannot rest here," said he, "for there are many spirits in this
place."[63]
[63] See, however, a more pleasing picture of a native burying-place,
in Mitchell's Three Expeditions, vol. i. p. 321.
When Mr. Montgomery Martin was in Australia, he obtained with some
difficulty the dead body of an old woman, who had long been known
about Sydney. Hearing of her death and burial in the forest, about
twenty-five miles from his residence, he went thither, and aided by some
stock-keepers, found the grave,--a slightly elevated and nearly circular
mound. The body was buried six feet deep, wrapped in several sheets of
bark, the inner one being of a fine silvery texture. Several things
which the deceased possessed in life, together with her favourite dog,
were buried with her,--all apparently for use in another world. The
skull of this poor creature was full of indentations, as if a tin vessel
had been struck by a hammer; light might be seen through these hollows,
which had been caused by blows of _whaddies_ (hard sticks) when she was
young, and some bold youths among the natives courted her after this
strange fashion. It seemed scarcely possible that marks so extraordinary
could have been made in the human skull without fracturing it.[64]
[64] Martin's New South Wales, p. 143.
In a society of men so simple and so little advanced in refinement or
civilisation as the inhabitants of New Holland, it is evident that their
wants must be few and easily satisfied, their stock of earthly riches
very small and humble. Indeed, these people nearly always carry the
whole of their worldly property about with them, and the Australian
hunter is thus equipped: round his middle is wound a belt spun from the
fur of the opossum, in which are stuck his hatchet, his _kiley_ or
_boomerang_, and a short heavy stick to throw at the smaller animals.
In his hand he carries his throwing-stick, and several spears, headed in
two or three different manners, so that they are equally suitable to war
or the chase. In the southern parts, a warm kangaroo-skin cloak, thrown
over his shoulders, completes the hunter's outfit; but this is seldom or
never seen northwards of 29 deg. south latitude. These, however, are not
quite all the riches of the barbarian, a portion of which is carried by
his wife, or wives, as the case may be; and each of these has a long
thick stick, with its point hardened in the fire, a child or two fixed
upon their shoulders, and in their bags, in which also they keep sundry
other articles, reckoned valuable and important for the comfort of
savage life. For example; a flat stone to pound roots with, and earth to
mix with the pounded roots;[65] quartz, for making spears and knives;
stones, for hatchets; gum, for making and mending weapons and tools;
kangaroo sinews for thread, and the shin-bones of the same animal for
needles;--these and many similar articles, together with whatever roots,
&c. they may have collected during the day, form the total of the burden
of a female Australian; and this, together with the husband's goods,
forms the sum and substance of the wealth of an inhabitant of the
southern land. In Wellesley's Islands, on the north coast of New
Holland, the catalogue of a native's riches appears somewhat different,
from his maritime position.[66] A raft, made of several straight
branches of mangrove lashed together, broader at one end than at the
other;--a bunch of grass at the broad end where the man sits to
paddle,--a short net to catch turtle, or probably a young shark,--and
their spears and paddles seem to form the whole earthly riches of these
rude fishermen.[67] But one essential thing must not be overlooked in
the enumeration of a native's possessions. Fire, of procuring which they
have not very easy means, is usually carried about with them; and the
women commonly have the charge of the lighted stick, in addition to
their other cares.
[65] See p. 114.
[66] "In many places a log of wood, or a wide slip of bark, tied at
either end, and stuffed with clay, is the only mode invented for
crossing a river or arm of the sea, while in other parts a large tree,
roughly hollowed by fire, forms the canoe."--M. MARTIN'S _New South
Wales_, p. 147.
[67] Flinders' Voyage, vol. ii. p. 138.
It is no very easy matter for civilized man to realise the perfectly
free and unencumbered way in which these natives roam from place to
place, accordingly as seasons or provisions may serve, constantly
carrying with them a home wherever they go; and (what is far more
difficult in civilised society) leaving no cares of home behind them in
the spot from which they may have recently removed. Certainly there must
be something very delightful in this wild sort of life to every one, who
has from his early infancy been accustomed to its pleasure and inured to
its hardships, neither of which are by any means to be measured by the
standard of the cold and changeable climate of England. The grand
objects of the savage, in almost every part of the globe, are to baffle
his human enemies, and to assert his dominion over the lower races of
animals. For these purposes, the activity, secrecy, acuteness, and
sagacity of man in an uncivilised state are almost incredible; nor could
we have supposed, were not the truth shown in numberless instances, that
the senses of human beings were capable of so great perfection, their
bodies and limbs of such exertion and agility, as they gain by continual
practice and early training in the forests of America or Australia. In
these bodily excellencies, the inhabitants of the last-named continent
might safely challenge the whole world to surpass them. The natives
once approached Major Mitchell's camp by night; and though nine
fire-sticks were seen in motion, no noise was heard. At length when the
lights had approached within 150 yards, every one suddenly disappeared;
the bearers preserving, all the while, the most perfect silence. It was
then thought advisable to scare these noiseless visitors away, and a
rocket was sent up, at which signal the English party rushed forward
with a shout; and this had the desired effect. It is said that the
natives regard, as an important matter, the falling of a star, which
would account for their alarm at the rocket. On another occasion, when
an English exploring party had discovered a few traces of natives near
their place of encampment, an active search after them immediately took
place; and it appeared that they had crept up within about one hundred
yards of the camp, after which they had been disturbed, and had made
off. Their mode of approach was by a stream of water, so as to conceal
their trail; after which they had turned out of the stream up its right
bank, and had carefully trod in one another's footmarks, so as to
conceal their number, although traces of six or seven different men
could be perceived as far as the spot where they had been disturbed.
From this point these children of the Bush had disappeared, as it were,
by magic: not a twig was broken, not a stone was turned, nor could it be
observed that the heavy drops of rain had been shaken from a single
blade of grass. All efforts to hit upon the direction in which they had
fled were to no purpose, except to put the explorers more constantly on
the watch against beings who were often near them when they least
dreamed of their presence. Human wisdom would enforce this lesson from
such circumstances; but how often does heavenly wisdom lift up its voice
to us in vain, teaching us by what is passing around us to be upon our
watch constantly over our own conduct, since we are never very far from
the Almighty presence of God himself!
To the quick-sighted natives, the surface of the earth is, in fact, as
legible as a newspaper, so accustomed are they to read in any traces
left upon it the events of the day.[68] For once, Major Mitchell informs
us, he was able to hide so that these people could not find; but then
his buried treasure was only a collection of specimens of stones and
minerals, of the use of which they could know nothing, and concerning
which they were little likely to have any suspicions. The notes written
by the traveller, and concealed in trees, seldom escaped notice;[69] nor
did provisions, nor, in short, any article which they could either use
or suspect pass unobserved.
[68] See a most remarkable instance of this in M. Martin's New South
Wales, pp. 156-158.
[69] Latterly, however, experience suggested to him what seems
to have been a successful mode of concealment. See Mitchell's Three
Expeditions, vol. ii. p. 271.
In Western Australia, Captain Grey, having galloped after some wild
cattle which he had met in his journey, found, upon wishing to ascertain
the hour, that his watch had fallen from his pocket during the chase. He
waited until the rest of his party came up, and then requested Kaiber,
their native guide, to walk back and find the watch. This, Kaiber
assured the traveller, was utterly impossible, nor could his assertion
be gainsaid; nevertheless, the watch was too valuable to be given up
without an effort for its recovery. "Well, Kaiber," said the captain,
"your people had told me you could see tracks well, but I find they
are mistaken; you have but one eye,--something is the matter with the
other," (this was really the case)--"no young woman will have you, for
if you cannot follow my tracks, and find a watch, how can you kill game
for her?" This speech had the desired effect, and the promise of a
shilling heightened his diligence, so they went back together in
search of the lost article. The ground that had been passed over was
badly suited for the purpose of tracking, and the scrub was thick;
nevertheless, to his delight and surprise, the captain had his watch
restored to his pocket in less than half an hour.
Even in the simple arts and rude habits of the people of New Holland
there are different degrees of advancement and progress to be observed.
On the west coast, a few degrees to the north of the British settlement
at Swan River, a great difference was noticed by Captain Grey in the
arrangements of the native population. The country near the Hutt River
is exceedingly beautiful and fertile, and it supports a very numerous
population, comparatively with other districts. The exploring party
found a native path or road, wider, more used, and altogether better
than any before seen in that region. Along the side of this path were
seen frequent wells, some of them ten or twelve feet in depth, which
were made in a superior manner. Across the dry bed of a stream they then
came upon a light fruitful soil, which served the inhabitants as a
_warran_ ground. _Warran_ is a sort of _yam_ like the sweet potato, and
its root is a favourite article of food with some of the native tribes.
For three miles and a half the travellers passed over a fertile tract of
land full of the holes made by the natives in digging this root; indeed,
so thick were they, that it was not easy to walk, and this tract
extended east and west, as far as they could see. The district must have
been inhabited a great many years, for more had been done in it to
secure a provision from the ground by hard manual labour than it would
have appeared to be in the power of uncivilised man to accomplish.
It can be no subject of surprise that the various tribes of Australia,
living in a wild country, and blessed with no clear nor adequate ideas
of their Maker, should be exceedingly superstitious, as well as ignorant
and simple. The strange aversion felt by some of them to a sort of
muscle or oyster, found in fresh water, has already been mentioned; and
the horror of the native population at the supposed effects of sorcery
has also been detailed. Kaiber, Captain Grey's guide, was bidden to
gather a few of these muscles to make a meal for the party of hungry
travellers in the Bush, but at first he would not move, declaring that
if he touched these shell-fish, the _Boyl-yas_ would be the death of
him. Unable to bring any instance of mischief arising from them, he
shrewdly answered, that this was because nobody had been "wooden-headed"
enough to meddle with them, and that he intended to have nothing
whatever to do with them. At last, with much difficulty he was prevailed
to go, but whilst occupied in his task, he was heard most bitterly
deploring his fate. It was his courage and strong sinews, he said, that
had hitherto kept him from dying either of hunger or thirst, but what
would these avail him against the power of sorcery? However, the muscles
were brought, and Kaiber's master made his meal upon them, but no
persuasions could prevail upon him to partake of them. The same evening,
the half-starved, half-clothed party of travellers were overtaken by a
tremendous storm, which put out their fires, and they continued during
the night in a most pitiable state from exposure to the cold and
weather. All these misfortunes were set down by the sagacious native to
the account of the muscles, nor was it till his master threatened him
with a good beating, that Kaiber left off chattering to himself, while
his mouth moved with the effect of the extreme cold:--
"Oh, wherefore did he eat the muscles?
Now the _Boyl-yas_ storms and thunder make;
Oh, wherefore would he eat the muscles?"
Among the superstitions of Australia, that feeling of awe which revolts
from mentioning even the name of a deceased person is very remarkable;
and the custom of silence upon this subject is so strictly enforced,
that it renders inquiry respecting the family or ancestors of a native
extremely difficult.[70] The only circumstance enabling the inquirer to
overcome this hindrance is the fact, that, the longer a person has been
dead, the less unwilling do they appear to name him. Thus did Captain
Grey obtain some curious information respecting their pedigrees and
family customs; for he began with endeavouring to discover only the
oldest names on record, and then, as opportunity served, he would
contrive to fill up the blanks, sometimes, when they were assembled
round their fires at night, encouraging little disputes among them
concerning their forefathers, by means of which he was able to gain
much of the information he wanted.
[70] It is even said, that persons bearing the same name with
the deceased take other names, in order to avoid the necessity of
pronouncing it at all. _See_ COLLINS' _Acc. of Col. of N. S. Wales_,
p. 392.
One very singular notion prevailing among the native population of
Australia, and proving that the belief in a spiritual world and in a
future state, is not quite extinct even among them, is the idea which
they entertain of white people being the souls of departed blacks. This
supposition may serve to explain the reason of the disagreeable process
complained of by Sturt, who says, that every new tribe examined them,
pulling them about, measuring the hands and feet of the strangers with
their own, counting their fingers, feeling their faces, and besmearing
them all over with dirt and grease. A more powerful feeling than
curiosity even may have prompted this conduct, and they may have
sought, impelled by superstition, to recognise in the foreigners
their own kindred. But however that may have been, most travellers in
Australia mention the peculiar idea alluded to. Captain Grey was once
vehemently attacked by the caresses of an old, ugly, and dirty black
woman, who recognised him as her son's ghost, and was obliged to endure
them. His real mother, the captain says, could scarcely have expressed
more delight at his return, while his sable-coloured brothers and sister
paid their respects to him, when the vehemence of a mother's affection
had somewhat subsided. He was convinced that the old woman really
believed him to be her son, whose first thought, upon his return to
earth, had been to revisit his old mother, and bring her a present!
The natives believe that the _night-mare_--a subject likely enough to
give birth to superstition--is caused by some evil spirit, in order to
get rid of which they jump up, seize a lighted brand from the fire, and,
after whirling it round the head with a variety of imprecations, they
throw the stick away in the direction where they suppose the evil spirit
to be. They say the demon wants a light, and that when he gets it, he
will go away. However, besides supplying this his need, they likewise
take the precautions of changing their position, and of getting as near
as they can into the middle of the group of their companions who are
sleeping round the fire. If obliged to move away from the fire after
dark, either to get water or for any other purpose, they carry a light
with them, and set fire to dry bushes as they go along.
A profound respect, almost amounting to veneration, is paid in many
districts of Australia to shining stones or pieces of crystal, which
they call "_Teyl_." These are carried in the girdles of men, especially
of the sorcerers or _corad-jes_, and no woman is allowed to see the
contents of the round balls made of woollen cord from the fur of the
opossum in which these crystals are enclosed. They are employed as
charms in sickness, and are sometimes sent from tribe to tribe for
hundreds of miles on the sea-coast or in the interior. One of these
stones, which was examined by an Englishman, to whom it was shown
privately by a black, was of a substance like quartz, about the size
of a pigeon's egg, and transparent, like white sugar-candy. The small
particles of crystal which crumble off are swallowed in order to prevent
illness. Many other instances of the like superstitious folly might very
easily be gathered from the writings of those who have had the best
opportunities of becoming acquainted with the manners of the Australian
tribes.
The following is from the pen of the Rev. G. King, a missionary of the
Society for Propagating the Gospel, who speaks thus of the natives near
Fremantle, in Western Australia: "The native children are intelligent
and apt to learn, but the advanced men are so far removed from
civilisation, and so thoroughly confirmed in roving habits, that all the
exertions made in their behalf have found them totally inaccessible; but
we have no reason to conclude that they have not a vague idea of a
future state. They are exceedingly superstitious; they never venture out
of their huts from sunset till sunrise, for fear of encountering goblins
and evil spirits. When any of their tribe dies they say, 'He'll soon
jump up, white man, and come back again in big ship;' and when a
stranger arrives, they examine his countenance minutely, to trace the
lineaments of some deceased friend; and when they think they have
discovered him they sometimes request him to expose his breast, that
they may see where the spear entered which caused the life to fly away
so long."[71] Altogether, experience bears witness, in their case, of
the same fact which is to be perceived in other parts of the globe,
namely, that where there is little religion, there is often a great deal
of superstition, and that those who do not "believe the truth," almost
always fall into the snares of falsehood, so as to "believe a lie."
[71] S. P. G. Report, 1842, p. 59.
With all the disadvantages of having two races of men (one of which is
thought inferior to the other) occupying the same territory; with the
evils, likewise, unavoidably arising from the ease with which what is
_bad_ in Europeans may be learned and copied, and the difficulty of
understanding or imitating what is _good_ in us, the natives are placed
in a very peculiar and unhappy situation. Their intercourse with the
white men has hitherto, certainly, been productive of more injury, both
moral and temporal, than benefit to them. Into the sad and disgusting
details, affording a proof of this truth, which may be found in the
evidence before the committees of the House of Commons upon the subject
of transportation it will neither be suitable nor possible to enter. The
fact is, indeed, acknowledged by men of all parties and opinions, while,
by all right-minded men, it is deeply deplored.
Drunkenness and its attendant vices prevail to a fearful extent among
the Europeans in New Holland, the lower orders especially; and what sins
are more enticing than these to the ignorant, sensual savage? Tobacco
and spirits, which the poor natives call "_tumbledown_," are articles in
constant request; and to purchase these of Europeans, the blacks will
give almost anything they possess, even their wives.[72] Thus, a
regular traffic in what is evil is carried on, and almost all that
the heathen people of Australia learn from the so-called Christians
with whom they associate, is to practise, with tenfold aggravation,
sins which God abhors, and will not allow to go unpunished. Like
children that have been always brought up in a family of foul-tongued
transgressors, the very first words of English which the natives learn
are words of wickedness and blasphemy; the only introduction to the name
of their God and Saviour is in order that they may insult that holy
Name, and blaspheme the Divine Majesty. And these lessons are taught
them, let us remember, by men calling themselves, and perhaps even
thinking themselves, civilised, enlightened, and Christian persons;--by
men, certainly, belonging to a nation, which justly lays claim to these
honourable epithets! But enough has been stated on this painful subject
to fill every thoughtful mind with humiliation and fear, when it
contemplates the "much" that "has been given" to civilised nations, and
recalls the fixed rule of truth and justice, that so much the "more"
will be required of them. Nor is this a matter concerning the British
inhabitants of the colonies alone, and with which the nation at large
has little or no concern. For if we inquire, who corrupt the natives?
the answer is, our vile and worthless population, the very scum of
mankind, whom we have cast out as evil from the bosom of their native
land. But a further question naturally offers itself. Who were, in many
instances, the passive, if not the active, corrupters of these very
corrupters themselves? Who have neglected to provide means for their
christian instruction, and so let them grow up to be worse than
heathens, until they could be endured no longer in the land? What
nation had within a single century more than doubled its population
without having built or endowed a score of new churches? To whose
neglect is it, partly, though not entirely, owing, that when heathens
meet, in far distant countries, with our lower classes, or when their
homes are visited in our great towns and cities, the very heathens are
sometimes forced to yield the palm to them in wickedness and in sin?
Such questions very nearly concern every Englishman, and they are, even
now, only beginning to command the attention they deserve. High and low,
rich and poor, clergy and laity, we are all alike implicated in those
evils, which have arisen from national neglect and forgetfulness of God,
and which are not unlikely to lead to national confusion and ruin. But
we are still, thank God, blessed with a pure and apostolical Church in
our native country, and this is a mighty instrument for good, if we will
but support it, and render it as efficient as it ought to be. The
children of our little sea-girt isle may almost be called the salt of
the earth, so extensively is our naval and our moral power spread. If
we can bring those children up in the right way, as dutiful children of
God and faithful members of the Church of England, then, indeed, the
blessings resulting from our efforts may make themselves felt in the
very ends of the earth--in the solitary wilds of New Holland. But
otherwise, if we continue to neglect our own people, and disgrace our
profession of Christianity by encouraging tacitly the growth of
heathenism around us, then we may judge by the moral and social evils
which have already resulted from this course what the final consequences
are likely to be. "If the salt have lost its savour wherewith shall it
be salted: it is therefore good for nothing, but to be cast out and
trodden under foot of men." (Matt. v. 13.)
[72] The half-caste children are generally put to death by the black
husband, under the idea, it is said, that if permitted to grow up,
they would be wiser than the people among whom they would live. These
helpless innocents are destroyed, as though they were no better than a
cat or dog: one farm servant of Mr. Mudie was in a great rage at the
birth of a small infant of this description, and without any ceremony,
only exclaiming, "Narang fellow," which means, "Small fellow," he took
it up at once, and dashed it against the wall, as you would any animal.
See Evidence before Transport. Com. 1837, p. 43.
With savages resembling those that dwell in the Australian forests,
having no means of religious instruction among themselves, the only
hope of producing an improvement in their moral and social character,
must arise from their intercourse with christian people. But it must
be repeated, unhappily, the great majority of _christian_ people
(especially in that country and among those classes where the native is
most likely to have intercourse) are by no means adorning by their lives
the faith and doctrine of that Master whose name they bear. Hence arises
the deplorable condition of the natives, who are brought into contact
chiefly with the lowest and worst of the Europeans, and who, beside many
other hindrances, have the great stumbling-block of bad examples, and
evil lives, constantly before them in their intercourse with the
Christians. And, as though that were not enough, as though fresh
obstacles to the conversion of these nations to God's truth were needed
and required, our holy religion is presented to them, not as it came
from the hands of its Founder and his Apostles, inculcating "one
Lord, one faith, and one baptism," but such as man's weakness and
wickedness delight in representing it,--a strange jumble of various
"denominations." And this unworthy course has been followed by
government itself. Without any pleas arising from _conscience_, or the
principle of _toleration_ to excuse this, the British government, in
what little they have done for converting to Christianity some of the
natives, have afforded their help to bodies of Christians bearing
different names. Nor can it be said that the Church of England and
Ireland was without any zealous ministers ready to undertake this most
difficult task, trusting in God's strength for help to accomplish it, at
least in some degree. It is the confession of Dr. Lang himself, who is
no friend to the Church of England, that the only two missions[73] to
the natives existing in 1837 were, as all ought to be, episcopalian; but
one of these was stated, on the best authority, in 1841 to be "not in an
encouraging state,"[74] although a third mission, to belong to the
Presbyterians, was about to be commenced _under the auspices of
Government_, among the natives in another station. It is fearlessly
asserted that _all_ missions to the heathen supported by Government
ought to be subject to episcopal control; and the reasons for this may
be briefly added. First, there is no tenderness of conscience, nor claim
to toleration, which can stand in the way of an English government
spreading among its native subjects the doctrine and discipline of the
English Church; supposing these willing to become Christians at all,
they cannot have a prior claim upon us to be brought up as _dissenters_
from the Church. Secondly, since the Scotch discipline, though it
prevails over a very small part of our population, is yet established by
law in one portion of the island, it may put in (as it has done) its
claim for help from Government; but, without entering into argument
respecting this, might we not safely put it to every wise and rightly
judging Presbyterian, whether it is not better to waive this claim of
theirs, than to perplex the progress of Christianity, by offering to
the heathen Australians, at the same time, and by the same temporal
authority, the Bible, which speaks of _one_ Church, and the choice
between _two_ churches? And lastly, whatever unhappy scruples and
divisions among Christians have arisen respecting episcopacy, surely,
if men had a truly christian spirit within them, they would quietly
consent to the instruction of the natives being placed in the hands of
a Church which they cannot deny to be scriptural, and of a ministry,
which for 1500 years from Christ's birth no sect of men ever thought of
denying to be the only apostolical ministry. It is indeed a strange
spectacle which our Christianity must offer to the eyes of those that
are really desirous of becoming converts. Either we "bite and devour one
another," or else we quietly set aside our Lord's commands and prayers
for our union, and contentedly agree to divide ourselves into as many
parties, sects, or denominations, as we please; and having done so, we
go and inoculate our heathen converts with our own love of separation.
St. Paul was shocked at hearing of divisions in the Church of Corinth,
but enlightened statesmen of the nineteenth century appear to be shocked
at the idea of allowing Christianity to be offered to the heathens
without its unhappy divisions! What, it may be asked with all reverence,
would have been the success of the Apostles in evangelizing the Gentile
world, if the gospel of Christ had been offered to the heathens of that
age, under the same disadvantages with which men of the present age
prefer to clog and impede their missionary efforts? Can we wonder, under
these circumstances, at the slow progress of the gospel? Is it not
rather wonderful that it should make any progress at all? If the world
is reluctant to believe in Christ's mission, would not His own words,
(John xvii. 21,) suggest to us our miserable divisions as a chief cause
of this?
[73] Against one of these missions Dr. Lang gives a sneer, and
it may be a deserved one, though certainly expressed in unbecoming
language; but the attentive reader of Dr. Lang's amusing work on New
South Wales will soon learn not to place too much stress upon _all_ he
says. See Lang's New South Wales, vol. ii. chap. 7, p. 313.
[74] See Bishop of Australia's Letter in S. P. G. Report for 1842,
p. 53.