Adventures in Australia | Page 3

hive of its honey, we followed them. As we
approached we could see their dusky forms among the lower branches,
with vast numbers of bees flying about them, whose presence they
seemed almost to disregard.
The two natives were so busily employed that they did not at first
perceive us; but when they came down, they regarded us with much
astonishment, and we were afraid that they would turn tail and run off,
without giving us the honey which it was our object to obtain. We
therefore made all the friendly signs we could think of, and I having
fortunately a gaily printed cotton handkerchief in my pocket, presented
it to them, signifying at the same time that we wished some of the
honey in return.
Our quiet manner quickly disarmed their suspicions, and returning with
us, they poured out as much honey as our two tin pots could contain.
I may as well describe the mode of finding the honey the bee-hunters
adopt. On perceiving a bee sucking the juice from flowers, he hurries to
the nearest pool and selects a spot where the banks shelve gradually. He
then lying on his face fills his mouth with water, and patiently awaits
the arrival of the bee: as the insect requires moisture, he knows that ere
long it will come and drink. The moment it approaches him he blows
the water from his mouth over it, thus slightly stunning it. Before it has
recovered, he seizes it and by means of some gum fastens to its legs a
tuft of white down, which he has obtained from the neighbouring trees.
The insect flies in a straight line towards its nest, while the white down
serving to impede the progress, enables the hunter to keep it in view,
till it reaches its home.

We ate the honey with a small supply of biscuit, and found it far more
satisfactory food than the tough parrots had proved.
Having taken a last drink and filled up our waterbottles, we parted on
friendly terms with the natives; when, saddling our horses, we
continued our journey.
"There is little chance of our reaching another river with more water in
it than the last, to camp by," observed my brother; "I see none marked
down on the maps for leagues ahead."
We passed through the same sort of scenery as before, with the same
dreary views on either side, so that we might have fancied that we had
already crossed the country a dozen times.
We at length came to the bed of a stream, no longer however
containing water, though I doubt not that we should have obtained it by
digging beneath the surface.
The appearance of the bee-hunters had warned us that there were
natives about, and we had been cautioned against trusting them. We
heard that they had at different times murdered a number of unfortunate
hut-keepers and shepherds up the country, so that we were inclined to
form very unfavourable opinions of the aborigines. Toby, to be sure,
was faithful enough, but then he was semi-civilised. We now asked him
if he thought that there were many natives in the neighbourhood to
whom the bee-hunters belonged.
He shook his head--"May be!" he said; "bad mans, keep out of him
way."
This advice we were ready enough to adopt, and we had no fear, should
we meet them on the open ground, of keeping them at bay; but we
wished especially to avoid being caught asleep, either at night or
resting during the noon-day heat.
We had, at this time, literally no experience about Australia. We had
read a few books, to be sure, but Mr Strong had not described the

country, and only advised our father to send us out without
incumbrances of any description--a small stock of serviceable clothes, a
few books and a box of pills apiece. We followed out his injunctions
almost to the letter, adding only some well-made tools, a fowling-piece
each, and a supply of ammunition, to which we added on our arrival a
few necessaries for travelling in the bush.
Thus we found that one animal could carry all our worldly possessions,
a few odd articles for immediate use being packed in our saddle-bags.
We were now, as the day was wearing on, looking out for a convenient
place to camp. We tried to make Toby understand that we wished for
one in which we could not easily be surprised by natives, or if surprised,
where we could defend ourselves with some hope of success.
The nature of the ground had changed since the morning, and we now
entered a rocky and wild-looking district.
Here we should have no difficulty, we thought, in selecting a spot for
our camp. We were looking about, when we spied in the