Adventures in Southern Seas | Page 5

trophies
were not, as I had at first supposed, the result of a massacre, but were
the drinking-cups of these people, who appeared to be the most debased
in the scale of humanity I had ever encountered.
During the morning, although I could see that a watch was kept upon

me, I was allowed my liberty, and, in spite of my wretched plight, I
became interested in observing the natives at their daily occupations,
one of which consisted in the capture of wild-fowl from a lagoon close
to the camp by the ingenious method of floating upon their quarry
submerged up to their necks in water, their heads covered by a mass of
weeds and bulrushes. When among the birds they suddenly drew some
of them under the surface without appearing to disturb the others.
And now a loud noise made by the beating of spears and waddies
attracted my attention, when I came to the conclusion some tribal
ceremony was in progress, and shortly afterward a number of youths
were led in procession through the camp. These young men presented a
strong and muscular appearance. Their naked bodies bore evidence of
ill-usage; purple weals and open sores upon their backs and shoulders
appeared to have been inflicted by the severe and long-continued stroke
of the lash.
After a dirge-like song had been sung, a number of the elder warriors
stepped forward, and with a piece of quartz formed a deep incision in
the nape or the neck of each youth, cutting broad gashes from shoulder
to hip, all the while repeating rapidly the following curious incantation:
"Kangar-marra--marra, Kano-marra-marra, Pilbirri-marra-marra."
A bunch of green leaves was then fastened round each middle and
above this a girdle of human hair. They then blackened with charcoal,
and their wounds plastered with clay in order to form the hands of
gristle which they regard as an ornament upon their flesh. During this
performance the lads showed no sign of pain, although their sufferings
must have been very severe. Further ceremonies then took place, in
which the women played a part too degrading to be here set down.
That night a feast was held, with dancing, in honour of the morning's
ceremonies. The night was warm and the moon shone with a wonderful
brilliancy, casting deep shadows upon the earth. In the distance rose a
pillar of sparks and fire, which marked the place where the performers
were preparing for the corroboree, a name given to their dancing by
these savages, and presently 200 men and 60 boys in nudity came from

among the forest trees. Each dancer was provided with a bunch of
leaves fastened above the knee, which, as they stamped in unison, made
a loud switching noise. These natives were painted from shoulder to hip,
with five or six stripes rising from the breast, their faces streaked with
white perpendicular lines, making it appear as the dancing of dead
men's bones. For some time the dancers continued to stamp to and fro,
and then, assembling at a fire that burned close by, they simultaneously
sat down. Other dancers then took their places, dressed in fur cloaks,
and wearing white and yellow feathers in their hair, their black visages
rendered hideous by fish-bones stuck through the cartilage of the nose
above their thick lips. These singular beings stamped their way
backward and forward, giving vent to yells of excitement, and causing
their bodies to tremble and twitch in the most surprising manner. The
last act of this strange drama represented the warriors sitting
cross-legged round the fire, when suddenly they simultaneously
stretched out their right arms as if pointing to some distant object, at the
same time displaying their teeth and rolling their eyes, and then,
springing to their feet, they uttered a shout that echoed for miles over
the surrounding country.
And now the preparations for a feast began. A number of women and
young girls brought baskets of fish, roasted birds, and prepared bulrush
root, whilst some very large eggs, such as I had never seen the like
before, with green shells were stacked upon the grass. Strange-looking
animals also, together with snakes and lizards, were stewed in clay
vessels, while the savages gathered round in gloating anticipation of
this repulsive food. When all was prepared one of the women gave a
peculiar cry, when there came from among the trees the young men
who had that morning undergone the baptism of initiation, each
carrying upon his shoulder a bundle wrapped in reeds and bulrushes.
Arrived in front of one who now acted as chief, much laid down his
burden, exposing the contents--the body of a native child!--half roasted
and drawn--the "long pig" of the cannibals!
Overcome by what I had seen, I sought my gunyah, where I passed the
night a