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THE ABORIGINES OF AUSTRALIA. 29 Through our native interpreter, ‘ Coppertop,’ who joined us at Strangways, we were enabled to converse with them. They were very anxious for rain, as they could not travel far away from the waterholes on the creeks. Travelling further on towards Lake Eyre, we met with several wild-looking lots—plenty of men, women, and children—all looking very hearty and contented. The old men were about having a meeting to ‘ make rain,’ and as it looked likely for rain, they would no doubt before long be able to again astonish their tribe by their power as ‘ rain-makers,’ “We were now keeping a strict night-watch, as (if they meant no mischief ‘ leading to human gore’) they were diligently intent on what they called ‘ tealing.’ It was evident, by the cut timber about the creeks, that they had axes or tomahawks, and on inquiry * where blackfellow got um tomahawk,’ the answer received was,‘him teal um along a whitefellow.’ There is no doubt they had stolen several during the construction of the overland telegraph. They, however, always kept these tomahawks out of our sight. Knives, tomahawks, &c., are their principal weaknesses ; but they will steal anything they can lay their hands (or toes) on. Our interpreter, ‘ Coppertop,’ having arrived in his own country, the Macumba, made tracks, leaving his clothes, which were transferred to another young man who joined us. Tommy was his name, and he had a good smattering of English, from having been with the telegraph con struction parties for some time, and was very useful as a guide and interpreter. One day, when travelling, we met with natives— 1 outsiders,’ whose patois Tommy was unacquainted with, and he cried out in despair, ‘ Me cant hear um.’ Tommy was of a very inquiring turn of mind, and thinking sugar was “ dug up’’ at some ‘ berry good place,’ he one day asked the question, ‘ When we catch um that big one sandhill all same where whitefellow get um sugar ?’ “ On Willis’s or the Salt Creek we saw, in a large mob of natives, one old man who had evidently been in the wars ; his arm had been broken in two places, and had set crooked at each fracture, giving the poor old man a very battered appearance. The old fellow walked up and down the camel train from one per son to another, talking and gesticulating, evidently wishing us to go on; and on our starting, he looked very pleased, and pointed in the direction we were going, saying, ‘ Appa, appa ’ (water, water), as much as to say, ‘ G-o on; there is plenty of water over there for you.’ At starting, much to our amuse ment and surprise, the old man said, ‘ Q-ood morning, good morning.’ This was towards evening, but although the old man seemed to wish us away from his own camp, he was at our camp the next morning to see us start, and wish us good morning again. Several women at the old man’s camp were smeared all over with burnt gypsum (plaster of Paris), making them quite white, and giving them a horrid-looking appear ance. They were in mourning for deceased relatives. All the natives we saw looked very healthy and fat, the children looked as clean in the skin as could be desired, and, altogether, their appearance and physique showed them the pictures of health and contentment. We saw one fine young man who was blind from cataract, and the poor old man with the broken arm was leading him about and attending to his wants. We afterwards saw, at Kopperamana, a young hearty-looking woman, who was suffering from the same affliction. “ They told us that the weather last year in the winter was very cold, but that no rain fell. They make the best wurleys I have seen anywhere, all covered in securely, and having a hole for the exit of the smoke, as well as the entrance hole, which is, however, small. They are covered all over with grass, rushes, roots, earth, &c., and are quite dry. In the summer they have only a shade constructed of boughs. During the hot weather they were catching large quantities of fish with nets, which they constructed very ably from rushes. These nets are mostly fixed stationary across a favourable spot in the creek, and the fish caught by endeavouring to pass through the meshes, when they get fixed in the net by the mesh passing over their gills. When the supply of fish fails, or wanting a change of food, they have roots, seeds, herbs, cater pillars (in bushels), lizards, snakes, and numerous odds and ends, to procure all of which in quantity requires at times much labour, and this food-labour mostly falls to the lot of the lubras, who have generally plenty to do, for after they have got the food to their wurleys, there is much to do grinding or pounding seeds of acacia, nardoo, &c. “ Some of the large waterholes on the Salt Creek have superstitious terrors attached to them. One blackfellow, after killing a pelican with a boomerang, would not attempt to recover his weapon, as he said there was a large snake in the hole always on the lookout for blackfellow. “ At Kopperamana, the Lutheran Mission Station, only a small number, about a dozen or so, were camped. They appeared to easily obtain plenty of fish in the lake, but had not such a fat, hearty-looking appearance as the natives on Salt Creek. Some were employed on the station shepherding goats, others lamb-minding, &c., and all appeared to be well-treated. Of their scholastic attainments I cannot say very much, as I was informed that as they got taught any learning they went away. One young fellow appeared to have a good idea of figures, and counted twenty-five very fairly. Only a few natives were seen at Lake Hope ; these talk pidgin-English with fluency, well interlarded with strong adjectives. They have plenty
