ill. I feared I had taken malarial fever, but Yokkai at once understood
that the cause of my indisposition was the fact that I had eaten the tobola without beating it. He was right, and the next morning I was well again.
The four men did not return the next day, and so I was forced to the conclusion that they had deserted me. The atmosphere was clear and hot, but heavy and oppressive. Not a leaf was seen to stir, and the only sound that came to my ears was the monotonous, melancholy humming of the cicadas in the tree-tops, a sound that only served to increase the sense of desolation. The only rational being near me was Yokkai, but it was very difficult to make ourselves understood to each other; besides, he was still more or less timid. It surprised me that he, too, did not find an opportunity of stealing away. Evidently he was not sufficiently well acquainted with these regions.
He was a well-built man, but not strong, with something almost feminine in his looks. His forehead was very low and receding, still less so than the average foreheads of the blacks. For a black man, he had uncommonly beautiful eyes; hazel-brown and clear, with long eyelashes, but at times when the light fell on them in a certain way they had a bluish tinge. His nose had an upward tendency, and bore the marks of having once been broken. There were distinct scars on the rest of his body. He spoke a different dialect from that of the other blacks of Herbert Vale.
We waited and waited. Alone we could do nothing. I did not even dare use my gun, for Yokkai might get frightened and run away.
When it became dark I had given up all hopes of my men returning. I was left to my fate on the summit of a steep mountain difficult of access, surrounded on all sides by dense scrubs, and thus shut out from the world. The damp air, like that of a cellar, streamed in upon me in the inky darkness. The only light I had came from my camp fire, and this illuminated Yokkai’s despairing face. If he, too, deserted me, I should have to climb down the rocks alone with my gun.
I went into my hut and tried to sleep. I then observed that my tomahawk was not in its place, and I asked Yokkai, who had borrowed it during the day, where he had put it. He did not know, and began to look for it. After he had searched for it everywhere, both in-doors and out-of-doors, and after I had given up all hopes of getting it back, he suddenly, to my great surprise, found it in his own hut. This was rather suspicious, and I scarcely knew what to make of it. Perhaps I misjudged Yokkai, but I feared that my provisions—a large bag of meat—were a greater temptation than he could bear, and I was well aware that the Australian natives do not hesitate to sacrifice the life of a man to satisfy their desires. Meanwhile I concealed the tomahawk, and decided to rise early the next morning and watch him so that he might not run away.
I slept quietly that night, and rose early the next morning, and then waked my companion, whereupon we at once got ready for the descent. I promised him plenty of food and tobacco if he would assist me in carrying my baggage. Strange to say, he agreed to this, and he helped me faithfully during the whole day.
During this difficult descent I discovered that Yokkai was no common black man, and before I reached my headquarters I had formed a very high opinion of him. From that time he was my constant companion until I left Herbert river, and during these many months he was of great help and service to me; nay, he even saved my life several times, and he was at all times faithful and devoted to me. Still I could not place full confidence even in him, and I was always obliged to be cautious in regard to him; for he had a flighty temperament, and I was not sure but that his black companions might at any time persuade him to betray me, and find some opportunity of taking my life.
Yokkai was not so lazy as the other blacks with whom I had had to deal. Upon the whole, though active and lively, and far more frank and emotional than the other natives, he was cunning and had a perception quick as lightning and a good understanding. When I asked him to do anything, he never grumbled, but was attentive and helpful, and frequently did things without being asked to do them.
He thought the descent proceeded rather slowly, and repeatedly urged me to quicken my steps or we would not reach the foot of the mountain before night. But the march was a severe one. I frequently had to crawl on my hands and feet and drag the baggage after me. Add to this, that my boots were in the worst possible condition. Yokkai was now and then obliged to find strips of bark with which to fasten the soles on. If we waded across a river I had at least this advantage, that the water ran out of my boots as fast as it came into them. Sometimes leeches would creep in through the holes in my socks and fasten themselves between my toes.
A short time before sunset we reached the foot of the mountain, and having rested there, we finally arrived at the station in safety.
The rainy season had set in, but much rain had not yet fallen. Meanwhile wet weather might be looked for any day. It was, therefore, impossible to think of undertaking long expeditions. We might run the risk of finding our return cut off, for the heavy rains make the rivers utterly impassable. During this season the blacks stay on the grassy plains, and are unwilling to visit the scrubs. The animals, and all nature for that matter, were now one scene of restlessness. It was evident that we were in the transition between two seasons. The birds of passage had nested, or hatched their young, and were only waiting for cooler weather to start for the north. The Torres-Strait pigeons (_Carpophaga spilorrhoa_) were now very numerous, and had nests everywhere in the trees.
During the expeditions I made in the neighbourhood of the station I succeeded in securing a number of interesting specimens for my collection. I also shot a snipe and a white kite of the same kind as that which I secured in Western Queensland (_Elanus axillaris_). The blacks brought me a fine specimen of the beautiful black and white _ngalloa_ (_Dactylopsila trivirgata_), which is as fond of honey as the natives themselves. This rare animal, which also occurs in New Guinea, is not found south of Herbert river.
I gathered several beautiful beetles both in the trees and in the grass. Thus I found in the grass near Herbert river, near the end of December 1882, a beautiful beetle, a _Stigmodera_ (see coloured plate), which is new to science. The head and the under side of the body are of a metallic green; the thorax is nearly a purple-blue. The wing-cases are yellow a little more than one-third from the base; the rest is dark blue with a red band about a third of the distance from the point, the band being narrowest at the centre. Underneath, the body has five yellow spots on each side. The length of the beetle is one inch. I would suggest that it be denominated _Stigmodera alternata_.
One day I observed a peculiarity of conduct, which shows what respect the natives may have for the relations of their wives. I was walking with one of my men in the scrub, when we discovered thousands of flying-foxes (_Pteropus_) hanging down in long strings from the branches. My companion urged me to shoot some of these animals for him, though I had no use for them and did not care to frighten the game I was pursuing; but he persisted in his request, and explained to me what a delicate morsel these animals would be for him, especially now, as he was so hungry. At length I yielded to his requests and shot three of the flying-foxes. On our way home we met an old man who was returning from the chase, and my companion surprised me by immediately throwing the three animals to the old man, who was exceedingly glad to get them. To my question why he did not himself keep what I had shot for him, he replied that the stranger was his wife’s uncle. Though himself hungry, he wanted to show magnanimity to his uncle, from whom he had received his wife, and he was anxious to give some proof of the gratitude he owed him. This young man had not stolen his wife, nor did he have any sister or daughter to give in exchange. He must, therefore, have obtained her in some other way. I have reasons for believing that certain peculiar laws exist, known only to the blacks, according to which women even from their birth are intended for certain men. The man who has obtained a wife in this manner shows his gratitude to her relatives by gifts of food, tobacco, and other things.
The weather continued to grow more variable, and in the evenings we frequently had heavy thunderstorms. At Herbert Vale everything was quiet as usual. The only change I observed was that the natives about the station had become much more bold than they were before. They entered everywhere, stole potatoes from the garden and meat from the kitchen. They usually stole into the kitchen in the twilight of the evening, and there took what they could find.
One evening we caught in the kitchen a half-tame opossum (_Ir. vulpecula_). It made the most violent resistance, and wanted to get away from us. One of the blacks then offered to quiet it. He seized it with one hand and held it close to him, while with the other hand he gathered perspiration from his armpits and rubbed it on the nose of the opossum. This did not, however, seem to do any good, for the animal was as wild as ever. I take this opportunity of remarking that the civilised blacks have a remarkable talent for gaining the goodwill of the domestic animals of Europe, especially of horses. No matter how wild and unmanageable a horse may be, they make it so gentle that a white man will scarcely care to ride so dull a beast. More than once did I get vexed at Nelly for spoiling my dog; for she used to take it into her lap to hunt fleas, and would keep it on her knees by the hour and eat the fleas she found.
During my sojourn at Herbert Vale a woman offered to sell me a bird, which she had deprived of the power of flight by plucking out the feathers of the wings and tail. She laughed at and was merry over the poor bird, which was unable to fly away. The natives may often appear cruel toward animals and birds, though it is not their intention to give pain to the game they capture. It amuses them to see maimed animals making desperate efforts to get away. As a rule they kill the animal at once, not for the purpose of relieving it from pain, but simply to make sure of their game. On many occasions I observed how the blacks amused themselves by watching kangaroos whose hind legs had been maimed struggling in vain to get away.
Any studied cruelty toward the white men is out of the question. They do not, like the Indians, use torture, for they are anxious to take the life of their enemies as quickly as possible.