BATTLE BETWEEN HOSTILE TRIBES OF AUSTRALIANS.
"A black in his wild state is rarely seen without a spear in his hand, and this reminds me of one of my early experiences. I went out in the bush one day with some of the friendly blacks, and had walked a short distance in front of them when one of the party stopped me. He motioned for me to step to the rear, and then said,
"'When you walk in bush along a blackfellow, you make him blackfellow walk first time (in front).'
"When I asked what for, he replied, 'I den know. I believe debil debil jump up; want him blackfellow spear whitefellow.' You can be sure I took the hint, and ever afterwards allowed the blacks to take the lead. Several times since then friendly natives have told me that when a white man is walking in front of them there is an almost irresistible inclination to spear him.
"They have a superstition which they express in these words: 'Blackfellow die, jump up whitefellow;' which means that when a black man dies he reappears as a white one. In the early days of the settlement at Sydney, the convicts who ran away into the bush were almost certain to be killed by the blacks if they escaped death by starvation before the blacks found them. One convict who thus escaped wandered about for several days, and finally became so weak that he could hardly stand. In this dilemma he took a staff which he found sticking in a mound of earth, and used it as a support. A few hours afterwards he fell in with a party of natives, who treated him with the greatest respect. They fed him bountifully, and nursed him as well as their limited means permitted, and in course of time restored him to health and strength. Every man indicated a desire to obey him. He remained for years with the tribe, and as soon as he had acquired enough of their language to communicate with them, they made him understand that he was their chief.
ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS AND THEIR HUTS.
"It turned out that the mound of earth where he found the staff was the grave of their chief, who had recently died and been buried there. The stick which he took from the mound was the shaft of the chief's favorite spear, which was stuck into his grave according to their custom. When he appeared leaning on the stick, the superstitions of the natives told them that he was their chief returned in the shape of a white man. To this accidental circumstance he owed his life, as the tribe was in the habit of spearing every white man who came in their way."