But, while we justly condemn and pity the cruel and cowardly acts of this description, which, unhappily, too often figure among the deeds of the natives of the Australian Bush, we are by no means to suppose them wanting in all feeling of kindness and humanity, still less would it be correct to consider them deficient in true courage. Every allowance ought to be made for the disadvantages of savage life, for the complete ignorance of these people, for the difficulty which they frequently have in procuring necessary food, and for the consequent cheapness in which life is held among them; and when these and other like arguments are duly weighed, we may learn not to abominate less the crimes of savages, but to pity more the unhappy beings who commit them. Indeed, if we go somewhat further, we may take shame to ourselves and to all civilized nations, in many of whose practices a counterpart may be found for the worst sins of the uncultivated, uncivilized heathens.
Within the last few years many crimes have been recorded in our newspapers, which, though committed in those large English towns, by some conceived to be centres of civilization, refinement, and enlightenment, might rival in horror and atrocity the very darkest deeds of savages.
Many proofs that the disposition of the native Australians is naturally brave and courageous (however cowardly some of their barbarities may appear,) could easily be brought forward; but none can be a stronger proof of this than the coolness and self-possession which they have so frequently exhibited upon meeting with Europeans, and encountering their fire-arms for the first time. An example of this occurred in Western Australia, when Captain Grey’s party were on their return home towards the British settlement of Perth. They were winding their way along on the summit of a limestone hill not very far from the coast, which formed a terrace about half a mile in width, with rich grass and beautiful clumps of trees to adorn it; and while, on the side towards the land, another terrace arose exactly like it, on the opposite side they overlooked a bay surrounded by verdant and extensive flats. Their enjoyment of the lovely scenery of this spot was soon disturbed by the appearance of a large body of the natives on the high ground to the east of them; and, although these strangers boldly advanced to within 200 yards of them, all endeavours to bring about an amicable meeting proved in vain, for the savages shouted to their companions, and these again to others yet more remote, until the calls were lost in the distance, while fresh parties of natives came trooping in from all directions. The question was, how to get rid of these people without bloodshed; and when an attempt to move quietly forward had been disappointed, by the Australians hastening on to occupy a thick piece of bush, through which the English party must pass, at last, Captain Grey, advancing towards them with his gun cocked and pointed, drove them a little before him, after which, to complete their dispersion, he intended to fire over their heads. But, to his mortification and their delight, the gun missed fire, upon which the natives, taking fresh courage, turned round to make faces at him and to imitate the snapping of the gun. The second barrel was then fired over their heads, at which they were alarmed, and made a rapid retreat, halting, however, upon a rising ground about 300 yards off, and preparing in earnest for action, when they perceived that they had suffered no loss. But since they had thus learned to despise the weapons of European warfare, prompt action was needful to prevent fatal consequences on both sides. The captain, accordingly, took his rifle from the man who was carrying it, and directing it at a heap of closely-matted dead bushes, about two or three yards from the main body of the enemy, he drove the ball right through it; the dry rotten boughs crackled and flew in all directions, and the poor savages, confounded at this new and unfair mode of fighting, hastily dispersed, without any loss of life having been sustained by either party.[40]
On another occasion, not long after this encounter, and in the same neighbourhood, the party of English explorers fell in with a native carrying his spear and a handful of fish; he was lost in thought, and they were close to him before he saw them, but, when he did so, he took no notice of them. Without even quickening his pace, he continued in his own course, which crossed their path, and, as he evidently wished to avoid all communication, the men were ordered to take no notice of him, and so they passed one another. He must have been a very brave fellow, observes the captain, to act thus coolly, when an array so strange to him met his eye. In like manner, when Major Mitchell was riding upon the banks of the Gwydir, he fell in with a tall native, covered with pipe-clay, who, although he could never have seen a horse before, nevertheless, put himself in a posture of defiance, and did not retreat, until the traveller galloped at him to prevent his attack.
In a different part of New Holland, on the eastern coast, when Flinders was exploring Pumice-stone River, near Moreton Bay, he was by no means successful in striking the natives with awe and astonishment. A hawk having presented itself to view, he thought this afforded a good opportunity of showing his new friends, the inhabitants of the Bush, a specimen of the effect and certainty of his fire-arms. He made them understand what he intended, and they were so far alarmed as to seem to be on the point of running into the woods, but a plan of detaining them was discovered, for the seamen placed themselves in front of the savages, forming a kind of defence; in which situation they anxiously watched the British officer, while he fired at the bird. What must have been his feelings at the moment!—the hawk, uninjured, flew away![41]
It is, certainly, no easy task to awaken in the soul of the completely savage man any great interest or concern in the ways and habits of civilized life. The fallen nature, of which all mankind are common partakers, renders it, unfortunately, easy to copy what is evil; and, accordingly, the drunkenness, the deceitfulness, and general licentiousness of depraved Europeans find many admirers and imitators among the simple children of the Australian wilderness; but when anything good, or decent, or even merely useful, is to be taught them, then do they appear dull and inapt scholars indeed. Living, as they do, in a peculiar world, as it were, of their own, they feel little or no pleasure at hearing of what is going on elsewhere, and it has been observed by one who had mixed very much with their various tribes, and had gained considerable knowledge of their language, that, while they cared not for stories respecting man in his civilized state, anything at all bearing upon savage life was eagerly listened to and well received. Once, having described to them some circumstances respecting England and its inhabitants, the traveller took occasion, from the mention of the length of days there in summer, to speak of those lands near the North Pole, where, in summer, the sun never sets, while it never rises for some weeks during the winter. The natives agreed that this must be another sun, and not the one seen by them; but, when the conversation turned upon the people of those northern regions, and the small Laplander, clothed in skins of the seal, instead of the kangaroo, was described to them, they were exceedingly delighted; and this picture of half-savage life, so different from their own, threw quite into the shade all the other stories they had heard. It is, indeed, really laughable to find with what cool contempt some of these natives, who have never had any intercourse with Europeans, treat our comforts, our tastes, and pursuits. We may contemn and pity them, but they seem to have very much the same feelings for us. We are horrified at the greediness with which they devour grubs, and many of them are shocked at our oyster-eating propensities! A remarkable instance of this occurred to Captain Flinders in 1798, when he was exploring the eastern coast of New Holland, and surveying Two-fold Bay. While measuring a base line upon the beach, the English sailors heard the screams of three native women, who took up their children and ran off in great alarm. Soon after this a man made his appearance, armed only with a waddie, or wooden scimetar, but approaching them apparently with careless confidence. The explorers made much of him, and gave him some biscuit; in return for which he presented them with a piece of gristly fat, probably of whale. This was tasted by Captain Flinders, but he was forced to watch for an opportunity of getting rid of it while the eyes of the donor were not upon him. But the savage himself was, curiously enough, doing precisely the same thing with the biscuit, the taste of which was, perhaps, no more agreeable to him than that of the whale to the Englishman. The commencement of the trigonometrical operations necessary for surveying the bay was beheld by the Australian with indifference, if not with contempt; and he quitted the strangers, apparently satisfied that from people who could thus seriously occupy themselves there was no great danger to be feared.
But, whatever may be urged respecting the variety of tastes and the want of a settled and uniform standard of appeal respecting them; however it may be argued the rich and luscious fat of a noble whale may intrinsically surpass the lean and mouldy flavour of dry sea-biscuit; nevertheless, in many other matters of greater importance, it must be confessed that the manners and habits of the natives of the Bush are extremely wretched and evil. And the Christian European, while he dares not despise them, cannot do otherwise than pity them. The fact has been already noticed, that these miserable children of nature scarcely ever wear anything deserving of the name of clothing; and, in many parts of New Holland, their huts, usually constructed by the women, and composed of little better materials than bark, or wood, and boughs,[42] reeds, or clay, scarcely merit the title of human habitations. But it is not so much in their outward state, as in their moral and social habits, that this race of men are most pitiable and degraded. One subject which has been frequently observed to mark the difference not so much between civilized and uncivilized men, as that between Christians and heathens, must especially be noticed. Cruel as is the treatment of women in many other parts of the globe, the inhabitants of Australia seem to go beyond all other barbarians in this respect. From the best and wisest people of christian Europe down to the vilest and most degraded tribes of heathen Australia, a regular scale might be formed of the general mode of behaviour to the weaker sex among these various nations; and, mostly, it would be found that the general superiority or inferiority of each nation is not untruly indicated by the kindness or cruelty with which their females are usually treated.
From their earliest infancy the female children are engaged or betrothed to a future husband, and in case of his death, they belong to his heir. But this arrangement is frequently prevented by the horrid practice, common among these barbarians, of stealing their wives, and taking them away by main force. Indeed, it seems a rule for the women to follow the conquering party, as a matter of course; so that on the return of an expedition into the interior of New Holland, the friendly and neighbouring natives, being informed that some of the distant and hostile people had been shot, only observed, “Stupid white fellows! why did you not bring away the gins?”
Polygamy is not uncommonly practised; and an old man, especially, among other privileges, may have as many gins, or wives, as he can keep, or maintain. Indeed, the maintenance of a wife is not expensive, since they are expected to work; and all the most laborious tasks, including that of supplying a great part of the necessary food for the family, are performed by them.[43] Hence, they are watched with very jealous care, being valuable possessions; but, in spite of all precautions, they are frequently carried off, and that in the most inhuman manner. The lover steals upon the encampment by night, and, discovering where the object of his affection is, he frequently beats her on the head till she becomes senseless, and then drags her off through the bushes, as a tiger would its prey![44] This, of course, is an undertaking attended with considerable danger; for if the intruder is caught, he will be speared through the leg, or even killed, by the angry husband or relatives. Thus many quarrels arise, in which brothers or friends are generally ready enough to bear a part. But—unlike the courteous and christian customs of our own country—the poor female, whether innocent or guilty, it matters not, has no one to take her part; the established rule with regard to women among these brutal creatures being, “If I beat your mother, then you beat mine; if I beat your wife, then you beat mine,” &c. &c. The consequence of these ferocious habits is evident enough in the appearance of most of the young women, who have any good looks or personal comeliness to boast of. The number of violent blows upon the head, or of rude wounds inflicted by the spear, form so many miserable trophies of victories dearly won by these Australian beauties, and the early life of one of these unhappy beings is generally a continued series of captivities to different masters, of wanderings in strange families, of rapid flights, of bad treatment from other females, amongst whom she is brought a stranger by her captor; and rarely is a form of unusual grace and elegance seen, but it is marked and scarred by the furrows of old wounds; while many females thus wander several hundreds of miles from the home of their infancy, without any corresponding ties of affection being formed to recompense them for those so rudely torn asunder. As may be well imagined, a marriage thus roughly commenced is not very smooth in its continuance; and the most cruel punishments—violent beating, throwing spears or burning brands, &c.—are frequently inflicted upon the weaker party, without any sufficient provocation having been given. It is evident, that treatment of this kind, together with the immensely long journeys which they are compelled to take, always accompanying their husbands on every excursion, must be very injurious to the constitution and healthiness of the weaker sex. And to these trials must be added the constant carrying of those children that are yet unable to travel, the perpetual search for food, and preparation of it when it is obtained, besides many other laborious offices performed by the women, all which being reckoned up together, will form a life of toil and misery, which we may hope is endured by no other human beings beside the females of Australia. Nor is such treatment without its ill effect upon the tempers and dispositions of the female sex. The ferocity of the women, when it is excited, exceeds that of the men; they deal dreadful blows at one another with their long sticks, and, if ever the husband is about to spear in the leg, or beat, one of his wives, the others are certain to set on her, and treat her with great inhumanity.
One custom, which to Europeans seems extremely remarkable, is that of the family name of the mother, and not of the father, becoming the surname of the children of either sex. And another, connected with this, forbids a man from marrying with a woman of his own family name. Each family has for its crest or sign, or kobong, as they call it, some animal or vegetable; and a certain mysterious connexion is supposed to exist between a family and its kobong; so that a member of the family will never kill an animal of the same species with his kobong, should he find it asleep; indeed, he always kills it reluctantly, and never without affording it a chance of escape.[45] This arises from the family belief that some one individual of the species is their nearest friend, to kill whom would be a great crime, and is to be carefully avoided. And, in like manner, a native having a vegetable for a kobong may not gather it under certain circumstances, and at a particular period of the year. It is said that they occasionally exchange surnames with their friends, a custom which is supposed to have prevailed among the Jews; and they have another practice resembling the same people, which is, that when a husband dies, his brother takes the wife.[46] Among beings who hold life so cheaply, it cannot be a matter of surprise that the destruction of infants should be occasionally practised, more especially in cases where the child is born with any natural deformity: nor is it an excuse for these barbarians that the polished nations of ancient Greece and Italy habitually committed the like atrocities, or even greater,—considering it in their own choice to rear up their offspring or not, exactly as it suited their convenience. In fact, we may learn from this and many other instances, that it is not civilisation alone, but yet more than that, Christianity, by which the difference between the European and the Australian is produced:—