|
Speaking generally of the natives, they are a filthy, disagreeable
race of people; nor is it my opinion that any measures which could
be adopted would ever make them otherwise. Their wars are as
frequent as usual, and are attended with as much cruelty both
towards men and women. They are still ready at all times to commit
depredations upon the Indian corn, whenever there is a probability
of their attempts being attended with the desired success; and this
predatory disposition renders it frequently necessary to send
detachments of the military to disperse them; but the utmost care is
taken to prevent any fatal circumstances from attending these acts
of needful hostility, and orders are uniformly issued never to fire
upon the natives, unless any particularly irritating act should
render such a measure expedient. They are amazingly expert at
throwing the spear, and will launch it with unerring aim to a
distance of thirty to sixty yards. I myself have seen a lad hurl his
spear at a hawk-eagle (a bird which, with wings expanded, measures
from seven to ten feet), flying in the air, with such velocity and
correctness as to pierce his object, and bring the feathered victim
to the earth. This circumstance will tend to shew how soon the youth
of these tribes are trained to the use of the spear, and the
dexterity to which they attain in this art before they reach the age
of manhood. Indeed, instances are by no means uncommon, where an
army of natives is seen following a youthful leader of fifteen or
sixteen years of age, and obeying his directions implicitly, because
his previous conduct had been characterized by remarkable vigor of
body, and intrepidity of mind--virtues which qualify natives of
every age and rank for the highest honors and the most marked
distinctions amongst these untutored sons of nature. Their
attachment to savage life is unconquerable; nor can the strongest
allurements tempt them to exchange their wild residences in the
recesses of the country, for the comforts of European life. A
singular instance of this fact occurred in the case of Be-ne-long,
who was brought to England by Governor Phillip, and returned with
Governor Hunter. For some time after his return, it is true, he
assumed the manners, the dress, and the consequence of an European,
and treated his countrymen with a distance which evinced the sense
he entertained of his own increased importance; and this disposition
was encouraged by every method which suggested itself to the minds
of those of the colony with whom he associated; but, notwithstanding
so much pains had been taken for his improvement, both when
separated from his countrymen, and since his return to New South
Wales, he has subsequently taken to the woods again, returned to his
old habits, and now lives in the same manner as those who have never
mixed with the civilized world. Sometimes, indeed, he holds
intercourse with the colony; but every effort uniformly fails to
draw him once again into the circle of polished society, since he
prefers to taste of liberty amongst his native scenes, to the
unsatisfactory gratification which arises from an association with
strangers, however kind their treatment of him, and however superior
to his own enjoyments.
Yet there are many of the natives who feel no disinclination to mix
with the inhabitants occasionally--to take their share in the labors
and the reward of those who toil. Amongst these there are five in
particular, to whom our countrymen have given the names of Bull Dog,
Bidgy Bidgy, Bundell, Bloody Jack, and another whose name I cannot
call to recollection, but who had a farm of four acres and upwards,
planted with maize, at Hawkesbury, which he held by permission of
Governor King; and the other four made themselves extremely useful
on board colonial vessels employed in the fishing and sealing trade,
for which they are in the regular receipt of wages. They strive, by
every means in their power, to make themselves appear like the
sailors with whom they associate, by copying their customs, and
imitating their manners; such as swearing, using a great quantity of
tobacco, drinking grog, and other similar habits. These natives are
the only ones, I believe, who are inclined to industrious behavior,
and they have most certainly rendered more essential services to the
colony than any others of their countrymen, who, in general, content
themselves with assisting to draw nets for fish, for the purpose of
coming in for a share of the produce of others toil.
The general pursuits of the natives, their manners and customs, have
been so accurately described by preceding writers on the subject,
that I shall forbear from entering into more minute particulars,
which would swell my sketch far beyond its intended limits, and
could add nothing to the knowledge of which the well-informed reader
is already possessed. It will be sufficient to remark, that such as
the inhabitants of the interior of New Holland were represented ten
years since, they still remain, as the antecedent remarks must
sufficiently illustrate: The jealousy of the new settlers, which
originally existed, has indeed entirely vanished; but the proximity
of a civilized colony has not tended in the least to polish the
native rudeness and barbarism, which mark the behavior of the
original inhabitants of this remote spot of the universe.
The Present Picture Of New South Wales, 1811 |
