HOW THE CANNIBALS PRESENTED ME WITH A WIFE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 8264, 24 May 1890, Page 2 (Supplement)

HOW THE CANNIBALS PRESENTED ME WITH A WIFE.

[by carl lomholtz.]

I The aborigines of Australia are the lowest [ and most degraded human beings to be j found on the face of the earth. Without any agricultural or mechanical implements except the rudest ones made of stone, wood, and bone, without any numerals above three (what is over that is to the Australian taggin—i.e., many), apparently without any higher ideas and religion, they lead a life of idleness, of robbery, tight, and cannibalism. The men in so far may be said to a certain extent to cultivate their higher interests, as they during their hours of leisure can have, as it. wore, their club meetings, whore they may discuss the happenings of the day or the chances for to-morrow's hunt for opossum or human lies ; besides, the vicissitudes of hunt and tighttheir lot in life—are replete with excitement and interest. Tho women, on the other hand, who are compelled to do tho menial work, to procure and prepare the food, must carry more than their share of the burdens of life, and therefore they are still deeper immersed in this base and thoughtless life than the men.

It was a rather hot and sultry midsummer night. As the readers must not forget, midsummer is in Australia about Christmas time—in Australia, where the swans are black, whore the birds don't sing and the flowers don't smell—everything is the reverso of what wo are accustomed to in other countries. Tho camp-fires were lit, and the blacks, both my own followers and some other friendly tribe, had gathered to a big festive dance. My men had the whole day been engaged in hunting boongury, the tree kangaroo (Deiuirolngws Liunholtzii), which is tho handsomest mammal of Australia, aud for the first time made known to science through my efforts. I had finished my task for the day in skinning this valuable animal, anil elated over my success and wishing to enjoy myself, I went down to the big camp of the natives, where they were sitting outside of their huts and around their small tires waiting for the moon to rise and the dunce to begin, for th<-y dance only by moonlight. Some of my men suddenly came to me and asked me to fire my " baby gun," as they styled my revolver, because, they said, they were fearing that some strange tribe would during the night attack outcamp. I found their fears ridiculous, as there were so many of them together, but they asset ted that their enemies, too, were numerous, and did not leave off importuning me till I had complied with their wish and discharged my revolver. The shot made a great resonance in the narrow valley, and immediately a hubbub arose iti the camp of the dancers, which was lying at some distance. Some of them came running at their utmost speed over to the place where 1 was and, in a hurried manner, asked the blacks there to make me come over to them. I at once yielded to their wish and followed them over to their cauip, where I found a grand and excited powwow in progress. Unable to account for the shot in any other way than that the white man was angry for some reason or other, they had quickly made up their minds to appease my supposed wrath by presenting me with the finest looking girl in their camp. All were talking simultaneously, and when I came near enough 1 could catch a few words, such as kola (anger), nili (young girl), Kelanmi Mamigo (i.e., Kelanun—this was the name of the girlshall belong to Mami—my name among them). One of my men explained to me : " The blacks want to give you a young girl, because they lire afraid of the baby pun." I did not want to disturb their amusement by not accepting tho otler, and, besides, I wae anxious to know how the weddding ceremony would bo performed, so I let them fetch her to my hut. When we remember what a high value among the Australians is attached to ft young and pretty wife, it is easily seen that they were ready to pay a very high price for my friendship. As soon as the natives heard that 1 would accept the girl they evidently felt somewhat reassured, and their troubled countenances gave way to a relieved expression and even joyful talk. But Kelanmi did not feel at all editied at the thought ot marrying " Mami." The girls never like to leave their tribe, and in this ca=e she was to belong to a white man, the first she had ever seen. When I went away I heard the natives talk harshly to her, and by threats compel her to go with the stranger. I learned afterwards that she was originally intended for a young black, by name K.al-Dubbaroh, for whom it seems she really felt a kind of affection, an occurrence that sometimes if not often happens among them. I lit the fire in my ramp and waited for the blacks to arrive with Kelanmi. Tho moon was just rising, so I could distinctly discern the black figures approaching, but I did not at first see any nili (young girl). She went behind one of the men, who hold her by the wrist. Although she apparently did not follow willingly, she did not offer any open resistance, which would, of course, have been of little avail.

When the embassy reached my hut, they left the peace-offering without a word of explanation. The whole scene reminded me somewhat of the Homeric passages where Agamemnon's messengers abduct the beautiful Brineis from Achilles' tent and bring her to Agamemnon's. I asked her to enter my hut and sit down. It will never do, even among cannibals, not to be polite.

She seated herself on the ground near the fire, while I had an opportunity of looking at my matrimonial prize. She was dressed in her best garb, on account of the dance, but not with the ruftles and laces that Worth imposes on fashion devotees. My belle of Australia hurl her face and the greater part of her body besmeared with rod earth. I cannot say very much for her beauty, although she was the best they had. She was quite young, apparently thirteen years old, and as she sat there timidly awaiting the orders of her new master she formed a rather picturesque figure. In order to quiet her, and at the same time to give the men around a lesson in gallantry, I at once broutj.it her some meat and bread, which she, however, put away under her legs, fearing the men, because such delicacies are not for women.

1 thou gave her a piece of tobacco, which she also put a-dde. Probably she wanted to give it to her old "lover," Kal-Dubba-roh, who doubtless expected some compensation for the loss he had suffered. I felt pity for the poor, cowed, trembling little thing, and when I saw how unhappy she was, and being, in fact, myself very anxious as yet to escape the bonds of matrimony, I bold her in her own language, " You may go " She looked at me, rose and ran away, like a bird flying from its cacre. This puzzled the blacks very much. They could not imagine any other reason for my act than that she did not please me, and at once, therefore, they offered me another girl. But I told them that everything was now all right and that we would go down and look at th dance. So we did, and all night through the natives kept up their amusement, merry and jolly after having appeased the terrible wrath of the white man.