Page:An Australian Parsonage.djvu/396

Rh native's own opinion of himself as the stealing of a wife, aboriginal society is in a permanent state of broil, whereby the peace and quiet of white people is sometimes disturbed in a most unexpected manner.

The wife of a small farmer told, me that whilst presiding at her sheep-shearing dinner the house door suddenly flew open, and a native stalked in, dragging after him his recaptured wife by the hair of her head. Several other natives trooped in behind, apparently as spectators, for none of them seemed disposed to rescue the unfortunate woman. The mistress of the house, however, played the part of good "Sister Anne," and, hustling the wife from the clutches of the black Bluebeard, pushed her into an inner room, the door of which she defied him to enter.

Another time, a neighbour of ours, on looking out of his window, espied a fight going on in his standing barley—kylies were flying, and the combatants had crammed their beards into their mouths in true martial fashion. Our friend hastened to the spot to save what remained of his crop, and his acrimony against trespassers in general was not diminished by the alighting in his own leg of a spear which had been aimed at one of the combatants. His wife ran gallantly to his assistance with their gun, but as it proved to be unloaded, she did not effect much by her good-will.

The cause of the quarrel proved to be that their own native servant had stolen another native's wife, and the barley-field had been selected to settle the matter in, not from personal malice to the owner, but simply because the place was convenient. The same might be said of a good many historical battle-fields.