Page:The Native Tribes of South Australia (1879).djvu/66

 8 FEMALE COURAGE. One more story, illustrative not of the fierceness and savagery of the Narrinyeri, but of more attractive traits of character, faithfulness, and love. Many years ago, some white sealers on Kangaroo Island stole from the mainland near Cape Jervis three native women, and took them to the island. When the prisoners had stayed with their captors a few weeks they began to cast about for means to get back to their husbands and friends. At last they found a small dingey belonging to the sealers. It would only hold two. Now, two of the women had no children, but the third had an infant at the breast; so the two childless lubras took the dingey and started for the mainland, and reached it in safety. The poor mother left behind with her babe must have pined sadly for her country and friends; but nothing was heard of her for some time. One day the natives found her body on the beach just above high-water mark, with her baby tied to her back. She had swum Backstairs Passage, and then, in a state of utter exhaustion, crawled up the shore and died! I have related these anecdotes of the Narrinyeri because I want to enable the reader to have some idea of the people whose customs are described hereafter. I wish to try to make them live in his imagination. Perhaps I have not succeeded very well; but, at any rate, I have used what materials I had in making the attempt. In appearance the Narrinyeri are by no means such a badlooking race as some have represented Australian Aborigines to be. It is true you can find ugly old men and women amongst them, and so you can amongst Europeans. Unfortunately for aboriginal ugliness, it has no means of concealing itself such as are found in civilised nations. There are amongst the Narrinyeri many good-looking and well-proportioned specimens of the human form. The cast of countenance is different from the European, but often by no means wanting in regularity and even beauty. Many of the middle-aged and young men have quite a dignified bearing, with an air of freedom altogether different from low-class Europeans. They are very independent