Page:ChroniclesofEarlyMelbournevol.2.pdf/130

approached the off bank the blacks, w h o were quite close, on seeing they were strangers, scampered into the bush and disappeared. Three "gins" and some " picanninnies" were taken prisoners, w h o m "Johnny Warrington" recognized and commenced playing with, and some of them knew him. After they were given some bread the boy a s k e d — " W h e r e quamby the white w o m a n ? " and one of the " gins" replied that she had run away with thefirstparty. T h e Aborigines soon conceived suspicions of the boy, and obstinately refused to answer any further interrogations. T h e prisoners were then set at liberty, and the party continued a fruitless search for several days; they finally returned to the station without having fallen in with any of the blacks wanted. Fourteen days after, Sergeant Windridge,fiveBorder Police, two of the black police and the native boy, m a d e another excursion in quest of the white woman. They proceeded in a boat up one of the m a n y " back-waters" in the locality, taking a somewhat similar route to the former. Signs of the Aborigines were, after some time discovered, and when they reached a return water channel, which ran d o w n by the back of Lake Victoria, they " lay to" for the night. Next morning they steered to the lake, and about noon came in sight of a thick scrub. Leaving two m e n at the opposite side, they rowed towards the scrub, and went ashore. About 2 o'clock, watching an opportunity, they rushed the camp, when the blacks fled with loud yells to some canoes which lined the verge of the lake, but the m o m e n t they beheld the boat and the armed men, they doubled back to the scrub. O n e old m a n jumped into a canoe, and pulled vigorously with a great effort to cross the lake. Sergeant Windridge, Trooper Connolly, and a bullock-driver in the employment of Commissioner Tyers, started after him in their boat. T h e old fellow m a d e his way over the lake with wonderful rapidity, but was intercepted by the m e n stationed at the off side, one of w h o m presented a gun at him, which the old chap acknowledged by hurling a spear. H e was ultimately captured by one of the native police. T h e prisoner was stowed on board, the whole party re-crossed the lake, and on reaching the shore another of the black police fell in with an aged blackfellow, w h o m he was in the act of securing, when he felt a piece of flesh literally bitten out of his arm, and quickly dropped his prey, w h o slipped off through the scrub. A large knife, and about half-a-dozen dried-up black men's hands, were dangling from the savage's neck. T h e boy stated that he knew him; that he was an old chief, and father to the celebrated black, " Batke," w h o was the first person to w h o m the ill-fated object of their search was consigned after her miserable capture. T h e sergeant next questioned the prisoner in custody, and in reference to the fate of the white w o m a n , he stated that the tribe in whose possession she was had gone to the mountains to make war implements for fighting with another tribe, whose chief had in some manner insulted her. This, it was afterwards discovered, was a canard, and cost the party an ineffective trip to the mountain ranges. Finding it useless to continue any longer, the party returned home, bringing with them their prisoner, and keeping him for two days at the police station, during which time, upon being asked to describe the white woman, he pointed to the sergeant's wife, saying she was m u c h like her. T h e party n o w determined upon a trip to the mountains, anxious to leave no effort untried, and hoping that Fate would smile more propitiously on them by land than she had done before by "lake." Accordingly, after a week's rest, there was a start for the hills, with Johnny Warrington perched upon a charger, prouder than the proudest chief that ever shipped a spear. T h e sergeant, three white and three black troopers, and the boy, accompanied by a pack-horse, laden with a week's provisions, set out on their third expedition, and, after a two days' journey, were completely embedded in the mountains. They found no native tracks, but the next day they came up with Messrs. Turnbull, M'Millan and M'Clelland, and continued in their company until they reached a n e w country known as "Dargo," up the Mitchell River. Here the greatest possible natural obstacles were presented to their progress; so m u c h so, that after some time they were compelled to return. They continued in company with the M'Millan party until they reached the station of the latter, forty miles from the police station. During their career through the mountains, especially whilst encamped at night, they obtained some interesting particulars from the boy relative to the white w o m a n , which embraced the manner in which she fell into the hands of the natives, and some subsequent facts connected with her