Evening Star Newspaper, December 9, 1928, Page 107

‘Hard Fight \ ‘When the discovery of gold at Coolgardie, Australia, set the world of adventurers aflame, Jim Charn- Jey. then a boy of 19, joined in the rush for fortune. - On the trail he was befriended by Rod McLeod, a veteran prospector, and a young English gentleman, Horace Mad- dison. The three formed a partner- ship-to look for a lost mine, of which Mcleod knew the secret. The path to gold was marked by. treachery, theft, murder and mad- ness, but the three adventurers fought their way through and reached the abandoned mine. When they started digging, wild aborigines gathered near them, staring in won- der at their camels—Jim Charnley’s story is told in the first person by his brother. v er lightly, our only real danger being when one or other of us wasobliged to journey to the water- hole for supplies, On the first few oc- casions I went alone, but as the “black fellows” begen to get familiar and im- pudent—and therefore dangerous—Rod decided that Maddison should always accompany me on future trips and keep guard while I went down the 20-foot hole to fill the water tanks. It was on one of these trips that Maddison's peculiar actions led me to suspect that he was becoming somewhat deranged in mind. Usually he took post with a flier at the top of the well, so that I could see him, or his shadow, whenever I chanced to look up, while occasionally we would engage in con- versation. A One day, however, having missed his presence for some time, I became curi- ously alarmed, and after calling him several times without receiving a reply, 1 hurriedly climbed up to see where he had got to. I discovered Maddison seated some 20 yards away, deeply en- grossed in tying a length of bootlace around the trigger of his rifle! Running across, I snatched the rifle away from him; nor would I let him handle it any more during our stay at the well. He explained later that he was “only trying an experiment,” but as pulling the trigger by means of one’s bootlace was—and is—a common meth- od of suicide in the bush, I was not inclined to give him any more chances. On returning to camp I mentioned the matter to Rod, and discovered that he had also observed something odd about our companion. Such suicidal m- clinations, he added, were common in men who had been affected by the sun or suffered severely from thirst. This sounded alarming, but we were reluctant to leave the mine While our food supplies lasted, and decided we would keep a careful eye on our mate and see that he did not stray out of our BY W. CHARNLEY. LL of us were tolerably well ac- customed to Australian aborig- ines and we treated them rath- sight. Keeping Maddison in camp was sim- ple enough; he was willing to do any sort .of work and, indeed, acted in the sanest possible way so long as either of us made some show of authority. Still, we knew in our hearts that he was getting worse day by day. The constant watchfulness that this knowledge entailed told on our nerves; but the real trouble began when it be- came necessary to revisit our well for further supplies. Whoever went must now go alone, since it was inadvisable to allow Maddison out of sight for more than a minute, while to take him along as guard probably meant a repetition of the “experiment.” It was therefore de- cided 'that while Rod kept him at the campiI was to go alone for water. There did not seem to be much dan- ger, for our black visitors had suddenly disappeared; we had not sighted any of them for over a week. We were soon to learn, however, that we had under- estimated the intelligence and treacher- ous cunning of the aborigines. & Hk & I WAS down the “well, sunk to my knees in mud, slowly and laboriously dipping up the last visible gallon of water with a tin pannikin, when sud- denly a shadow. seemed to fall across the shaft of suplight which came doewn to me. I glanced up instantly, but could see nothing alarming, and re- turned to my baling. Next instant a’ Jump of stone about the size of my head came hurtling down. I received a glancing blow on the shoulder which made me shake with in and deprived me of the use of my ft arm for several minutes. Quite in- voluntarily I yelled out at the unexpect- ed blow, and faking this as an encour- aging sign, those above responded by sending down a whole shower of stones, both large and small. Fortunately, or unfortunately, our OUR WORST FEARS WERE REALIZED. WE CAME TO A PLACE ‘WHERE THERE WERE MARKS OF NAKED FEET. running farther each time for a missile was getting a. bit tedious, and accord- ingly matters eased down a little. Curiously enough, no spears came down. I supposed that the reason was that a black will not throw a spear ex- cept at a definite mark; and in any case he likes to retrieve his weapons again, as a vast amount of labor is usually consumed in their making. Presently the rocks ceased falling, and silence reigned. Quite a time passed, and nothing further happened. Still, I knew that sooner or later one of them ‘would appear. So we played a waiting game. * % % X THE sun had moved quite a distance toward the west since the first stone came down, and the bottom of my well was beginning to darken, when I heard the first sound of renewed movement above, A little gravel crum- bled from the edge of the well and fell tinkling on to my protecting tank. This time two black heads appeared, and, not being able at first to see me plainly, they remained for quite a per- ceptible time peering down into the gloom. If they failed to detect me, however, I could see them quite dis- tinctly, so, taking careful aim at the biggest head, I fired. The noise of the shot filled my narrow pit, but I heard the watcher grunt as my bullet took him In the forehead. The second head disappeared. The black that I hit must have been killed instantly, for he lay there with his eyes staring down at me until his friends caught him by the heels and dragged him away. - Then I settled down to wait once more, and trust that in the desert silence Rod might have heard my shots. In due course Rod came. Like all good bushmen, he had-trained himself to listen for the sound of shots, and when I fired the first he had snatched up his gun and started to my assistance. So, with Rod’s welcome voice hailing me, I soon put myself above ground again. The blacks had vanished. For the purpose of packing the water tanks I had brought along “Sind,” our best camel. This animal I had hobbled out to graze while I went down the well and now, when we searched for it in the gathering dusk, we were hor- ‘well was running rather dry and I had been able to fill only one tank, so it happened that I had the other, still empty, standing alongside me. Seizing this, I managed to get it over my head as a shield, and although the stones rattled and bounced on the tough gal- vanized iron, none of them actually hit me. After a couple of minutes the shower ceased, the aborigines evidently reckon- ing that they had thrown down enough stones to crack any white man’s skull, So taking advantage of the lull, I jam- med the tank lengthwise across the shaft and reached for my gun, which hung from.a peg driven into the earth within handy reach. Then I waited my turn. It Soon came! Very cautiously a head | of tangled black hair appeared between | me and the sky, to be followed by a | hideous face, from which glared a pair | of murderous black eyes. Normally the eyes of the Australian black are sunken and half closed, but when in a state of excitement_he opens them wide, and they seem to project from his head like those of @ savage animal. This fellow's eyes popped a little wid- er, it possible, on seeing that I was still alive and had a gun. He drew back quickly, but I was quicker, and I knew I hit him by the tuft of black hair which came floating down to me. A moment later I was hard put to it to keep my tank shield in place against the hurricane of stones which de- scended upon me. But the number of stones within a | along with a 17-gallon water tank over { given radius is always limited, and soon assailants found that the job of rified to discover the poor brute lying ! dead. With horrible malice the savages | had speared the inoffensive beast | through and through. We found it a heavy job staggering | two miles of rough country, and long before we reached camp darkness had fallen. Ase we drew near we expected to see the welcoming glare of our fire, | but not a flicker of light came to our eyes. Maddison had dlsappeareda After a fruitless hunt in the dark we waited for dawn to try to pick up his tracks. We had now been living in the locality for several weeks, and so, when we started our search, we picked up odd tracks everywhere—our own and Maddison’s—which had been made in our roundabout search for water or gold. In consequence of this we were obliged to strike well out into clear country, and there begin stepping out a large circle on the circumference of which, somewhere or other, we were sure to pick up our missing mate’s foot- prints. ~ This means slow work, even with the best of luck, which we did not have, as we traversed several miles and more than two-thirds of our circle before we finally struck the spot where a man with shod feet had passed. I| say shod deliberately, because we found a great number of tracks made by bare | feet, which, when we totaled them up, | led us to conclude that we had been surrounded by a large tribe of blacks. P OUN worst fears were realized when, after following the boot tracks for about four miles, we came on & place “THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. DECEMBER 9. 1928—PART 7. where the marks of some score of naked feet converged upon them. Rod could read the story on the ground as readily as a writter: page. “Here's where they caught him!” he said. “See how they came with a run— the length of stride shows that, and the weight on the ball of the foot.” Then after a glance around, he breathed with relief. “No signs of blood, so they didn’t spear him. See! They were curious about him. Notice how they grouped around him! nearly all in front. See! He started off with them.” A couple of miles farther on we came to a place where the aborigines had joined a larger mob and camped for the night. For the greater part of the next day we followed in the tracks of the tribe, but failed to overtake them. That a large muster of blacks was converging on. some rendezvous became obvious from the number of smoke signals that kept rising from various points of the compass. “All these smokes going up looks bad for Maddison,” Rod remarked presently. “The blacks are excited at having caught a white man, and they're passing the news around.™ Watching the smoke signals and fol- lowing the tracks we came at last, after a long walk, to a place where the blacks had turned off at a sharp angle and apparently made a detour around some scattered quartz ridges, Here we picked up Maddison's tracks again. For perhaps half a mile we fol- lgwed on, then, quite suddenly, the character of the country changed. The soil turned to gravelly loam, thickets of ti-tree spread everywhere, while some passablé mulga trees grew in favored spois. We had entered a comparatively fer- tile stretch, and we went cautiously forward. We had not gone far when we came to a big “break-away” from which the ground fell rather sharply, so that we could get a good view for miles. Down below on the flat the number of fires seemed to indicate that the locality was literally alive with black fellows., Over a space of perhaps 10 acres we could count quite a score of camping places. At the near side of the flat, directly beneath us, lay the corroboree ground. This was simply a large cleared space such as people might make for the holding of a circus. The blacks were busily at work on it, the women of the tribes, assisted by immature boys, be- ing engaged in carrying armfuls of spinifex and brushwood to various bon- fires piled at intervals around the big circle. These, so Rod informed me, were to be the illuminations. Closer to us a number of men were building a brushwood ring. “That,” said Rod, in answer‘to my question, “is the big ‘sacred circle. What happens in there is a mystery, but I have an idea that at the close of each night's corroboree the initiated bucks indulge in a little cannibalism. Down Coolgardie way the blacks call it ‘piccaninny ring’ There's just a chance they may take it into their heads to try Maddison as a bit of a change from ‘picaninny.’” * K K % DARKNESS came at last, and then the flat, with its numerous camp fires, took on the appearance of a little town. For a time we could see dark figures moving to and fro, and then we noticed a general movement toward the corroboree ground. “We’ll have a look there,” Rod de- cided. Now to approach the corroboree grounds of wild natives meant taking one’s life in one’s hands, but Rod was equal to the occasion. “Black-fellow tricks,” he remdrked laccnically as, with his big clasp knife, he lopped some leafy branches from a nearby ti-tree. ‘These branches we thrust into our waist belt so that the leaves formed a canopy over our heads, thus camou- flaging us so completely that in the darkness we blended readily with the surrounding scrub. From the glare of the big fires we perceived that the corroboree was now in full swing, so, moving carefully for- ward, slipping stealthily from bush to bush, we were able to approach right to the edge of the clearing. Rod chose the end farthest away from the sacred circle, Apart from the big central fire the whole scene was lit by four other fires which were kept fed from heaps of brushwood. Behind the big blaze squat- |ted the orchestra—the women of the tribe—each armed with a short stick, with which she beat time either on the ground or on a block of wood brought for the purpose. This beating ran in a kind of rhythm, which was added to by 2 “la la” chorus, thus producing a gen- eral effect that was not unmusical. When we arrived the stage was empty, but very soon three strong young bucks came prancing into the firelight and be- gan a sort of spear-dance. As 1 watched, fascinated, Rod whis- pered that I was to stay where I was while he scouted around for some sign of Maddison. ’ He returned carrying a bundle. “Mad- dison's clothes,” he explained laconi- cally. “He's sitting over there among the bucks showing off his tattoo marks. lHa‘s quite mad and I don't know how we are going to get him away from this crowd. I found his clothes hung on a bush, with the boots underneath.” Even as we considered the situation it solved itself. From the men’s end of the clearing a dozen or more performers emerged and came gliding toward the fire. This was evidently to be a mass scene, probably a war dance. Suddenly a naked white man came 'V/A WILD CLAMOR AROSE. A prancing out and placed himself at the head of the aancers. It was Mad- dison! The blacks, surprised at this in- trusion, which had no place in their well rehearsed program, halted, but Maddison kept on, leaping and laughing, until he was well in the firelight just opposite to where we crouched. N our chance!” whispered Rod. Y CLOUD OF BLACK FIGURES _LEAPED INTO_THE FIRELIGHT. “Wc'll go straight in and get him. If they mob us we shall just have to shoot our way out. Give me your revolver; I can do better with it at close quarters than you.” As he spoke we rose to our feet and prepared for our rush. The distance to be covered was not more than 30 yards, but the problem lay in just how Maddi- son would Behave when we caught hold of him. If he fought against us we should certainly be killed, since, de- spite our weapons. we could not hold off hundreds of blacks, especially as they would be madly incensed at the desecra- tion of their corroboree ground.. Still, it was the only chance, so, tearing the disguising branches from my belt, dashed after Rod across the lighted view, but we scarcely heard 1t as, with a few flying strides, we reached Maddison and grabbed him by the arms. For a second he struggled to fling us off, but Rod's authoritative voice calmed him, and he quietly submitted. “Run!” yelled Rod, as a cloud of black, naked figures leaped into the firelight. Maddison, his crazed brain switching to a different angle, caught the infec- tion of our fear and ran with us will- ingly. Reaching the shelter of the scrub, we paused for a second while Rod picked up the bundle of clothes, then we rushed on again. The mob, yelling wildly, was now close behind us and a flight of spears came whistling past. Luckily they were aimed too high, but a throwing stick caught me a terrific smack on the left shoulder. The moment was critical— a second more and we should have been surrounded. Half turning, Rod blazed away with the revolver. The effect was magical! Most of these wild blacks’ had never seen or heard a gun fired before, and the THE fox is always interesting. In England they know him particu- larly well. There, fox hunting is a popular and almost a national sport, for it is engaged in by high and low, rich and poor. Consequently, the fox has been the object of acute observa- tion for many generations. Among the many instances of record concerning the cleverness of Reynard is the follow~ ing: Some years ago a long run with a well known West country pack ended quite unaccountably upon a strip of sandy beach on the Dorset coast. The fox had vanished as if blown away and there was nothing whatever to suggest what had become of him. Exhaustive casts along the shore failed to recover the scent, and after every possible hid- ing place had been explored without result nothing remained but to admit defeat. Everybody was puzzled and many were the theories under discus- sion when at last the party of hunters started upon the homeward road, which by tortuous degrees ascenedd a cliff, the crest of which afforded a bird’s-eye view over the beach that they had just left. There at the highest point of the road they came upon a dismounted cyclist, who coolly asked the master of foxhounds whether he would clearing. A wild clamor rose when we came into Wool Brussels Rugs These are genuine wool Brussels Rugs, woven i excellent patterns and col n a variety of orful effects. Sizes 9x12 feet and 8Y4x10; feet. " 6x9 Ft. Axminster Rugs $2 Tdeal si rooms. Handsome pat- terns. 50c a Week—The Hub 27-in. 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Whether the bullets found a mark or not we could not tell, but the pursuit ceased instantly. We ran our hardest and soon the corroboree ground was left far behind. For another couple of hours we push- ed on, and then Maddison's condition compelled us to stop for the night, When we reached camp Rod and I considered our case. “I hate to leave the gold,” he said, “and I reckon we have at least six days’ grace. *The corroboree will prob- ably last till then, and while it's on the blacks won't bother to come hunt- ing us. But once it's over, we shall have to shift, for even if they can’t kill us, they'll manage to spear the camels, and with them gone we should end like the poor devils who originally discovered this reef.” So, with limited time ahead, we con- centrated cn getting back as much gold as possible to take back with us. We posed, replied that no information could be more acceptable to him at that par- ticular time.” 4 The stranger jerked his thumb care- lessly seaward. “There you aré, then,” he_said. The tide was ebbing, leaving here and there a sheet of shallow water. In the middle of one such pool the hunts- men could see a smal, triangular object that looked like a piece of pointed rock. ‘The master was incredulous. It was, he protested, the tip of a houlder or a plece of stranded seaweed. The cyclist, however, declared that the ob- ject was the fox's head. And so indeed it proved to be. The trick was as simple as clever. The fox must have' waded out there until the water was shoulder deep and have remained there crouching flat on the sand, entirely submerged except his head. At the approach of the hounds he had ducked his head and had left only his nose above the water, otter fashion. Naturally none of the hunts- men had noticed that there was a tiny black spot on the rippling surface. The cyclist, it appears, had watched the whole maneuver from the cliff, and like a true sportsman had allowed things to take their course. But when accident had brought the huntsmen into touch with him, the temptation to speak had become irresistible. Splendid grade high-pile Axminster Rugs—Alex. Smith & Sons make. = Roem sizes, 9x12 feet and 8Y%x10"; feet. Rag RUGS 39c¢ 24x36 in. velvety . pile Room sizes, 9x12 feet .and 8Y4x107; Double-Fece Velour Portieres 310 85 . Pair Beautiful quality — in color combinations of blue and gold and blue and taupe. All finished with French edge. Double assorted Part-wool Blankets, in colors. win $4.98 64x76 Double Cotton Plaid $2.49 Blankets Hit and M{ss ade by Sun-Crazed Captive of Australian Tribe had a considerable amount of very rich ore “at grass,” so with “dolly” and pot we sat all day pounding up the stone and sifting out the golden grains. On the eighth day we saw smoke sig- nals ascending from the hills. “Time to go,” said Rod. “They'll get us sooner or later if we stay.” R IT seemed hard to leave so much gold behind, but there was no help for it, so, shoveling all the undollied ore back into the hole, Rod burled it again from sight. Then. gathering sticks and spinifex, he 1it a bonfire over the spot. “That will hide it from any new chums,” he explained, “but if an old digger happens along that will be the first place he tries.” Next morning early saw us on the homeward track. Our camels were in the best of condition, having been idle and grazing for weeks. “Butter fat,” Rod described them. What they fed on may seem a mystery, but nothing comes amiss to a camel. Pigweed, saltbush, wire-grass, however dry and withered, quongdong nuts and leaves, twigs from mulga and ti-tree, all gave them nour- ishment. In the desert the camel’s only competitor is the donkey—both will thrive where any other animal would starve to death. When we got back to Coolgardie, our gold brought us over £4,000, which we divided equally. Then Rod decided that it was his duty to escort our sick mate back to his friends in England. I had one letter from him, telling me of his arrival in England and of Mad- dison’s improved condition. I never saw either of them again. Rod McLeod went from England to Alaska and from there to almost every mining field in the world. The year 1914 saw him in South America, but, hastening back to Australia, he joined up in the great adventure. Now he lies “somewhere in France.” e Some years after the events recorded above the narrator of this story, with the writer, went out with a string of camels for the purpose of bringing in the hidden ore. By that time settle- ment had greatly extended, and the project seemed highly feasible. But alas! some one coming from another direc- tion had already visited the spot, and a heap of “dollied” sands was all we found. The “cache” had been opened and the reef worked out! 4 As we had suspected, it was merely a rich “golden blow” and had no depth. However, the bag of ore burled beside the skeleton of the dead man’'s horse is still there, and likely to remain, for we’ came back by another route and missed it. (Copyright, 1928.) | Pay Next Year—50c a Week! & Seamless Axminster Rugs' 50c a Week—The Hub Axminster RUGS . $2.85 Scatter size, 27x54 inches. Ideal for bed- side, small halls, etc. In patterns and col- ors to match large ® rugs. Draperies Scranton Lace Co.'s Lace Panels Twenty beautiful pat- terns in_a variety of grades. Deep fringed bottom. Length 2% yards. Three lots— 98c EACH 122 $1:28 Values in Bedwear Cretonne-Covered Cotton-Filled . $2.98 forts Sateen-Covered Cot- ton-Filled e, $5.98 ® forts.., Bissell Carpet Sweeper Nationally Known A Quality Product