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Lower Murrumbidgee News The Sydney Morning
Herald 26 August 1846
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Lower
Murrumbidgee. I
regret to say that well authenticated reports have reached us of the murder,
by the aboriginals, of a European, forming one of a party en route to
Adelaide. I
believe the following statement may be relied on as correct in its detail. The
unfortunate sufferer, whose name has escaped my memory, was the son-in-law of
a person named Jarvis, from the neighbourhood of
Yass, who passed this in May, on his journey to Adelaide, with a small herd
of cattle. They
had passed the Lachlan River about one hundred and twenty-five miles, when Jarvis,
the proprietor of the stock, with three other persons, all armed, were about
half a mile in advance of the teams which carried their provisions, &c.,
and were driven by the deceased and another man. The
two parties being, by the inequality of the road, hidden from each other, and
all the arms being in possession of the horsemen in advance, an opportunity
presented itself to a number of lurking savages, to perpetrate a wanton and
murderous attack on the two unfortunate and defenceless
men in the rear. A
body of them accordingly came out upon their intended victims, and demanded
tobacco. The
men, alarmed by their manner, gave them not only all the tobacco they had,
but the whole of the cooked provisions they carried for the day's
consumption. The
blacks took this, but appeared dissatisfied, and one of them approaching the
side of the dray, called to the driver, and put some question to him relative
to the contents of a certain package, the poor fellow turned his head to
reply, when one of the blood-thirsty and merciless wretches, in the dastardly
manner of these foul blots of humanity, thrust a barbed spear through his
body: the weapon entered between the hips and passed through the navel. The
other man immediately ran, and most miraculously escaped the numerous
missiles which wore thrown after him. On
coming up with the advanced part, the whole returned to the scene of the
murder, on reaching which, they found the aboriginals glutting their savage
thirst for blood, by mutilating the dead body of their comrade and relative. About
fifty of the natives presented a front to the Europeans, and with a
pusillanimity which can only encourage the savages to renew the tragedy on
the next party that passes, they contented themselves with the recovery of
the disfigured and bloody corpse. Some
little distance further down the river, the natives robbed a dray belonging
to a Mr. Ross on its way to Adelaide. The
vehicle contained all the provisions and clothing of two gentlemen, and seven
servants, who formed a party driving a herd of cattle. By some neglect the
blacks were allowed by a stratagem to get possession of the whole of the
firearms of the men, which, fortunately for them, they were not au fait in
the use of, or the result might have been dreadful. They
ransacked the dray of everything it contained, emptying flour and other
provisions from the sacks for the sake of the bags, breaking open and
destroying boxes, and leaving the unfortunate wayfarers with naught save what
they stood upright in. They
took away a blacksmith's anvil which weighed 75 lbs. What use they could make
of this is problematical - perhaps they imagined it had the power of
manufacturing tomahawks! The
pillaged party pushed off to Mr. Wentworth's station, and by the exertions of
Mr. Walker, managing there, a great deal of the property has been recovered. On
the 27th July, a person named Higgins a servant of Mr. M'Leay's,
and who has by industry and economy, during several years' service with that
gentleman, amassed a comfortable little property in cattle and sheep, met his death whilst employed in carting a load of hurdles
from one station to another. It
appears he incautiously took the winkers off the horse in order to enable the
animal to feed, when he started off at a gallop, alarmed no doubt by the
appearance of the load above him. After
running some distance, he described a circle, and made towards Higgins at
full speed, and the unfortunate man imagining, no doubt, he might check his
career, caught at the horse as he passed; an act of extreme folly, for which
he forfeited his existence, for, missing his grasp the side rails of the cart
as it passed struck him behind the ear, and going with such velocity, it is
scarcely necessary to say, killed him on the spot. The
mail cart which travels between Gundagai and Mates, broke down lately, a few
miles from the former place, and in consequence, owing, as I am informed, to
delay in repairs, there was no conveyance for passengers for a fortnight. The
contractors ought to be careful in such matters as these, for had passengers
arrived in Gundagai enroute to Melbourne, they
might, and no doubt would have been, seriously incommoded. We
have had since my last a great deal of rain at intervals. The frosts have
also been intense - some snow has fallen, and about a fortnight since there
was a severe hailstorm, which lasted nearly an hour, covering the earth as
completely as though it were crusted in snow. The
storm occurred about 4 o'clock in the evening of the 4th, and in shaded
situations the hail remained frozen in large flakes at 10 o'clock next
morning. This
month has been remarkable for the number of brilliant meteors which have been
visible during clear weather. Those
of inferior size have been countless, but four which were seen here were of
surpassing grandeur and beauty. The
first was on the evening of the 6th, about 8 o'clock; it emanated from the
north-east quarter of the heavens, about two degrees above the horizon, and
held a rapid course to the north, breaking into scintilations
as it passed. On
Sunday evening, the 9th instant, about the close of twilight, the most
magnificent of these fiery brands flung at night from angels' hands, made its
appearance. I
cannot attempt a description of the splendid spectacle which the passage of
this meteor afforded us, or the effect produced upon our minds as we gazed in
awe and wonder upon its bright and luminous passage athwart the firmament,
leaving a track of light and glory as it flamed along its ethereal way, and
which by its softly fading lustre served for some
time after the meteor had disappeared, to point its passage through the sky. From
the contemplation of an object such as this, man turns with a low and
humiliating sense of his own utter insignificance! With
all his boasted powers of mind he yet cannot tell why the lowly blossom of
the valley, which he crushes beneath his tread, differs from her sister
flower in beauty; neither can it lead him from "world to luminous world afar," where "the universe spreads her flaming wall,"
to contemplate the mighty works of his Creator; here, from his place on
earth, he may, in common with other creatures of dust, view and wonder at
their glory, but to him, even as to the lowest worm, the ways of the Almighty
ruler of the universe are a sealed book. But,
I believe, newspaper "Correspondents"
must not moralize. The
meteor in question first appeared in the north east, as near as I could
guess. The ball of fire was very large, apparently
about two-thirds the circumference of the full moon. Its
course was almost perfectly horizontal, and what added to its splendor was
its majestically slow motion. After
traversing, apparently, a degree, it burst, and the most splendid gush of
prismatic colours occurred from its centre,
radiating on all sides towards the tail of the meteor, and presenting the
appearance of a fan. For
one moment it was hidden from my view by the summit of a range, and on seeing
it again it had exploded a second time, and showers of sparks were scattered
in its course. From
this period the leading portion of the meteor gradually faded into darkness,
the two detached portions having successively disappeared in the same way;
but for several seconds a silvery streak was visible along the passage of the
heavenly body, such as Tom Moore would describe as the track of a Peri - I never witnessed anything more sublimely
beautiful. About
nine o'clock the same evening, a second meteor of considerable size and
beauty was visible - it sprang from the zenith, and descended with great
rapidity without bursting, into the western horizon. Another
of large size was seen in the eastward, on the 12th, about eight o'clock; but
as I did not witness, I cannot describe it. The
atmosphere was clear and unclouded, and the weather frosty upon the
appearance of each of these celestial rockets, which were doubtless observed
in all parts of the country. |