with the greatest admiration. The story of how I
had killed the snakes soon spread abroad among the various tribes for
miles round, and was chanted by many tribes, the means of
inter-communication being the universal smoke-signals. One important
consequence of this adventure was that I was everywhere received with the
very greatest respect.

It may be mentioned here that no matter how unfriendly tribes may be,
they always exchange news by means of smoke-signals. I may also say that
at _corroborees_ and such-like festivities a vast amount of poetic
boasting and exaggeration is indulged in, each "hero" being required to
give practical demonstrations of the things he has seen, the doughty
deeds he has done, &c. He warms up as he goes along, and magnifies its
importance in a ridiculous way. It amuses me to this day to recall my
own preposterous songs about how I killed the two whales _with my
stiletto_, and other droll pretensions. But, ah! I was serious enough
then!

In the mountainous region where I encountered the snakes, I also met a
native who actually spoke English. He called himself either Peter or
Jacky Jacky--I cannot remember which; but in any case it was a name given
him by pearlers. He had once lived with some pearlers near the north-
west coast of Western Australia--probably on the De Grey River. His
story was quite unprecedented among the blacks, and he gave me many
terrible instances of the perfidy shown by white adventurers towards the
unfortunate natives. The precise locality where I met this man was
probably near Mount Farewell, close to the border-line of South Australia
and Western Australia. Well, then, Jacky Jacky--to give him the name
which lingers most tenaciously in my mind--was persuaded to join in a
pearling expedition, together with a number of his companions. They all
accepted engagements from the whites, on the distinct understanding that
they were to be away about three moons. Instead, they were practically
kidnapped by force, and treated--or rather ill-treated--as slaves for
several years.

First of all, the poor creatures were taken to an island in the vicinity
of North-West Cape, off which the pearling fleet lay. During the voyage
to the pearling grounds the water supply on board ran short, and so great
was the suffering among the blacks--they were kept on the shortest of
short commons, as you may suppose--that they plotted to steal a cask of
the precious fluid for their o