and a half long (which he had previously procured). Here the farce ended,
and Ba-loo-der-ry's friends took the car-rah-dy with them and entertained
him with such fare as they had to give him. He was at this time at our
hospital; during the night his fever increased, and his friends, thinking
he would be better with them, put him into a canoe, intending to take him
to the north shore; but he died as they were carrying him over. This was
immediately notified to us by a violent clamour among the women and
children; and Bennillong soon after coming into the town, it was agreed
upon between him and the governor that the body should be buried in the
governor's garden.
In the afternoon it was brought over in a canoe, and deposited in a hut
at the bottom of the garden, several natives attending, and the women and
children lamenting and howling most dismally. The body was wrapped up in
the jacket which he usually wore, and some pieces of blanketting tied
round it with bines. The men were all armed, and, without any
provocation, two of them had a contest with clubs; at the same time a few
blows passed between some of the women. Boo-roong had her head cut by
Go-roo-ber-ra, the mother of the deceased. Spears were also thrown, but
evidently as part of a ceremony, and not with an intention of doing
injury to any one. At the request of Bennillong, a blanket was laid over
the corpse, and Cole-be his friend sat by the body all night, nor could
he be prevailed on to quit it.
They remained rather silent till about one in the morning, when the women
began to cry, and continued for some time. At daylight Bennillong brought
his canoe to the place, and cutting it to a proper length, the body was
placed in it, with a spear, a fiz-gig, a throwing-stick, and a line which
Ba-loo-derry had worn round his waist. Some time was taken up in
adjusting all this business, during which the men were silent, but the
women, boys, and children uttered the most dismal lamentations. The
father stood alone and unemployed, a silent observer of all that was
doing about his deceased son, and a perfect picture of deep and
unaffected sorrow. Every thing being ready, the men and boys all assisted
in lifting the canoe with the body from the ground, and placing it on the
heads of two natives, Collins and Yow-war-re. Some of the assistants had
tufts of grass in their hands, which they waved backwards and forwards
under the canoe, while it was lifting from the ground, as if they were
exorcising some evil spirit. As soon as it was fixed on the heads of the
bearers, they set off, preceded by Bennillong and another man,
Wat-te-wal, both walking with a quick step towards the point of the cove
where Bennillong's hut stood. Mau-go-ran, the father, attended them armed
with his spear and throwing-stick, while Bennillong and Wat-te-wal had
nothing in their hands but tufts of grass, which as they went they waved
about, sometimes turning and facing the corpse, at others waving their
tufts of grass among the bushes. When they fronted the corpse, the head
of which was carried foremost, the bearers made a motion with their heads
from side to side, as if endeavouring to avoid the people who fronted
them. After proceeding thus to some little distance, Wat-te-wal turned
aside from the path, and went up to a bush, into which he seemed to look
very narrowly, as if searching for something that he could not find, and
waving about the tufts of grass which he had in either hand. After this
fruitless search, they all turned back, and went on in a somewhat quicker
pace than before. On their drawing near the spot where the women and
children were sitting with the other men, the father threw two spears
towards, but (evidently intentionally) short of them. Here Bennillong
took his infant child, Dil-boong in his arms, and held it up to the
corpse, the bearers endeavouring to avoid it as before described. Be-dia
Be-dia, the reputed brother of the deceased, a very fine boy of about