orroboree_ on a gigantic scale was held in my honour;
and on every side the blacks manifested great rejoicing at my return,
which, of course, they never dreamed was involuntary. Human nature is,
as I found, the same the world over, and one reason for my warm welcome
was, that my blacks had just been severely thrashed by a neighbouring
tribe, and were convinced that if I would help them to retaliate, they
could not fail to inflict tremendous punishment upon their enemies. By
this time, having become, as I said before, somewhat resigned to my fate,
I consented to lead them in their next battle, on condition that two
shield-bearers were provided to protect me from the enemy's spears. This
being the first time I had ever undertaken war operations with my
friends, I determined that the experiment should run no risk of failure,
and that my dignity should in no way suffer. I declared, first of all,
that I would choose as my shield-bearers the two most expert men in the
tribe. There was much competition for these honoured posts, and many
warriors demonstrated their skill before me.

At length I chose two stalwart fellows, named respectively Warriga and
Bommera, and every day for a week they conducted some trial manoeuvres
with their friends. There would be a kind of ambush prepared, and
flights of spears would be hurled at me, only to be warded off with
astonishing dexterity by my alert attendants. All I was provided with
was my steel tomahawk and bow and arrows. I never really became expert
with the spear and shield, and I knew only too well that if I handled
these clumsily I should immediately lose prestige among the blacks.

After a week or two of practice and sham combats, I felt myself pretty
safe with my two protectors, and I then began organising an army to lead
against the enemy. Altogether I collected about 100 fighting men, each
armed with a bundle of throwing spears, a shield made of light wood, and
a short, heavy waddy or club for use at close quarters. When everything
was in readiness, I marched off at the head of my "army" and invaded the
enemy's country. We were followed by the usual crowd of women-folk, who
saw to the commissariat department and did the transport themselves. On
the first day out, we had to ford a large stream--a branch of the
Victoria River, I think--and at length reached a suitable place in which
to engage the enemy. It is difficult for me to fix the exact locality,
but I should ju