them of
intoxicating liquors. Spirits not merely make them drunk, but drive
them mad. As a sort of compensation they come down to Adelaide at
stated times for blankets, which are distributed to them by the
Government. On these occasions they are accustomed to exhibit
themselves in their native antics and dances for a little gain. At
this time was expected a large muster, and in order to accommodate
as many visitors as possible, the Adelaide Cricket Club had induced
the natives to hold their corrobboree on the cricket ground, of
course themselves looking for a large money return. Certainly their
anticipations must have been more than fulfilled, for there was a
crowd at the entrance resembling that outside a London theatre on
boxing night. Instead of 3,000 people, the number expected, there
were nearer 15,000. Seats in the grand stand were 1s., outside the
ring was 6d., but soon all distinction of place was lost. Presently
about 50 natives, hideously decorated, and stained with red to
represent gashes on the head and breast, filed into the enclosure in
a long line. Small bonfires were lighted at intervals, and on these
the performers leapt, one exactly following the steps of another.
Then they imitated the bounds of the Kangaroo when pursued, but of
dancing, or even posturing, in our sense of the word, there was
none. Meantime the "lubras" (native women) seated on the ground in
one mass, kept up a monotonous chant, varying their cadences with
the beat of tom-toms. The night was dark, and the figures were
indistinctly seen. Soon the vast crowd becoming impatient, burst
through the barriers, and scattered the burning brands. A great
scene of confusion ensued, and the performance came abruptly to an
end. One of the blacks remarked, not without reason, "Me tink dis
white fellows' corrobboree." It is a painful thing to see a race so
degenerate as to be willing to show themselves for money before
their supplanters, and to see the former "lords of the soil" begging
a copper from the passer-by. One cannot but desire that their
extinction in these parts, which is certain, may be also speedy. I
cannot easily imagine two more pitiable objects than those I
afterwards saw at Albany in Western Australia: a native man and
woman begging, standing with their shrunken limbs in rags that
barely covered them. The cricket ground is in the "reserve," a part
between the north terrace and the northern suburb, which belongs to
the community and