28 ANTHROPOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF QUEENSLAND. 



Then another interesting Queensland character is to 

 be found in the history of Narcisse Pierre Pelietier,* who 

 was picked up by the blacks of Cape Direction, and doubt- 

 less on account of his youth (he was about 12 years of age) 

 the bo3' was treated kindly, fed, and taken to their camp, 

 and with this tribe, known as the Makadamas, he Uved 

 for 17 years. When discovered in 1875 Narcisse Pelietier 

 was stark naked Uke the tribe of blacks he was with ; his 

 body was burned by the sun to a rich yellow red, his skin 

 had quite a glazed appearance, and his breast was adorned 

 with raised lines of flesh of the thickness of a pencil, whilst 

 the lobe of the right ear was ornamented with a piece of 

 wood about half an inch in diameter and four inches long. 

 The cuts on his breast, of which he was very proud, were 

 made with pieces of broken quartz, the lips ot the cuts 

 being raised by a series of constant pinching during the 

 healing process. He states at first his thoughts continually 

 reverted to his parents and his country, but as years rolled 

 on, these faded from his memory and he became thoroughly 

 identified with the blacks, from whom at the time of his 

 rescue it was not his wish to part, and not their wish for 

 him to go. His life appears to have been principally passed 

 in fishing and hunting and occasionally fighting with a 

 neighbouring tribe. Although a mere boy when deserted 

 he had retained his knowledge of reading and writing 

 and counting with ease up to one hundred, and drew some- 

 excellent sketches of the animals he had hunted (Henniker- 

 Heaton 53). 



It has been said, and I think truly, that when white 

 men were admitted to the tribe they never really became 

 as one of them. In tribal councils they were ignored 

 and were not permitted to take part in discussions nor to 

 qualify for initiation. We know that this is possibly not 

 true in every case, but the interesting point is — does this 

 accoiuit in some measure for the reticence displayed by some 

 in speaking of those dark daj'^s and account for the white 

 man's apparent ignorance of the inner mysteries ? 



And in this connection it would not be out of place to- 

 say that the present day native in contact with whites and 



* A full account of Pellbtier, Narcisse Pierre, is to be foiind in the 



Sydney Morning Herald, 20tli September. 1875, p. 8. 



