TROUBLE IN THE DESERT 235 



have always found men of this race very thin-skinned ; in 

 fact, this was the only occasion on which I employed them 

 as assistants on my travels, as they are useless in an 

 emergency, have little pluck, and no faith in their master. 

 One blackboy is worth three or four Chinese. 



It was still drizzling at dusk of evening on the 22nd, 

 and we had great difficulty in lighting fires. The night 

 was fine and clear, but disturbed by many noises, of which 

 the howling of the wild dogs was perhaps the most 

 annoying. Other sounds emanated from birds, of 

 which one seemed to be an owl and another a species 

 of Caprimulgus, the incessant " mar-purk, mar-purk " of 

 which reminded one much of the " more pork " of other 

 districts. Nor was the screaming of fruit-bats wanting in 

 this medley of uncanny sounds, the cold and wet having 

 apparently much discouraged these at all times irritable 

 animals. 



Sometime during the night two of my Chinese servants 

 deserted, taking with them two of the packhorses and a 

 quantity of the most useful and necessary stores. As this 

 was a serious loss, I was compelled, accompanied by 

 u Shanks," one of the blackboys, to pursue the rascals. 

 The black followed their tracks with perfect ease, and 

 it soon became apparent that they were taking what they 

 thought to be the shortest cut back to Port Darwin. 



After riding about eight miles we came upon the 

 bodies of the two men and one horse, all speared through 

 and through by hostile blacks. The appearance of the 

 corpses was horrible, and a large quantity of the flesh 

 had been cut from the carcass of the horse — for food, I 

 suppose. All that was eatable among the stores had 

 been carried away ; the rest lay scattered about the 

 ground, much of it trampled and destroyed. According 

 to the estimate of Shanks, my boy, about forty natives had 

 been engaged in this murder, and there could be no doubt 

 that they had been following and watching my party for 

 a considerable time. The tracks of the missing horse 

 showed that it had been led away by the thieves ; but it 

 would have been suicidal for me to follow after them. I 



