26^ CONFESSIONS OF A BEACHCOMBER 



curiously, and almost invariably remark — " Some fella mak' 

 em." No attempt to decipher it is undertaken, because no 

 doubt it was never intended to be read. Yet a plausible 

 elucidation is at hand. The single notch, let it be said, 

 represents a black who wishes to let five white fellows (who 

 have made inquiries in that direction) know that a cor- 

 robboree is to begin before sundown, the setting sun being 

 represented by the broad arrow, which seems to dip over 

 the end of the stick. The guests are expected to bring 

 rum to produce a bewildering, unsteady effect upon the 

 whole camp — none, big or little, but will stagger about in 

 all directions and finally He down. On the other hand the 

 guests are not to bring " one fella " policeman with hand- 

 cuffs (the cross), otherwise all will decamp — the two last are 

 seen vanishing into space. By a rare coincidence this very 

 free interpretation could be made to apply to an actuality 

 at the time the " letter " was received, but as a matter of 

 fact it came from quite a different source to the black 

 fellow who had engaged to let some students of the abor- 

 iginal character know when the next corrobboree would 

 take place. It still remains undecipherable. My investi- 

 gations do not support the theory that the blacks are 

 capable of recording the simplest event by means of a 

 system of so-called picture-writing, but rather that message- 

 sticks have no meaning apart from verbal explanations. 

 Blacks profess to be able to send messages which another 

 may understand, but the tests applied locally invariably 

 break down. 



Another message-stick was made on the premises by 

 George, but not to order. A genuine, unprompted natural 

 effort, it is merely a slip of pine, 4 inches long, a quarter 

 of an inch broad and flat, upon which are cut spiral inter- 

 secting grooves. George's birthplace is Cooktown, and 

 his message-stick resembles in design that brought by 

 Mattie from Bo'sun of Cooktown for Mickie of the Palms. 

 Now George professes to be able to write English, but 

 he is so shy and diffident over the accomplishment that 

 neither persuasion nor offer of reward induces him to 



