I Presented The Buck With An
Old Pyjama Jacket, And A Great Swell He Thought Himself Too, Strutting
About And Showing Himself Off To The Others.
In exchange for numerous
articles they gave us, we attached coins round their necks, and on a
small round plate, which I cut out of a meat-tin, I stamped my initial
and the date, C. 1896.
This I fixed on a light nickel chain and hung
round the neck of the good-looking young gin, to her intense
gratification. It will be interesting to know if ever this ornament is
seen again. I only hope some envious tribesman will not be tempted to
knock the poor thing on the head to possess himself of this shining
necklace.
Amongst their treasures which they carried, wrapped up in bundles of bark
and hair, one of the most curious was a pearl oyster-shell, which was
worn by the buck as a sporran. Now this shell (which I have in my
possession) could only have come from the coast, a distance of nearly
five hundred miles, and must have been passed from hand to hand, and from
tribe to tribe. Other articles they had which I suppose were similarly
traded for, viz., an old iron tent-peg, the lid of a tin matchbox, and a
part of the ironwork of a saddle on which the stirrup-leathers hang. This
piece of iron was stamped A1; this, I fear, is hardly a sufficient clue
from which to trace its origin.
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