GREAT FIGHT AMONG ABORIGINALS.

Southland Times, Issue 1547, 8 March 1872, Page 3

GREAT FIGHT AMONG ABORIGINALS.

The following account of a great fight between two tribes of blacks, near Port Darwin, is given in a letter from a correspondent at Palmerston to the South Australian Advertiser : — There has been another disturbance amongst the natives. 1 Early on the 10th almost all the Larrakeyahs came into our camp in a frantic state, asking every one to lend them spears, as a large number of the neighboring tribe, the Woolnahs, were about to attack their camp. This they did during the morning, but the Larrakeyahs having been well supplied with spears rather astonished them, for, after exchanging two or three showers of spears, and having two of their party wounded, they cleared off to Doctor's Gully for a time. In the cool of the evening we were informed that they were having it out on » oo.n<iy t>Aach about a quarter of a mile distant. I proceeded with several others to see the fight, and it was certainly one ofthe most romantic scenes I ever beheld. We stood on the cliff just above the sable warriors, and not more than ninety or a hundred feet away, the descent being very abrupt, but with some large trees, covered with creepers, growing between high-water mark and where we stood. There was, fortunately, a break in the foliage between us and the natives, which enabled us to see all that took place, their dusky forms showing out distinctly on the white sand. When we first arrived they were engaged in a wordy war, abusing and defying each other, and making the most unearthly noise imaginable. In a few minutes they had worked themselves up to a fighting point, and spears were flying from both sides. How they managed to avoid them Heaven only knows ; but it was an extraordinary sight to see sixty or seventy men jumping from side to side, leaping in the air, and throwing their spears at the same time, we could also now and again hear the dull thud of the metpardinga or club. The lubras, some with piccaninnies on their backs, kept behind either party, picking up the spears and handing them to their lords and masters. When any of them > chanced to he hit, they all set up a most

unearthly yell, and kept on urging the men on to fresh exertions. Some of them came up the cliffs and asked us to come down and fight for them, and drive the Woolnahs back to their own country. On telling them, that the whites had no intention of interfering in their quarrels, they perfectly understood us, but still urged us to come down and speak to the Woolnahs that we knew. This we did, and, strange to say, in two minutes they were talking to us and to each other, as though nothing had been further from their thoughts than fighting. We found that three or four had been wounded, and oue was said to be mortally hit, a spear having entered his chest. It being nearly dark, we started back to camp, and had hardly got on the top of the cliff beforo they were at it again. The next morning all hands were put under arms, for the purpose of driving the Woolnahs , pway, as among them was the young i fellow Binnook, who had been flogged some time back for spearing one of the ■ horses, and told that if he came back again he would be shot. They were still engaged in a warm discussion when we came in sight of the camp, and it was some time before tbey would, believe ua in earnest. But when they saw some descending the cliff they made off into the jungles about the place, and though we searched for some time, we could find none of them, nor have any shown up since. _