Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia, Volume 2Grey, George
History
Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia, Volume 2
Grey, George
Natural history -- Australia -- Western Australia; Western Australia -- Discovery and exploration
This morning Taalwurt the native, attended by his various friends, came
to me before I went to the Courthouse, to insist upon his right to speak
first, as he appeared to think that a great deal depended upon his having
this advantage over his opponent. I explained to him that, as plaintiff,
this right of course belonged to him, and he thereupon withdrew, followed
by his adherents. At the appointed hour I repaired to the Courthouse and
found the natives assembled; the Europeans had not yet arrived. I called
therefore upon Taalwurt for an information, which was as follows:
THE ACCUSATION. ATTEMPTS AT ELOQUENCE. ADJUDICATION OF THE CASE.
Colony of Western Australia, to wit: The information and complaint of
Taalwurt Tdondarup, of Albany, in the said Colony, made before me, George
Grey, Esquire, one of H.M. Justices of the Peace in and for the said
Colony, the fifteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and forty.
The said Taalwurt Tdondarup complaineth and saith:
"Nganya kype yoor-ril gool-gur, boye bomb-gur."
"I in the water carelessly walked along, a stone struck me."
But at this point his eloquence totally deserted him, and he was pulled
back by his friends, who pushed forward another native, and who stated as
follows:
Lindoll Mongalung saith: "Wal-bur wat-to Taalwurt: Djanga Taalwurt
kyle-gut bomb-gur.
"Taalwurt djanga neyp bomb-gur, kyle-gut Taalwurt neyp bomb-gur: Waum
djanga Taalwurt matta boorn boola bomb-gur: Taalwurt yoor-ril watto, waum
djunga nar-rail ngob-barn boye koombar bomb-gar."
"Along the beach was walking Taalwurt; one of the dead struck him under
the ear. Taalwurt then very slightly struck this one of the dead; under
the ear Taalwurt very lightly struck him. Another of the dead then struck
Taalwurt very forcibly on the legs with a stick: Taalwurt went walking
along quickly; another of the dead, in the ribs with an exceedingly big
stone, extremely hard hit him."
A murmur of applause ran through the assembled natives. The ngob-burn
boye, koom-bur bomb-gur, or exceedingly big-stone, extremely hard hit,
was evidently regarded by them as a masterpiece of eloquence; and the
contrast between this and the neyp bomb-gur, very gently struck, of Mr.
Taalwurt, undoubtedly evinced its superiority in their estimation; but as
Taalwurt was a stout able fellow, and one by no means given to deal
gentle blows when in a passion, I did not place implicit faith in this
poetical narration. I had however no doubt that Taalwurt had been first
struck and was thus the injured party; but now I knew he had returned the
blow I was also sure that he had given at least as good a one as he had
taken.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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