Corporal Larnach’s Report 30 January 1833. Supplemental.

Mr. Bigge and three of the convict work troupe have been recovered alive. They are now in my custody. They were being held by the natives, a tribe called the Aradawa, I am so informed by Flynn.

I will upon arriving at the home of Mr. Bigge send a runner to deliver this my report and recommendation that an armed company be dispatched to confront the Aradawa regarding their crimes.

Follows here is a description of our encounter with the Aradawa:

Our group approached the Aradawa on horseback at approximately 10 pm this morning. We were greeted by several males with spears some two hundred metres out from there camp. There was a particularly tense moment when I thought the fear had gripped Constable Thompson and we might be about to exchange fire. He had raised his rifle, and his eyes wide like a startled fox. I had to pull my horse about in front of him, arresting his rifle skyward. The Blacks had balanced their spears about to let them loose. One black fella with white paint upon himself calmed the others, and spoke to Flynn. They seemed to have trouble communicating at first. I have heard each tribe can have a radically different way with words, but there were certain trade languages that could be used.

Flynn said the tribe had possession of some white men, and that there were being protected, but some were hurt. Flynn relayed my messages and we were allowed to enter the camp and view the men. The camp is sparse, with only a handful of structures made of branches and grass for shade, and a few fires smouldering. There were roughly thirty individuals in the camp, spread out over a large area. Concentrated under a one of the larger structures were several women and an older man, looking more like the anatomy skeleton the Corps doctor keeps, draped in black tissue paper and dunked in the river.

I was relieved to see that Mr. Bigge was among them. Private MacDougall having received some training on field medicine examined the men. I attempted to speak with Mr. Bigge, but he was reluctant to communicate.  Flynn continued to interrogate the painted man and the old black fella too. His interrogation grew heated. He took the wrapped parcel from Private Stubbs and revealed the nest of bones. The painted man yelled in rage, and the old man seemed to wither, shielding his eyes from the site of the thing. The painted man drew a curved wooden club and swung it at the air, barking in his bizarre native tongue. Other warrior age men were gathering around us with their spears and cudgels. Flynn said we must take the men and leave. None of the natives would help us move the men, so it took us another two hours to transport them out of the camp and fashion stretches for them that could be dragged behind horses.

Their reaction to the nest was surprising. I questioned Flynn as to why they had such a violent turn. He said they claim the nest was not left by them, that it was a marker given to us by a spirit of the bush, a Malingee, who inhabits this land and protects their territory, sometimes savagely. They claim the spirit attacked these men, and they rescued them after the attacks. They tried to hide the men. During the day when the Malingee is dormant they took the injured men, and covered their tracks back to the camp so the Malingee would not follow. But they say we have brought the marker here. The smell of the nest will bring the spirit. They say we are marked by the spirit now, because we have given great offence. I asked if Flynn believed in this native paganism. He said he did not, but I can see the strain on his face. Though he has spent a great lot of time with the civilised man, he is still a primitive after all.

I interviewed each man still able to talk: they seem to be in a group fever of sorts, each believing this spirit story in their own way. The native witch doctor had been feeding them brews of bark and mushroom. Constable Thompson said the mushrooms in this region can have severe effects upon the mind if consumed.