It was
like a feast of heroes, and lasted long through the night. They sang
responsively, like gentle shepherds--shepherds of the ocean fields
whose flocks were mighty whales:
"Mother, the butcher's brought the meat,
What shall I do with it?
Fry the flesh, and broil the bones,
And make a pudding of the su-et."
Next morning the Hentys looked for the missing beef up the flagstaff,
and along the shore of the ever-sounding ocean, but their search was
vain. They suspected that the men of Kelly's party were the thieves,
but these all looked as stupid, ignorant, and innocent as the adverse
circumstances would permit. There was no evidence against them to be
found; the beef was eaten and the bones were burned and buried.
Mills' men were the beef lifters, and some of Kelly's men helped them
to eat it.
The whales killed at the Portland fishery were of two kinds, the
right or black whale, and the sperm whale. The right whale has an
immense tongue, and lives by suction, the food being a kind of small
shrimp. When in a flurry--that is, when she has received her
death-stroke with the lance--she goes round in a circle, working
with her head and flukes. The sperm whales feed on squid, which they
bite, and when in a flurry they work with the head and flukes, and
with the mouth open, and often crush the boats.
After the crew of the 'Thistle' had spent their money, they were
taken back to Port Fairy for the purpose of stripping bark, a large
quantity of wattle trees having been found in the neighbouring
country.
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