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prestige as a bogeymanwith his hair. But he had haunted

only .one place; and there were other

places.A bush fire in the Albury district,

in 1902, led to the discovery of "The

Cave Man of Gerogery." who also

had run extesively to hair. He was

anextraordinary person,

astrangelook'ing denizen, who suggested, the

missing link; and was only cap

tured after a long chase. Till then,very few had seen him, as he onlywandered from cover at night; butall the district and beyond had heardabout him, though to even those whohad seen him he was a mystery.

His cave treasures included sheepskins, hoi'seshoes, old tins and boots,bits of wire and hoop iron, a shovel

head, bridle bits, stirrup-irons,buckles and

rustybolts,

brokencrockery and pieces of chain, and

other things that could never havebeen any use to him. His oniy cofnpanion was a tame magpie,' and it

was supposed that he arid Maggieplayed "shops" with the things hehad collected.

"The Hairy Man of Carcoar," whowas reclaimed from the wilds in1908, was a bogey-man so long thathe had degenerated into a Myth. Hewas a big chap, and had lived in a

secluded bark gunyah for 25 years,subsisting chiefly on wild animals,lizards, and birds. His hair wasfour feet long, thick, and matted likea brumby's tail.

Among his possessions was a hugeaxe, weighing 341b., which he hadmade himself, and which he delightedin wielding, swinging it first with' onehand and then Avith the other.

Another prize Avas a pair of dumbbells, Avhich he had made by dividingthe axle of a heavy dray; and thosealso he could swing about Avith ease.

"Tomahawk Joe"

The Man with the Axe

He was a giant in strength, and a

real giant to the local youngsters—the bogey-man Avith the great axe.

He AAras 72 years old Avhen he l-e

turned to c ivi li sed quarters, and in a

feAV days he caught influenza and

feAV days he caught influenza and

died.In different parts of Queensland

there were several strange beings Avhostrove to keep aAvay from human com

pany, and Avho gave force to thestories of the mythical bogey-men inhundreds of other places. One of

these characters Avas TomahaAvk Joe,whose wild career Avas terminatedwest of Charleville, early in 1921.

He was another huge, active felIoav, but as gentle in disposition as

jo minutes start, the hairy man served ,

'.dto die.

a lamb, and apparently x'ational. But

he had a reputation that filled the

young people with awe. If theyhappenedo see a tame bushman with

big whiskex-s and a tomahawk whilerambling- among- the forest trees or

along the edge of a jungle, theyscampered home and reportedbreathlesslyhat they had seen TomahawkJoe.

That hairy gentleman was reputed.to roam over thousands.of miles of

country, and numerous wild spotswere supposed to harbor him, though\x=req-\

in reality .his. bush wanderings were

confined to a region from 70 to 100

miles, west" of Chax 'levi lle .

Ox'iginally, Joe belonged to South

Australia, the backblocks of which

were not alluring as a place to go

wild in; so he tramped to Queensland,the charming x*ich regions of whichhad a heart pull in them for lovei's of

the bush. Joe was not exactly looking

for beautiful surroundings, but a field

remote, that would hide and feed him.Scores of men had become lost in

the bush and perished. But Joe hadno fear. He was going purposelyto lose himself, where none wouldhear of him, and he would hear fromnone. 1-Iis one regret was that suchplaces were becoming scarce.

When he departed from his kindand the commonplace he did not "gobush" straight away, but went

prospecting,nd probably no prospectorever set out with a scantier outfit. Hetook

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took only the tools necessary forsurface mining, a long-bladed-knife,a tomahawk, arid just the clothes hestood in. For food he relied on thenatural resources of the bush. Hisbushcraft proved equal to all

emergencies,nd though he lived in a

state of absolute aboriginality, hewas never in want.

He, was a failure as a prospector,and finally wandered off with onlyhis knife and the tomahawk.

He never had a camp that could becalled a settled residence. A fire nearwater sufficed him, and though hestuck to one disti'ict, there was no

particular spot that he called home.He was at home anywhere in thebush whex*e food was plentiful. Whensome shelter was necessary from badweather, and there was no cave

available, he leaned a couple ofsheets of bark against a log andcrawled under that. A bed was notnecessary to Joe.

He did not associate with theblacks, but was always alone, findingcompanionship among the wild birdsand animals, which he regarded ashis only friends. His beard and hair,which grew to nearly a yard long,were matted and thick with grassseeds. His whereabouts were knownfor five or six years before he was

l'eclaimed from the wilds, and manytales were current about him amongboth white people and blacks.

Besides his outsize whiskers andhis cranial hair, what covering hewore on his body was made of furredskins, so that his appearance was

grotesque.He was caught by a squatter, who

persuaded the hairy man to go withhim to Charleville. Then Joe quicklybecame civilised again, but he stuck

I

to his long hair and his tomahawk.

A very different sort of person was

I

"Cracked Mick," the bogey-man ofthe West Australian wilds. Thoughhe was as mild and peaceful asTomahawk Joe, his name was one toconjure with. Whether he was"cracked" or not did not matter; the

title spread his reputation as a bogeyman.

Unlike the others mentioned, "the

hermit life did not appeal to him,he cut adrift from

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though he cut adrift from the

asso.ciationsf a civilised human.Mick had been a clergyman, but

the call of the wild was more

appealinghan the call of the church. He'

took his bible with him, as well as

Shakespeare and Bellamy's "LookingBackward," when he abandonedcivilisation and walked off into the

primitive. •>

He settled in the Kimberley district

among a tribe of north-western

blacks,: who adopted him. He fell into

their ways as to the manner born,and came to, be regarded as a greatpersonage.

Though he had several black wives,according to reports, and numerous

half-black children, and learned to

speak the native language fluently, he

was different,in

hismode of life

fromthe Queensland wild men. He lived

in a hut, bred cattle in the open bush,

and sometimes engaged in pearlingCor the purpose of getting- things that,the bush did not provide him with,but his assistants and associateswere always blacks.

He took his Bora degree, was

electedhief of the local clan, and in

corroborees and various ceremonieslie looked far more like a real savagethan a clergyman. He painted hisbody, wore feathers in his hair,carriedhe customary native weapons,and yabbered like his adopted people.When alone in his hut, or at home

with his extensive family, perhaps

"Cracked Mick"

Became Abo. Chief

after a day at kargarooing orbird\x=req-\

trapping with the hunters, he read

Shakespeare,; or the Bible, or

"Lookingackward."

Mick had gone backward some

hundreds of years, and was in a.

position to look both ways. Roundthe communal camp-fire he listenedto the folk lore and eorroboree songsof the blacks, and told them Biblestories in their own language. He

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stories in their own language. Hewas sunbrowned enough to pass fora half-breed, and it was strange to

the few north-west coasters whoknew him, and occasionally met him,to hear him yabbering to his own

children and to his dogs.With the exception of being a

bigamist,wild Bringham Young, Mickremained a godly man, and was a

devotedather to his numerous

children.ow he ended I don't know,but he was never worried by

good\x=req-\

intentioned nuisances trying to enticehim back from the ways of. the

savage.