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IN-LETTER 6935/1898 Aboriginal Protector Cooktown

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food on the reserve is edible clay and mangrove
seeds. If the water is favourable they can
get some fish in Bertha Bay (where however this
is possible for only 3 months in the year) and
in Margaret Bay, when it is possible for 9.
There are no fishing nets whatever at the Mission Station.
As soon as the wet season is over they can
get a little game, bees some yams etc, but in the
main this is in the Blackwater Creek portion
of the Reserve, where the cattle are (and where
they have certainly no right to be) and of course where
cattle are, the blacks must not be! This is Mr,
Schwarz's way of putting it: in other words, they
are being hunted off their own Reserves, though
Mr. S. does not wish to make this statement in
the form of an actual complaint. (The two main
offenders in this respect are Brannigan and
Miller: the former is awaiting his trial for alleged
murder of a black-boy, the latter—who owns no
land—told Mr. S. yesterday in the course of con-
versation that he would remove his cattle for
no one. I trust that the Police will soon take
action in this matter, the warning having been
already published by the Lands Commissioner in
the local papers,—the advertisement in question I
already forwarded you) The settlers from
the Mc. Ivor are also sending in the blacks to
the Mission Station for food. Poor Mr. Schwarz
has them got his hands full, is feeding at present
upwards of 90 daily, and so far not turned
any away: he really cannot make ends meet
without assistance.

I forgot to mention that up to 4 months ago,
1 or 2 head of cattle per month were killed
regularly & specially for the blacks (the "casuals"): the
station however has suffered great losses with
the ticks, and at present owns about 160 young heifers