Appearance:
The mountain is made up of large piles of black granite rocks and huge granite boulders, some of which are said to be the size of small houses. According to geologists, these rocks and boulders were formed 250 million years ago by solidified magma formation and the absence of soil to fill in the gaps and cracks between the rocks means there are many tunnels and caves within the mountain. The black granite also serves to give it a very dark and eery appearance.Legends:
As you would expect from such a spooky place it is rich in legend and folklore. The Aboriginal call it the mountain of death. The legends of the mountain are taken very seriously by the local aboriginal people and they are said to avoid the place like the plague. There are so many caves, tunnels and mazes within this mountain making it very easy to get lost. The mountain is known for some very strange sightings and disappearances and the natives have a lot of very disturbing stories surrounding the Black Mountain.
One of the most famous of these stories involves a wicked medicine man known as the eater of flesh. The local tribe was so scared of this man that they would actually let him eat their old and sick hoping to appease his cravings for human flesh. But it seems that one day his hankering to chow down on humans got the better of him and he killed and ate a tribal chief who he had caught napping.
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| Black Mountain boulders |
For the rest of the tribe, as you can imagine this was the last straw. So they banded together and off they went to have a word with the Eater of Flesh. Of course, being well versed in the ways of magic it wasn't much of a problem for him to transform himself into a giant snake and he made his escape into the heart of the Black Mountain. It was there that he spent his days, only venturing out to satisfy his hunger for the meat of fellow humans. Ever since that time both people and animals who ventured too close to the mountain have disappeared, never to be seen again.
The first documented disappearance, involving European Settlers, occurred in 1877,
a courier named Grayner was out on horseback in search of a missing calf in the vicinity of the mountain. When Grayner failed to return a search was undertaken but no trace of Grayner, his horse or the calf was ever found.
A few years later an outlaw named Sugarfoot Jack and some members of his gang were on the run from the authorities. They had decided to hide out in the black mountain, but after an intense search by police nothing more was seen or heard from them.
Then in around 1890, another strange disappearance took place. This time a police constable Ryan and some trackers from near by Cooktown had tracked a fugitive to the mountain of death only for the trail to go cold at the entrance to one of the many caves. Ryan decided he would enter the cave and try and corner his man, but Ryan and the fugitive never came back out of the mountain.
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| An inside look |
There is another story of a station owner who went by the name of Harry Owens. One day he had made his way to the mountain in search of some lost cattle and did not return. His absence was soon noticed by his partner George Hawkings who went to the police to report him missing, before setting out to search for him. It seems misfortune also befell Hawkings, as it has been recorded that he also did not return from the mysterious mount. So the local police force was brought in and conducted a search of black mountain for the two missing men. Bravely two officers of the law entered one of the caves but only one returned. Apparently, the one that came out was so shaken by what he had witnessed in there that he could not give a coherent account of what had occurred.
Now the Black Mountain started to get a reputation from the white settlers. The natives have always known to stay clear of this area and in the 1920’s two reporters were determined to get to the bottom of this mystery and they went to the black mountain and they too were never seen again. Even the trackers that went to go look for them also disappeared.
Conclusion:
Whether one believes any of the folklore or spooky stories surrounding Black Mountain, it is certainly a harsh, unfriendly place that instills a certain sense of unease and dread in those who see it. It remains a place of many unanswered questions and a mystery waiting for explorers to uncover its secrets.
