Chapter 7

Ngangooloo, the evil man of Lake Disappointment

He told me of the evil man who lives under the surface of Lake Disappointment. A vast expanse of salt about eighty kilometres to the north; the lake is approximately sixty-four kilometres from north to south and forty-eight kilometres from east to west. Perfectly flat except for an occasional island of sand, it receives the water from Savoury Creek, which empties into it from the west.

The evil man, Ngangooloo, remains in his lair beneath the lake’s surface during cold or windy weather and ventures forth on calm warm days to roam the land, devouring any Aboriginal people he may encounter. For this reason Lake Disappointment has always been given a wide berth by the desert people.

We had approached the lake from the north the previous year and as we moved closer to it Mudjon became more and more subdued. During the last few kilometres he rarely spoke, and then only in a whisper. We came out on the north-west corner of the lake, the surface of which was dazzling in its brightness as the sun’s rays bounced off the brilliantly white salt layer. The small islands far out on the lake had a threatening look about them as they appeared to hover above the surface.
But Mudjon saw none of this. He sat motionless with eyes downcast, refusing to alight from the vehicle. Our suggestion that we should camp under the desert oaks on the lake shore was answered by vigorous shaking of the head. It was no place for a Mandildjara man to spend the night.

Respecting Mudjon’s wishes, we moved away from the lake for a distance of a kilometre or two to make camp amongst the sandhills and desert oaks. It was an eerie place and it was not only Mudjon who felt uneasy that night. He retired much earlier than usual but did not follow his normal practice of sleeping close to the camp fire. Instead, he slipped into the night and rolled his swag out under the darkest bush he could find. If anybody was to be devoured that night it would not be Mudjon, but the stupid white fellows who were readily visible as they slept near the fire.

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