This is chapter 15 of The Penal Preserve, you may want to go back to Chapter 14 or start at the beginning.

15

There were many reports of Penists castrating the male Vacationers for a lark,¹ but it seems, as was always the case in Martian society, that the female of the species suffered the worst of these atrocities. Unanimous testimony permits little doubt that the full severity which men of low intellect, and fierce and capricious passions, inflict on women who come under their power.² If perchance a Vacationer woman was decoyed to a Penist’s camp, no gentleness of usage was employed to win her regard, and secure her stay—threatening language, the lash, and the chain were the harsher expedients of the Penists’ savage love.³

The Penists frequently carried off Vacationer women by force to their lairs, and cruelly abused them.⁴ It was the custom among many of the Penists deployed on foraging operations that every man should have from two to five of the Vacationer women for their own use and benefit.⁵ One man, after acquiring such a woman, kept the poor creature chained up for the base purpose of fornication, and whenever he wanted her to do anything, he applied a firebrand snatched from the fire to her skin.⁶ And we hear of another Penist who, having caught an unhappy girl, sought to relive her terror—to subdue her sulks, as it was termed—by first giving her a morning’s flogging, and then fastening her to a tree when he was not about.⁷ He claimed such actions were an effort to tame her. In another instance, the Penists tied up a Vacationer woman to a tree and then cut the flesh off her thighs, and cut off her ears and made her eat them. The woman that had been so barbarously treated was a hard-working woman, who’s performance had by all accounts been exemplary.

This is not to say the Vacationer women’s performance was never an issue. Indeed, their sour attitude was repeatedly cited as a source of consternation to the Penists. It seems that propriety of demeanor was not uniformly among the virtues of the female Vacationers.⁸ Many have observed that if these women had possessed—even to the slightest degree—any portion of delicacy, or set any real value on decorum, then indeed they should be entitled to the highest compassion, and indignation would be roused at the bare relation of the atrocities committed against them.⁹ But in many cases, the women yielded willingly to the lawless desires of the Penists, indeed their males even encouraged the nefarious traffic. Therefore, if there were quarrels, and if murders were perpetrated, they were caused as much by the depraved tastes of the Vacationers, as by the moral turpitude of the Penists.¹⁰

But grievances of this nature were so numerous and common that any further comment than has already been made would be useless.¹¹

Franklin was again and again required to request that all Penists abstain from acts of violence against the Vacationers.¹² Nevertheless, not one single individual was ever brought to justice for offenses committed against these benighted beings.¹³

Chapter 16 tomorrow, same time, same place.

Repeated cases were known of brutal stock-keepers and shepherds emasculating the males. James Bonwick, The Last of the Tasmanians; or, the Black War of Van Diemen’s Land 1870 ↩
Unanimous testimony permits no doubt that they experienced the severity, which men of low intellect, and of fierce and capricious passions, inflict on women of an inferior race. John West, The History of Tasmania Volume 2, 1852 ↩
If perchance a woman was decoyed to the shepherd’s hut, no gentleness of usage was employed to win her regard, and secure her stay; threatening language, the lash, and the chain were the harsher expedients of his savage love. James Bonwick, The Last of the Tasmanians; or, the Black War of Van Diemen’s Land 1870 ↩
The Bushranger Dunn carried off Native women to his lair, and cruelly abused them. James Bonwick, The Last of the Tasmanians; or, the Black War of Van Diemen’s Land 1870 ↩
The custom of the sealers in the straits was that every man should have from two to five of these native women for their own use and benefit, and to select any of them they thought proper to cohabit with as their wives; and a large number of children had been born in consequence of these unions—a fine active hardy race. James Kelly, 1816, attributed by Henry Roth, Aborigines of Tasmania 1899 ↩
He kept the poor creature chained up like a wild beast, and, whenever he wanted her to do anything, applied a burning stick, a firebrand snatched from the hearth, to her skin. Captain Stokes, attributed by James Bonwick, The Last of the Tasmanians; or, the Black War of Van Diemen’s Land 1870 ↩
We hear of another who, having caught an unhappy girl, sought to relieve her fears, or subdue her sulks, as it was termed, by first giving her a morning’s flogging with a bullock-whip, and then fastening her to a tree near his hut until her returned in the evening. Henry Roth, Aborigines of Tasmania 1899 ↩
Propriety of demeanour was not uniformly amongst the virtues of the female savage, and very simple acts of good nature propitiated and secured the connivance of, at least, some of the other sex. J E Caler, Some Account of the Wars, Extirpation, Habits, &c., of the Native Tribes of Tasmania 1875 ↩
Did the black women of this island possess, in the slightest degree, any portion of that delicacy of sentiment which ought to be the distinguishing ornament of the sex—did they know how to set a true value on chastity—and had the aboriginal men not shared in the wages of iniquity earned by their women, then indeed would they be entitled to our highest compassion, and our indignation would be roused at the bare relation of the atrocities which we know to have been committed against them. Gilbert Robertson, Hobart Town Press 1831 ↩
But the women have yielded willingly to the lawless desires of white men, the males have encourage the nefarious traffic, and if, in such a commerce, quarrels have happened and murders been perpetrated, we may trace these as much to the depraved taste of the aboriginal as to the moral turpitude of the Whites. Gilbert Robertson, Hobart Town Press 1831 ↩
That the stockkeepers had chained the females to their huts with bullock chains for the purpose of fornication. These grievances have become so numerous and common that any further comment on them than has already been made upon similar occasions would be useless. George Augustus Robinson, 14 December 1829 ↩
His Excellency earnestly requests that all settlers and others will strictly enjoin their servants cautiously to abstain from acts of aggression against these beneighted beings, and that they will themselves personally endeavour to conciliate them wherever it may be practicable: and whenever the Aborigines appear without evincing a hostile feeling, that no attempt shall be made either to capture or restrain them; but, on the contrary, after being fed and kindly treated, that they shall be suffered to depart whenever they desire it. George Arthur, Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land, Government Order of August 19, 1930 ↩
Not one single individual was ever brought to a court of justice for offences committed against these harmless creatures. Henry Melville, History of the island of Van Diemen’s Land 1836 ↩

15

Footnotes