WEAPONS, ETC., WHICH CHILDREN LEARN TO MAKE AND USE
The people of wild Australia are still in what is called "the stone
age," which means that all their tools and weapons are made of wood or
stone. Those on the sheep stations and near the towns are, however,
learning to use tin and iron, but it is not natural for them to do so.
The first tool they learn to use is a little digging stick. Almost as
soon as they are able to run alone one of these little instruments will
be put into their hands and they will be shown how to use it. With these
they learn very quickly how to dig for grubs and edible roots, and as
they get a little older they may be seen making little "humpies" of
sand. But the most wonderful of all their weapons is the boomerang. No
other people in the world is known to use it though some have thought
that it was once in use among the very ancient Egyptians. There is a
very interesting theory as to the origin of the boomerang. Some
children, it is said, were playing one day with the leaf of a white gum
tree. As the leaves of this tree fall to the ground they go round and
round, and if thrown forward with a quick jerk they make a curve and
come back. An old man was watching them playing, and to please them he
made a model of the leaf in wood. This was improved upon from time to
time until it developed into the boomerang.
Boomerangs are of two kinds--_war-boomerangs_ and _toy-boomerangs_ or
_boomerangs proper_. The first kind are rather larger and usually less
curved than the others, but do not return when thrown. They are often
about thirty inches long and have a sharp cutting edge. They are made
entirely of wood, the branches of the iron-bark or she-oak tree being
preferred. The necessary cutting and shaping has to be done entirely
with sharp flints or diorite, the only tools except stone axes, which
the natives in their wild state employ. They naturally take a very long
time to make, but, when made, are very deadly weapons. They can be
thrown as far as a hundred and fifty yards, and even at that distance
will inflict a very severe wound. When thrown from a distance of sixty
yards they have been known to pass almost through a man's body.
Boomerangs proper are usually about twenty-four inches long, but there
are seldom two of exactly the same size and pattern. They are rather
more curved on the under than on the upper side. A man or boy who wants
to throw one of them first examines it very carefully and then takes
equally careful notice of the direction of the wind. He then throws it
straight forward giving it a very sharp twist as he throws. At first it
will keep fairly close to the ground, then after it has gone a certain
distance it will turn over and at the same time rise in the air.
Completing its outward flight, and perhaps hitting the object at which
it was aimed, it turns over again and comes back to within a few feet of
the man who threw it. Boys may often be seen practising for hours at a
time with their little toy boomerangs, and by the time they are men many
of them have become very proficient in throwing them.
A skilful thrower can do almost anything he likes with his boomerang. A
native has been seen to knock a stone off the top of a post fifty yards
away, but very few of them are quite as clever as this. None the less it
would be rather dangerous for an unwary spectator to watch a party of
native men and boys throwing their boomerangs. An enemy or a hunted
animal hiding behind a tree would be quite safe from a spear or bullet
but could easily be taken in the rear and seriously injured by one of
these extraordinary weapons when thrown by a skilful thrower. Kangaroos
and emus find it almost impossible to avoid them whilst they work the
most amazing havoc among a number of ducks or cockatoos just rising from
water, or even among a flock of parrots on the wing. Many a supper has
an aboriginal boy brought home with the aid of his trusty boomerang.
In Western Australia most of the aboriginals use a smaller and lighter
boomerang than those in use in the other parts of the continent. This is
called a _kylie_ or _kaila_, and is very leaf-like. It will also fly
further than the heavier weapon.
Next to the boomerang or kylie the weapons in most frequent use are
_spears_. These, too, are very remarkable and vary much in length and
character. Some are quite small and can be used without difficulty by a
child. Some are as much as fifteen feet long. The simplest form of spear
is no more than a pointed stick, but the wild blacks seldom content
themselves with these. Often a groove is cut in one or both sides of the
spear, and pieces of flint are inserted in the groove and fastened with
native gum. More frequently deep barbs are cut at the sides and these
will inflict a very ugly and painful wound, especially when, as is often
the case, they have been previously dipped in the juice of some poison
plant. The most elaborate spears are those with stone heads. These
heads are often beautifully made and are securely fastened to the spear
with twine or gum. Where there are white men glass is often used
instead, the glass being chipped into shape in a perfectly wonderful way
with tools of flint. The patience displayed in their manufacture is
admirable indeed. When the telegraph line was first erected in wild
Australia the natives caused endless trouble to the Government by
knocking off the glass or porcelain insulators and using them for spear
heads.
Spears are sometimes thrown with the hand, but perhaps more frequently
by means of a special instrument called a _meero_ or _wommera_. This is
a flat piece of wood about twenty-four inches long, with a tooth made of
very hard white wood fastened to its head in such a way that when the
wommerah is handled the tooth is towards the man who is holding it. This
tooth fits into a hole at the end of the spear. Spears thrown with the
wommerah will travel further and with much greater force than those
thrown with the hand.
As a protection against an enemy's spear the aborigines usually provide
themselves with a wooden shield or _woonda_. These are usually about
thirty-three inches long and six inches wide and have a handle cut in
the back. They are cut out of one solid block; and have grooved ridges
on the front. The hollow parts between the ridges are frequently painted
white with a kind of pipe-clay and the ridges are stained red. Why they
are marked in this way and why the grooves are cut at all no one seems
to know. The native men are extraordinarily quick in the use of these
shields, and will sometimes ward off with their aid a very large number
of spears thrown at them in rapid succession. It is very important that
boys should become proficient in making and using all these things as in
after days their food-supply and even their lives may depend upon their
proficiency.
While the men and boys are hard at work making these different
implements the women and girls very likely busy themselves manufacturing
bags and baskets. The baskets are made of thin twigs and the bags with
string spun from the fibre of a coarse grass called spinifex, or perhaps
from animal fur. In them they contrive to carry all their worldly goods
as they travel from camp to camp, and occasionally baby also is safely
stowed away in the same receptacle.