HOW FOOD IS CAUGHT AND COOKED
In very few parts of wild Australia can the black people count on a
regular supply of food. Sometimes there is no rain for months, and
consequently the grass disappears, water dries up, and many of the
animals die. In these times of drought the conditions of the people are
pitiable indeed.
The chief articles of diet besides seeds and roots are fish of various
kinds--kangaroo, emu, lizards, snake, wild turkey or bustard, parrots
and cockatoos, insects and grubs. Vermin, too, are sometimes eaten, and
clay is occasionally indulged in as dessert.
There are many ways of catching fish. The commonest method is by means
of a spear. A native boy may often be seen standing on a rock in the
middle of a pool, or by the water's edge, with a spear in his hand, his
eyes intently fixed upon the water. As soon as a fish comes near down
goes the spear and it is seldom that he fails to land his prey. In some
parts rough canoes of bark are made and the fishing will be done from
these. Sometimes the fish are poisoned by pouring the juices from some
poison plant into the water but this method is not very often employed.
Their method of catching crayfish is not one that you and I would care
to employ. They will walk about in the water and allow the fish to
fasten on their toes, but so extraordinarily quick are they that they
will stoop down and crush the creature's claws with their own fingers
before it has had time to nip.
Even more varied than their ways of fishing are their methods of
catching birds. A black boy may sometimes be seen stretched naked and
motionless on a bare rock with a piece of fish in his fingers. When a
bird comes to sample the fish he will with his disengaged hand, catch it
by the leg. Parrots and cockatoos are often caught by means of the
boomerang, but the native will sometimes employ quite another method. He
will get into a tree at night, tie himself to a branch, and take with
him a big stick. As the birds fly past him he will lash out with his
stick and bring large numbers of them to the ground. Emus are far too
powerful to be caught in any of these ways. They are usually taken in
nets as they come in the early morning to water. A number of natives
will hide themselves in bushes or behind rocks and when the emus have
gathered at the water-hole will steal out almost noiselessly (for emus
are very timid birds and easily startled) and stretch large nets on
three sides of a square behind them. The birds on returning from the
pool walk straight into the nets and are easily speared.
Kangaroos are sometimes captured in the same way, but more frequently
they are killed with spears. A native has been known to walk very many
miles stalking a kangaroo. A case is even on record where a man spent
three days in capturing one. When the kangaroo ran he ran, when it stood
he stood, when it slept he slept, and so on till at last he was enabled
to creep up sufficiently closely to dispatch it with his spear.
The way in which his food is cooked when he has caught it depends upon
how hungry the aboriginal is. If he is very hungry indeed he may pull it
to pieces with his teeth and his fingers there and then and eat it raw.
If not quite so hungry but still impatient for his meal, the fish, or
whatever it is, will be thrown upon the fire and eaten as soon as it is
warmed through. The most elaborate way of all is to wrap the fish in a
piece of paper bark with a few aromatic leaves, tie the ends carefully
with native twine, and allow it to cook slowly underneath the camp
fire. A fish cooked in this way is most delicate and tasty, and would
probably tempt the palate of a white man as much as it does the blacks.
[Illustration: LEARNING TO USE THE BOOMERANG]
The natives always roast their food. They never touch anything boiled.
But not even an aboriginal can cook his dinner unless he has first made
a fire. There is nothing of the nature of matches among this people.
When they want to make a fire they will take a piece of soft wood, place
it on the ground and hold it in position with their feet. Another stick
is then taken, pressed down upon the first piece, and made to rotate
quickly upon it. Perhaps a few very dry leaves are placed near the place
where one stick touches the other and as soon as the friction has caused
the light dust to smoulder a gentle blow with the breath will cause the
leaves to burst into flame. At other times two shields or kylies will be
rubbed together until the dust catches fire. As these are rather
wearisome methods of kindling flame, a fire once lighted is seldom
allowed to go out. When camp is moved the women may be seen carrying
pieces of smouldering charcoal in their hands. The movement through the
air causes these to keep alight, and as soon as the new camping ground
is reached all that needs to be done is to place them on the ground,
pile a few dry leaves and sticks over them, and in a very few seconds a
cheerful fire is blazing merrily. So expert are the women in keeping
these fire-sticks alight that a party of them will travel all day
without allowing a single one to go out.