[Note 52: Upon collisions of this character, Lord John Russell remarks in

his despatch, 21st December, 1839, to Sir G. Gipps: "In the case now

before me the object of capturing offenders was entirely lost sight of,

and shots were fired at men who were apparently only guilty of jumping

into the water to escape from an armed pursuit. I am, however, happy to

acknowledge that you appear to have made every practicable exertion for

the prevention of similar calamities in future, and I approve the

measures adopted by you for that purpose. You cannot overrate the

solicitude of Her Majesty's Government on the subject of the Aborigines

of New Holland. It is impossible to contemplate the condition and the

prospects of that unfortunate race without the deepest commiseration. I

am well aware of the many difficulties which oppose themselves to the

effectual protection of these people, and especially of those which must

originate from the exasperation of the settlers, on account of

aggressions on their property, which are not the less irritating, because

they are nothing else than the natural results of the pernicious examples

held out to the Aborigines, and of the many wrongs of which they have

been the victims. Still it is impossible that the Government should

forget that the original aggression was our own; and that we have never

yet performed the sacred duty of making any systematic or considerable

attempt to impart to the former occupiers of New South Wales, the

blessings of Christianity, or the knowledge of the arts and advantages of

civilized life."]

Several very lamentable instances of this kind, have occurred in Port

Lincoln. The following is one among others. Soon after the murder of

Messrs. Biddle and Brown, a party of soldiers was sent over to try and

capture the aggressors. In one of their attempts a native guide was

procured from the Eastern tribe, who promised to conduct them to where

the murderers were. The party consisting of the military and their

officer, the police, a settler, and the missionary, in all twelve or

fourteen persons, set off towards Coffin's Bay, following as they

supposed upon the track of the murders. Upon reaching the coast some

natives were seen fishing in the water, and the party was at once spread

out in a kind of semicircle, among the scrub, to close upon and capture

them; the officer, missionary, and guide, being stationed near the

centre. As the party advanced nearer, the guide saw that he was mistaken

in the group before him, and that they were not the guilty parties, but

friends. The officer called out not to fire, but unfortunately from the

distance the men were at, and the scrubby nature of the country, he was

not heard or attended to. A shot was fired, one of the natives sprung up

convulsively in the water, walked on shore and fell down, exclaiming

whilst dying, "me Kopler, me good man," and such indeed it proved. He was

one of a friendly tribe, and a particular protege of the missionary's,

having taken the name of Kopler from his German servant who was so

called.

The other natives at once came forward to their dying friend, scornfully

motioning away his murderers, fearless alike of the foes around them, and

regardless of their ill-timed attempts to explain the fatal mistake. Will

it be credited, that at such a scene as this the soldiers were indulging

in coarse remarks, or brutal jests, upon the melancholy catastrophe; and

comparing the last convulsive spring of the dying man to a salmon leaping

in the water. Yet this I was assured was the case by the Government

Resident at Port Lincoln, from when I received this account.

Another melancholy and unfortunate case of the same nature occurred at

Port Lincoln, on the 11th of April, 1844, where a native was shot by a

policeman, for attempting to escape from custody, when taken in charge on

suspicion of being implicated in robbing a stranded vessel. An

investigation was made into this case by the Commissioner of Police, when

it was stated in the depositions, that attempts at rescue were made by

the other natives. Upon these grounds, I believe, it was considered that

the policeman was justified in what he did.

The following extract relating to this subject, is from a letter

addressed to a gentleman in Adelaide, by the Rev. C. Schurmann, one of

the German Missionaries, who has for some years past been stationed among

the Port Lincoln natives, and is intimately acquainted with their

language.

[Note 53: Without adopting the tone of this letter, and which in some

respects I cannot approve of, I believe the writer to be deeply interested

in the welfare of the Aborigines, and strongly impressed with a conviction

of the evils and injuries to which they are subject from our anomalous

position with regard to them. I have quoted it, therefore, not for the

purpose of casting imputations on the Government, but to shew how

powerless they are, and how frequently, under the existing system in

force with respect to the Aborigines, those very measures which were

conceived and entered upon with the best intentions, produce in their

result the most unmitigated evils.]

"You will probably recollect, that some time ago (I think it was in the

month of May) the Adelaide newspapers contained a short notice of a Port

Lincoln native having been shot by the police in self-defence, and a

letter in the 'Observer,' mentioned another as being shot by Mr.----, but

as the charitable correspondent added, 'Unfortunately only in the arm,

instead of through the body.' From these statements one would infer that

the parties concerned in these transactions were without blame, being

perfectly justified--the one to protect his life, and the other his

property. However, since my return to Port Lincoln, I have learned that

both tales run very differently when told according to truth. I address

myself, therefore, to you, with the true facts of the transactions, as I

have learned them. partly from the settlers themselves, partly from the

natives. My motive for so doing is to case my own mind, and to gratify

the interest which I know you take in the Aborigines of this country.

"The man shot by the police was named Padlalta, and was of so mild and

inoffensive a disposition, that he was generally noticed by the settlers

on that very account, several of whom I have heard say since, it was a

pity that some other native had not been hit in his stead. The same man

was captured last year by Major O'llalloran's party, but was set at

liberty as soon as I came up and testified his innocence, for which the

poor fellow kissed my hand near a dozen times.

"The day before he met his death he was as usual in the town, doing

little jobs for the inhabitants, to get bread or other food. On the

evening when he was killed, he had encamped with about half a dozen other

natives on the northern side of Happy Valley, a short mile from the town.

The police who were sent by the Government Resident to see what number of

natives were at the camp state, that while searching the man's wallet, he

seized hold of one gun, and when the other policeman came up to wrest it

from him, he the native grasped the other gun too. In the scuffle that

ensued, one of the guns went off, when the other natives who had fled

returned and presented their spears. They then shot the native who held

the gun.

"Now this statement is a very strange one, when it is considered that the

native was a very spare and weak man, so that either of the police ought

to have been able to keep him at arm's length; but to say that he seized

both their guns is beyond all credibility. The natives were sitting down

when the police arrived. How they could therefore find a wallet upon the

murdered man, I cannot conceive; since the natives never have their

wallets slung, except when moving; and it certainly is not probable, that

the man, in spite of the fright he is admitted to have been in, should

have thought of taking up his wallet.

"The wallet is said to have contained some sovereigns, taken from the

cutter Kate, which was wrecked some time previous to this affair, about

forty miles up the coast, and to have been one of those marked by the

police, at a native camp near the wreck from which the natives had been

scared away, leaving all their things behind. But if the murdered native

had taken the sovereigns, why were they not then in his wallet, or why

was the wallet not examined the day before when he was in town?

[Note 54 at end of para.] I think that there is little doubt that the

police found no wallet at all upon the native, and that they coined away

one of those found at the camp upon him, with a view to incriminate him."

[Note 54: There cannot be a greater act of injustice towards the natives

than that of applying the English law to them with respect to stolen

property. Any one who knows any thing of their habits, and the custom

prevalent amongst them, of giving any European clothing, or other articles

they may acquire, from one to another, must be fully aware how little the

fact of their being found in possession of stolen property is just

evidence against them. Articles such as I have mentioned, often pass, in a

very short time, through the hands of three or four individuals, and

perhaps even through as many tribes.]

"Another native, Charley, who was present when the said affair took

place, tells me, that the police sneaked upon, and fired at them, while

sitting round the fire; [Note 55 at end of para.] that he jumped up, and

endeavoured to make himself known, as a friendly native, by saying,

"Yarri (that is the name the natives have given to one of the police),

Yarri, I Charley, I Charley,"--but that the effect produced had been the

pointing of a gun at him, when of course he ran away. That any of the

natives returned, and poised their spears, he firmly denies; but accounts

for the murder, by supposing that the dead man made resistance, and

offered to spear his assailants. He moreover says, that Padlalta would not

have died in consequence of the first shot, but that the police fired

repeatedly, which agrees with the settlers, who say they heard three

shots. When the bloody deed had been committed (a ball had passed right

through his body), the cruel perpetrators ran home, leaving the murdered

man helpless."

[Note 55: There must, I think, be some mistake here in the phrascology.

I cannot think any of the police would fire upon a small party of friendly

natives whilst unresisting. The probability is, that they surrounded the

natives to make prisoners, and fired upon being resisted. This must

generally occur if the police have positive orders to make captures.

Natives, not very much in contact with Europeans, will almost always

resist an attempt to make prisoners of them, or will try to escape. Very

many have, at various times, met their death under such circumstances;

and too often it has occurred, that the innocent have been the suffering

parties. This shews the absurdity of applying European customs and laws

to a people situated as the Australian natives are. It shews, too, the

necessity of altering our present system and policy towards them, to one

that will exercise sufficient influence over them to induce them to give

up offenders themselves. I believe such a system may be devised.--Vide

Chapter IX.]

"Some time after, a party of three settlers went to the spot, one of whom

he recognized, and claimed his acquaintance, and perhaps assistance, by

mentioning the party's Christian name; but, alas! no good Samaritan was

found amongst these three; they all passed by on the other side, without

alleviating his pain, moistening his parched lips, warming his shivering

limbs, or aiding him in any way whatever. There he lay a whole cold and

long winter night, without a fire to warm him, or a soul to talk to him.

Next morning he was found still alive, but died on the way into town,

where he was buried in the jail yard, like a condemned felon.

"What awful and melancholy reflections crowd upon one's mind in thinking

on this transaction. But what conclusians must a poor people, whom a

Christian and civilized nation calls savages, arrive at, with such facts

before them.

"The other native, wounded by Mr.--in the arm, was doubtless of the party

who attacked the flock; but it must have been some hours after that he

was shot, for the shepherd had to come home with the flock to inform him

of the occurrence, and then search and pursuit had to be made, during

which he was overtaken. He is a stupid idiotic sort of man, so that the

natives have not deemed him worthy of receiving the honours of their

ceremonies, and still call him a boy, or youth, although he is an oldish

man.

"On another occasion, when an uninhabited hut, with some wheat in it, had

been broken into by some unknown natives, a party went in search of the

offenders. It was night when they came on a camp, on the opposite side of

the lake to where the hut stands; the natives, acting upon the first

impulse, and warned by frequent examples, ran away, when two of the party

snapped their pieces, but providentially both guns missed fire. The

natives, however, soon took confidence, and returned, when it was found

that two of the most orderly and useful men would have been shot if the

guns had gone off. The party took upon themselves to make one of them

prisoner, but of course did not venture to bring him before the

magistrate.

"These facts incontestably prove, that, notwithstanding the Aborigines

are called British subjects, and in spite of the so-called protection

system, there is no shadow of protection for them, while they are

debarred from the first and most important of all liberties, namely, that

of being heard in a Court of civil Justice.

"Several instances have occurred during my residence in this district, in

which natives have been arraigned before the administrators of the law,

although I was morally convinced of their innocence; in other cases, they

have sought redress through me, for wanton attacks on their person and

lives, without being listened to.

"Only a few weeks ago a native was very nearly being taken up, on the

charge of having thrown a spear at Mr. Smith's shepherd, without,

however, any felonious intent, the distance being too great. This

circumstance saved the man, or else he would, no doubt, have been tried

and found guilty on the shepherd's evidence, who would not allow that he

could be mistaken in the individual, although the accused native came

boldly into town and court (a circumstance that has never before occurred

since I have known these natives), although he was an intimate friend of

the shepherd and his wife; and although all the other natives could prove

where he had been at the time of the attack on the flock, and state who

were the guilty parties.

"For those who have had an opportunity of observing the Aborigines in

their original state, it is not very difficult to distinguish the guilty

from the innocent, for they are a simple-minded race, little skilled in

the arts of dissimulation.

"It is bad enough that a great part of the colonists are inimical to the

natives; it is worse that the law, as it stands at present, does not

extend its protection to them; but it is too bad when the press lends its

influence to their destruction. Such, however, is undoubtedly the case.

When Messrs. Biddle and Brown were murdered, the newspapers entertained

their readers week after week with the details of the bloody massacre,

heaping a profusion of vile epithets upon the perpetrators. But of the

slaughter by the soldiers, (who killed no less than four innocent

natives, while they captured not one guilty party), among the tribes who

had had nothing to do with the murders--of the treachery of attacking in

the darkness of the night, a tribe who had the day before been hunting

kangaroo with their informers, when one of the former guides to the

magistrates' pursuing party was killed amongst others; of the wanton

outrage on the mutilated body of one of the victims;--of these things the

press was as silent as the grave."

Without attempting to enlarge more fully upon the subjects entered upon

in the preceding pages, I trust that I have sufficiently shewn that the

character of the Australian natives has been greatly misrepresented and

maligned, that they are not naturally more irreclaimably vicious,

revengeful, or treacherous than other nations, but on the contrary, that

their position with regard to Europeans, places them under so many

disadvantages, subjects them to so many injuries, irritates them with so

many annoyances, and tempts them with so many provocations, that it is a

matter of surprise, not that they sometimes are guilty of crime, but that

they commit it so rarely.

If I have in the least degree succeeded in establishing that such is the

case, it must be evident that it is incumbent upon us not only to make

allowances when pronouncing an opinion on the character or the crimes of

the Aborigines; but what is of far greater and more vital importance, as

far as they are concerned, to endeavour to revise and improve such parts

of our system and policy towards them as are defective, and by better

adapting these to the peculiar circumstances of this people, at once

place them upon juster and more equal terms, and thus excite a reasonable

hope that some eventual amelioration may be produced, both in their moral

and physical condition.

[Note 56: "We say distinctly and deliberately that nothing comparatively

has yet been done--that the natives have hitherto acquired nothing of

European civilization, but European vices and diseases, and that the

speedy extinction of the whole race is inevitable, save by the

introduction of means for their civilization on a scale much more

comprehensive and effectual than any yet adopted."--Leading Article in

South Australian Register, 1st August, 1840.]

I shall now proceed to give an account of the appearance, habits, mode of

life, means of subsistance, social relations, government, ceremonies,

superstitions, numbers, languages, etc. etc. of the natives of Australia,

so as to afford some insight into the character and circumstances of this

peculiar race, to exhibit the means hitherto adopted for, and the

progress made in attempting, their civilization, and to shew the effects

produced upon them by a contact with Europeans.

Chapter II.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE--DRESS--CHARACTER--HABITS OF LIFE--MEETINGS OF

TRIBES--WARS--DANCES--SONGS.

The Aborigines of Australia, with whom Europeans have come in contact,

present a striking similarity to each other in physical appearance and

structure; and also in their general character, habits, and pursuits. Any

difference that is found to exist is only the consequence of local

circumstances or influences, and such as might naturally be expected to

be met with among a people spread over such an immense extent of country.

Compared with other aboriginal races, scattered over the face of the

globe, the New Hollander appears to stand alone.

The male is well built and muscular, averaging from five to six feet in

height, with proportionate upper and lower extremities. The anterior

lobes of the brain are fairly developed, so as to give a facial angle,

far from being one of the most acute to be found amongst the black races.

The eyes are sunk, the nose is flattened, and the mouth wide. The lips

are rather thick, and the teeth generally very perfect and beautiful,

though the dental arrangement is sometimes singular, as no difference

exists in many between the incisor and canine teeth. The neck is short,

and sometimes thick, and the heel resembles that of Europeans. The ankles

and wrists are frequently small, as are also the hands and feet. The

latter are well formed and expanded, but the calves of the legs are

generally deficient. Some of the natives in the upper districts of the

Murray, are, however, well formed in this respect. In a few instances,

natives attain to a considerable corpulency. The men have fine broad and

deep chests, indicating great bodily strength, and are remarkably erect

and upright in their carriage, with much natural grace and dignity of

demeanour. The eye is generally large, black, and expressive, with the

eye-lashes long.

When met with for the first time in his native wilds there is frequently

a fearless intrepidity of manner, an ingenuous openness of look, and a

propriety of behaviour about the aboriginal inhabitant of Australia,

which makes his appearance peculiarly prepossessing.

In the female the average height is about five feet, or perhaps a little

under. The anterior part of the brain is more limited than in the male;

the apex of the head is carried further back; the facial angle is more

acute; and the extremities are more attenuated. The latter circumstance

may probably be accounted for from the fact, that the females have to

endure, from a very early age, a great degree of hardship, privation, and

ill-treatment. Like most other savages the Australian looks upon his wife

as a slave. To her belongs the duty of collecting and preparing the daily

food, of making the camp or hut for the night, of gathering and bringing

in firewood, and of procuring water. She must also attend to the

children; and in travelling carry all the moveable property and

frequently the weapons of her husband. In wet weather she attends to all

the outside work, whilst her lord and master is snugly seated at the

fire. If there is a scarcity of food she has to endure the pangs of

hunger, often, perhaps, in addition to ill-treatment or abuse. No wonder,

then, that the females, and especially the younger ones, (for it is then

they are exposed to the greatest hardships,) are not so fully or so

roundly developed in person as the men. Yet under all these disadvantages

this deficiency does not always exist. Occasionally, though rarely, I

have met with females in the bloom of youth, whose well-proportioned

limbs and symmetry of figure might have formed a model for the sculptor's

chisel. In personal appearance the females are, except in early youth,

very far inferior to the men. When young, however, they are not

uninteresting. The jet-black eyes, shaded by their long, dark lashes, and

the delicate and scarcely-formed features of incipient womanhood give a

soft and pleasing expression to a countenance that might often be called

good-looking--occasionally even pretty.

The colour of the skin, both in the male and female, is generally black,

or very darkly tinged. The hair is either straight or curly, but never

approaching to the woolliness of the negro. It is usually worn short by

both sexes, and is variously ornamented at different periods of life.

Sometimes it is smeared with red ochre and grease; at other times adorned

with tufts of feathers, the tail of the native dog, kangaroo teeth, and

bandages or nets of different kinds.

[Note 57: The same fondness for red paint, ornaments of skins, tufts of

feathers, etc., is noticed by Catlin as prevalent among the American

Indians, and by Dieffenbach as existing among the New Zealanders.]

When the head of the native is washed clean, and purified from the odour

of the filthy pigment with which it is bedaubed, the crop of hair is very

abundant, and the appearance of it beautiful, being a silken, glossy, and

curly black. Great pains are, however, used to destroy or mar this

striking ornament of nature.

Without the slightest pride of appearance, so far as neatness or

cleanliness is concerned, the natives are yet very vain of their own rude

decorations, which are all worn for EFFECT. A few feathers or teeth, a

belt or band, a necklace made of the hollow stem of some plant, with a

few coarse daubs of red or white paint, and a smearing of grease,

complete the toilette of the boudoir or the ball-room. Like the scenery

of a panorama, they are then seen to most advantage at a distance; for if

approached too closely, they forcibly remind us of the truth of the

expression of the poet, that "nature unadorned is adorned the most."

The body dress is simple; consisting of the skins of the opossum, the

kangaroo, or the wallabie, when they can be procured. A single garment

only is used, made in the form of an oblong cloak, or coverlet; by the

skins being stretched out and dried in the sun, and then sewn together

with the sinews of the emu, etc. The size of the cloak varies according to

the industry of the maker, or the season of the year. The largest sized

ones are about six feet square, but the natives frequently content

themselves with one not half this size, and in many cases are without it

altogether. The cloak is worn with the fur side outwards, and is thrown

over the back and left shoulder, and pinned on in front with a little

wooden peg; the open part is opposite the right side, so as to leave the

right arm and shoulder quite unconfined, in the male; the female throws

it over the back and left shoulder, and brings it round under the right

arm-pit, and when tied in front by a string passing round the cloak and

the back, a pouch is formed behind, in which the child is always

carried. [Note 58 at end of para.] In either if the skin be a handsome

one, the dress is very pretty and becoming.

[Note 58: A similar custom prevails among the women of the American

Indians.--CATLIN. vol. ii. p. 132.]

On the sea coast, where the country is barren, and the skins of animals

cannot readily be procured, sea-weed or rushes are manufactured into

garments, with considerable ingenuity. In all cases the garments worn by

day constitute the only covering at night, as the luxury of variety in

dress is not known to, or appreciated by, the Aborigines.

No covering is worn upon the head, although they are continually exposed

to the rays of an almost tropical sun. In extreme seasons of heat, and

'when they are travelling, they sometimes gather a few green bunches or

wet weeds and place upon their heads; but this does not frequently occur.

The character of the Australian natives is frank, open, and confiding. In

a short intercourse they are easily made friends, and when such terms are

once established, they associate with strangers with a freedom and

fearlessness, that would give little countenance to the impression so

generally entertained of their treachery. On many occasions where I have

met these wanderers in the wild, far removed from the abodes of

civilization, and when I have been accompanied only by a single native

boy, I have been received by them in the kindest and most friendly

manner, had presents made to me of fish, kangaroo, or fruit, had them

accompany me for miles to point out where water was to be procured, and

been assisted by them in getting at it, if from the nature of the soil

and my own inexperience. I had any difficulty in doing so myself.

I have ever found them of a lively, cheerful disposition [Note 59 at end

of para.], patiently putting up with inconveniences and privations, and

never losing that natural good temper which so strongly characterizes

them. On the occasion of my second visit from Moorunde, to the Rufus

natives in 1841, when I had so far overcome the ill-feelings and dread,

engendered by the transactions in that quarter, in 1840, as to induce

a large body of them to accompany me back to the station, they had to

walk a distance of 150 miles, making daily the same stages that the

horses did, and unprovided with any food but what they could procure

along the road as they passed, and this from the rapidity with which

they had to travel, and the distance they had to go in a day, was

necessarily limited in quantity, and very far from sufficient to

appease even the cravings of hunger, yet tired, foot-sore, and hungry

as they were, and in company with strangers, whose countrymen had slain

them in scores, but a few months before, they were always merry at

their camps at nights, and kept singing, laughing, and joking, to a

late hour.

[Note 59: Such appears usually to be the characteristic of Nature's

children, than whom no race appears more thoroughly to enjoy life.--Vide

character of the American Indians, by Catlin, vol. 1. p. 84.]

On falling in with them in larger numbers, when I have been travelling in

the interior with my party, I have still found the same disposition to

meet me on terms of amity and kindness. Nor can a more interesting sight

well be imagined, than that of a hundred or two hundred natives advancing

in line to meet you, unarmed, shouting and waving green boughs in both

hands, men, women, and children, the old and the young, all joining in

expressing their good feelings and pacific intentions. On such occasions

I have been often astonished at the facility with which large bodies,

have by a little kindness and forbearance been managed, and kept from

being troublesome or annoying, by a party of only six or seven Europeans.

I have occasionally had upwards of 150 natives sitting in a long line,

where I placed them, and as orderly and obedient almost as a file of

soldiers.

At other times, when riding with only a native boy over the plains of the

interior, I have seen the blue smoke of the native fires, curling up

through the distant line of trees, which marked some yet unvisited

watercourse, and upon making towards it, have come suddenly upon a party

encamped in the hollow, beneath the banks upon which I stood. Here I have

remained, observing them for a few moments, unseen and unthought of. A

single call would arouse their attention, and as they looked up, would

draw from them a wild exclamation of dismay, accompanied by a look of

indescribable horror and affright, at beholding the strange, and to them

incomprehensible beings who stood before them. Weapons would hastily be

seized, baggage gathered up, and the party so lately buried in repose and

security, would at once be ready either to fight or to evacuate their

camps, as circumstances might seem to render most expedient. A few

friendly gestures and a peaceable demeanour would however soon dissipate

their terror, and in a few moments their weapons would be thrown aside,

and both invaders and invaded be upon intimate and confiding terms.

I have always found the natives ready to barter their nets, weapons, or

other implements, for European articles, and sometimes they will give

them unsolicited, and without any equivalent; amongst themselves they

constantly do this.

In their intercourse with each other, natives of different tribes are

exceedingly punctilious and polite, the most endearing epithets are

passed between those who never met before; almost every thing that is

said is prefaced by the appellation of father, son, brother, mother,

sister, or some other similar term, corresponding to that degree of

relationship which would have been most in accordance with their relative

ages and circumstances. In many instances, too, these titles are even

accompanied by the still more insinuating addition of "dear," to say

nothing of the hugs and embraces which they mutually give and receive.

The natives are very fond of the children they rear, and often play with,

and fondle them; but husbands rarely shew much affection for their wives.

After a long absence, I have seen natives, upon their return, go to their

camp, exhibiting the most stoical indifference, never take the least

notice of their wives, but sit down, and act, and look, as if they had

never been out of the encampment; in fact, if any thing, they are more

taciturn and reserved than usual, and some little time elapses before

they enter into conversation with freedom, or in their ordinary manner.

[Note 60: For the existence of similar customs amongst the American

Indians, vide Catlin, vol. i. p. 56.]

Upon meeting children after a long absence, I have seen parents "fall

upon their necks, and weep" bitterly. It is a mistaken idea, as well as

an unjust one, that supposes the natives to be without sensibility of

feeling. It may often be repressed from pride or policy, but it will

sometimes break forth uncontrolled, and reveal, that the best and genuine

feelings of the heart are participated in by savage in common with

civilized man. The following is an instance in point:--A fine intelligent

young boy, was, by his father's consent, living with me at the Murray for

many weeks; but upon the old man's going into Adelaide, he took his son

away to accompany him. Whilst there, the boy died, and for nearly a year

I never saw any thing more of the father, although he occasionally had

been within a few miles of my neighbourhood. One day, however, I was out

shooting about three miles from home, and accidentally fell in with him.

Upon seeing me he immediately burst into tears, and was unable to speak.

It was the first time he had met me since his son's death, and my

presence forcibly reminded him of his loss. The same circumstance

occurred when he accompanied me to the house, where every thing he saw

recalled the memory of his child.

Innate propriety of behaviour is also frequently exhibited by the

Aborigines in their natural state, in the modest unassuming manner in

which they take their positions to observe what is going on, and in a

total absence of any thing that is rude or offensive. It is true that the

reverse of this is also often to be met with; but I think it will usually

be found that it is among natives who have before been in contact with

Europeans, or where familiarities have been used with them first, or an

injudicious system of treatment has been adopted towards them.

DELICACY of feeling is not often laid to the charge of the Aborigines,

and yet I was witness to a singular instance of it at King George's

Sound. I was looking one evening at the natives dancing, and who were, as

they always are on these occasions, in a state of complete nudity. In the

midst of the performance, one of the natives standing by a spectator,

mentioned that a white woman was passing up the road; and although this

was some little distance away, and the night was tolerably dark, they all

with one accord crossed over to the bushes where their cloaks were, put

them on, and resumed their amusement.

It has been said, and is generally believed, that the natives are not

courageous. There could not be a greater mistake, at least as far as they

are themselves concerned, nor do I hold it to be any proof that they are

cowards, because they dread or give way before Europeans and their

fire-arms. So unequal a match is no criterion of bravery, and yet even

thus, among natives, who were labouring under the feelings, naturally

produced by seeing a race they were unacquainted with, and weapons that

dealt death as if by magic, I have seen many instances of an open manly

intrepidity of manner and bearing, and a proud unquailing glance of eye,

which instinctively stamped upon my mind the conviction that the

individuals before me were very brave men.

In travelling about from one place to another, I have always made it a

point, if possible, to be accompanied by one or more natives, and I have

often found great advantage from it. Attached to an exploring party they

are frequently invaluable, as their perceptive powers are very great, and

enable them both to see and hear anything at a much greater distance than

a European. In tracking stray animals, and keeping on indistinct paths,

they display a degree of perseverance and skill that is really wonderful.

They are useful also in cutting bark canoes to cross a river, should such

impede the progress of the party, and in diving for anything that may be

lost in the water, etc. etc. The Aborigines generally, and almost always

those living near large bodies of water, are admirable swimmers and

divers, and are almost as much at home in the water as on dry land. I

have known them even saw a small log or root at the bottom of a deep

river. In a locality, however, which is badly watered, it sometimes

happens that they cannot swim. At Meerkap, in Western Australia, while

crossing with some friends, from the Sound to Swan River, we met with

some who were in this predicament, and who seemed a good deal astonished

at our venturing into the small ponds at that place. I have been told

that the natives at the Sound could not swim before that settlement was

occupied by Europeans--this seems hardly probable, however, upon the

sea-coast; at all events, be this as it may, they all swim now.

In habit they are truly nomadic, seldom remaining many weeks in one

locality, and frequently not many days. The number travelling together

depends, in a great measure, upon the period of the year, and the

description of food that may be in season. If there is any particular

variety more abundant than another, or procurable only in certain

localities, the whole tribe generally congregate to partake of it. Should

this not be the case, then they are probably scattered over their

district in detached groups, or separate families.

At certain seasons of the year, usually in the spring or summer, when

food is most abundant, several tribes meet together in each other's

territory for the purpose of festivity or war, or to barter and exchange

such food, clothing, implements, weapons, or other commodities as they

respectively possess; or to assist in the initiatory ceremonies by which

young persons enter into the different grades of distinction amongst

them. The manner and formalities of meeting depend upon the cause for

which they assemble. If the tribes have been long apart, many deaths may

have occurred in the interim; and as the natives do not often admit that

the young or the strong can die from natural causes, they ascribe the

event to the agency of sorcery, employed by individuals of neighbouring

tribes. This must of course be expiated in some way when they meet, but

the satisfaction required is regulated by the desire of the injured tribe

to preserve amicable relations with the other, or the reverse.

The following is an account of a meeting which I witnessed, between the

natives of Moorunde (comprising portions of several of the neighbouring

tribes) and the Nar-wij-jerook, or Lake Bonney tribe, accompanied also by

many of their friends. This meeting had been pre-arranged, as meetings of

large bodies of natives never take place accidentally, for even when a

distant tribe approaches the territory of another unexpectedly,

messengers are always sent on in advance, to give the necessary warning.

The object of the meeting in question was to perform the initiatory

ceremonies upon a number of young men belonging to both of the tribes. In

the Murray district, when one tribe desires another to come from a

distance to perform these ceremonies, young men are sent off with

messages of invitation, carrying with them as their credentials, long

narrow news, made of string manufactured from the rush. These nets are

left with the tribe they are sent to, and brought back again when the

invitation is responded to.

Notice having been given on the previous evening to the Moorunde natives

of the approach of the Nar-wij-jerook tribe, they assembled at an early

hour after sunrise, in as clear and open a place as they could find. Here

they sat down in a long row to await the coming of their friends. The men

were painted, and carried their weapons, as if for war. The women and

children were in detached groups, a little behind them, or on one side,

whilst the young men, on whom the ceremonies were to be performed, sat

shivering with cold and apprehension in a row to the rear of the men,

perfectly naked, smeared over from head to foot with grease and

red-ochre, and without weapons. The Nar-wij-jerook tribe was now seen

approaching. The men were in a body, armed and painted, and the women and

children accompanying them a little on one side. They occasionally

halted, and entered into consultation, and then, slackening their pace,

gradually advanced until within a hundred yards of the Moorunde tribe.

Here the men came to a full stop, whilst several of the women singled out

from the rest, and marched into the space between the two parties, having

their heads coated over with lime, and raising a loud and melancholy

wail, until they came to a spot about equi-distant from both, when they

threw down their cloaks with violence, and the bags which they carried on

their backs, and which contained all their worldly effects. The bags were

then opened, and pieces of glass and shells taken out, with which they

lacerated their thighs, backs, and breasts, in a most frightful manner,

whilst the blood kept pouring out of the wounds in streams; and in this

plight, continuing their wild and piercing lamentations, they moved up

towards the Moorunde tribe, who sat silently and immoveably in the place

at first occupied. One of the women then went up to a strange native, who

was on a visit to the Moorunde tribe and who stood neutral in the affair

of the meeting, and by violent language and frantic gesticulations

endeavoured to incite him to revenge the death of some relation or

friend. But he could not be induced to lift his spear against the people

amongst whom he was sojourning. After some time had been spent in

mourning, the women took up their bundles again, and retiring, placed

themselves in the rear of their own party. An elderly man then advanced,

and after a short colloquy with the seated tribe, went back, and beckoned

his own people to come forward, which they did slowly and in good order,

exhibiting in front three uplifted spears, to which were attached the

little nets left with them by the envoys of the opposite tribe, and which

were the emblems of the duty they had come to perform, after the ordinary

expiations had been accomplished.

In advancing, the Nar-wij-jerooks again commenced the death wail, and one

of the men, who had probably sustained the greatest loss since the tribes

had last met, occasionally in alternations of anger and sorrow addressed

his own people. When near the Moorunde tribe a few words were addressed

to them, and they at once rose simultaneously, with a suppressed shout.

The opposite party then raised their spears, and closing upon the line of

the other tribe, speared about fifteen or sixteen of them in the left

arm, a little below the shoulder. This is the generally understood order

of revenge; for the persons who were to receive the wounds, as soon as

they saw the weapons of their assailants poised, at once put out the left

foot, to steady themselves, and presented the left shoulder for the blow,

frequently uttering the word "Leipa" (spear), as the others appeared to

hesitate.

Whilst this was going on, the influential men of each tribe were

violently talking to each other, and apparently accusing one another of

being accessory to the death of some of their people. Disclaimers passed

on each side, and the blame was imputed to other and more distant tribes.

The manes of the dead having been appeased, the honour of each party was

left unsullied, and the Nar-wij-jerooks retired about a hundred yards,

and sat down, ready to enter upon the ceremonies of the day, which will

be described in another place. [Note 61: Chapter V.]

If the meeting of the tribes be for the purpose of war, a favourable

situation is selected by one of the parties, and notice is sent to the

other, who then proceed to the place of meeting, where both draw out

their forces in opposing parallel lines. Day-break, or nearly about

sunset in the evening, are the times preferred for these engagements, as

the softened light at those hours does not so much affect the eyesight,

and the spears are more easily seen and avoided. Both parties are fully

armed with spears, shields, and other weapons, and the fight sometimes

lasts for three or four hours, during which scarcely a word is spoken,

and but little noise of any kind is heard, excepting a shrill cry now and

then, when some one is wounded or has a narrow escape. Many are injured

generally on both sides, and some severely so; but it rarely happens that

more than one or two are killed, though hundreds may have been engaged.

The fights are sometimes witnessed by men who are not concerned in them,

by the women and the children. The presence of the females may be

supposed probably to inspire the belligerents with courage and incite

them to deeds of daring.

The most dangerous and fatal affrays in which the natives engage are

those which occur suddenly amongst tribes who have been encamped near one

another on amicable terms, and between whom some cause of difference has

arisen, probably in relation to their females, or some recent death,

which it is imagined the sorcerers have been instrumental in producing.

In the former case a kind of melee sometimes takes place at night, when

fire-brands are thrown about, spears launched, and bwirris [Note 62 at end

of para.] bran-dished in indescribable confusion. In the latter case the

affray usually occurs immediately after the body is buried, and is more of

a hand-to-hand fight, in which bwirris are used rather than spears, and

in which tremendous blows are struck and frightful wounds inflicted.

[Note 62: A short, heavy, wooden stick, with a knob at one end.]

In wars males are always obliged to join their relatives by blood and

their own tribe. Women frequently excite the men to engage in these

affrays to revenge injuries or deaths, and sometimes they assist

themselves by carrying spears or other weapons for their husbands. I am

not aware that women or children are ever butchered after a battle is

over, and I believe such is never the case. Single camps are sometimes

treacherously surprised when the parties are asleep, and the males

barbarously killed in cold blood. This generally takes place just before

the morning dawns, when the native is most drowsy, and least likely to

give his attention to any thing he might hear. In these cases the attack

is generally made under the belief that the individual is a desperate

sorcerer, and has worked innumerable mischiefs to their tribe. In their

attacks upon European parties I believe the natives generally advance in

a line or crescent, beating their weapons together, throwing dust in the

air, spitting, biting their beards, or using some other similar act of

defiance and hostility. I have never witnessed any such collision myself,

but am told that the attack is always accompanied by that peculiar savage

sound produced by the suppressed guttural shout of many voices in unison,

which they use in conflicts amongst themselves, and which is continued to

the moment of collision, and renewed in triumph whenever a weapon strikes

an opponent.

When hostilely disposed from either fear or from having been previously

ill-treated, I have seen the natives, without actually proceeding to

extremities, resort to all the symptoms of defiance I have mentioned, or

at other times, run about with fire-brands in their hands, lighting the

bushes and the grass, either as a charm, or in the hope of burning out

the intruders. When much alarmed and rather closely pressed, they have

run up the trees like monkeys, and concealed themselves among the boughs,

evidently thinking they were secure from pursuit there.

If tribes meet simply for the purpose of festivity, and have no deaths to

avenge on either side, although they appear in warlike attitude, painted

and bearing spear and shield, yet when they approach each other, they all

become seated upon the ground. After which, the strangers, should there

be any, undergo a formal introduction, and have their country and lineage

described by the older men. At these meetings all occurrences of interest

are narrated, information is given as to the localities in which food is

most abundant, and invitations are issued by the proprietors of these

districts, to their relations and friends to accompany them thither.

The position of one tribe towards another, whether on friendly terms or

otherwise, is talked about, and consultations are held on the existing

state of affairs, whether hostilities shall be continued or withdrawn,

and future plans of operation are marked out.

Whilst the men are occupied in discussing these matters, the females

engage in a narration of family occurrences, such as births of children,

marriages, deaths, etc., not omitting a sprinkling of gossip and scandal,

from which, even these ebon sisters of a fairer race, are not altogether

exempt.

In the evening, the huts of the different tribes are built as near to

each other as practicable, each tribe locating itself in the direction

from whence it came. The size and character of the huts, with the number

of their occupants, vary according to the state of the weather, and the

local circumstances of their position. In fine weather, one hut will

contain from two to five families, in wet weather more, each family

however having a separate fire.

The amusements of the natives are various, but they generally have a

reference to their future occupations or pursuits. Boys who are very

young, have small reed spears made for them by their parents, the ends of

which are padded with grass, to prevent them from hurting each other.

They then stand at a little distance, and engage in a mimic fight; and by

this means acquire early that skill in the use of this weapon, for which,

in after life, they are so much celebrated. At other times round pieces

of bark are rolled along the ground, to represent an animal in the act of

running, at which the spears are thrown for the sake of practice.

Another favourite amusement among the children, is to practise the dances

and songs of the adults, and a boy is very proud if he attains sufficient

skill in these, to be allowed to take part in the exhibitions that are

made before other tribes.

String puzzles are another species of amusement with them. In these a

European would be surprised to see the ingenuity they display, and the

varied and singular figures which they produce. Our juvenile attempts in

this way, are very meagre and uninteresting compared to them. [Note 63: An

amusement of the New Zealand children.--Dieffenbach, vol. 2. p. 32.]

Other gratifications enjoyed by children, consist in learning the

occupations and pursuits of after life, as to make twine, and weapons; to

ascend trees; to procure food; to guide the canoe, and many other things,

which enter into the pursuits of a savage.

The elder boys engage more extensively in similar occupations, as they

are more particularly interested in them, and by their exertions have to

provide chiefly for their own support. Mock combats frequently take place

amongst them, in which they are encouraged by the adults, that they may

acquire the dexterities of warfare, in which they are soon to be more

seriously engaged. [Note 64: For an account of a similar practise among

the American Indians, vide Catlin, vol. 1. p. 131.]

An amusement of the adults, is a large bunch of emu feathers tied

together, (fig. 1. Pl. 1.) which is held out and shaken as if in

defiance, by some individual, whilst the others advance to try to take it

out of his hands. This occasions an amusing struggle before the prize is

gained, in which it is not uncommon to see from ten to twenty strong and

lusty men rolling in a heap together. This is a sort of athletic exercise

amongst them, for the purpose of testing each other's strength. On such

an occasion they are all unarmed and naked.

At nights, dances or plays are performed by the different tribes in turn,

the figures and scenes of which are extensively varied, but all are

accompanied by songs, and a rude kind of music produced by beating two

sticks together, or by the action of the hand upon a cloak of skins

rolled tightly together, so as to imitate the sound of a drum. In some of

the dances only are the women allowed to take a part; but they have

dances of their own, in which the men do not join. At all times they are

the chief musicians, vocal and instrumental. Sometimes, however, they

have an old man to lead the band and pitch the tunes; and at others they

are assisted by the old and young men indiscriminately.

The natives have not any war-dance, properly so called, though sometimes

they are decorated in all the pomp and circumstance of war. Being

excellent mimies, they imitate in many of their dances the habits and

movements of animals. They also represent the mode of hunting, fighting,

love-making, etc. New figures and new songs are constantly introduced, and

are as much applauded and encored, as more refined productions of a

similar kind in civilized communities; being sometimes passed from tribe

to tribe for a considerable distance. I have often seen dances performed

to songs with which I was acquainted, and which I knew to belong to

distant parts of the country where a different dialect was spoken, and

which consequently could not be understood where I heard them. Many of

the natives cannot even give an interpretation of the songs of their own

districts [Note 65 at end of para.], and most of the explanations they do

give are, I am inclined to think, generally very imperfect, as the

measures or quantities of the syllables appear to be more attended to

than the sense.

[Note 65: "Not one in ten of the young men who are dancing and singing it,

know the meaning of the song they are chaunting over."--Catlin, vol. 1. p.

126. Also the case in New Zealand, with respect to some of the

songs.--Vide Dieffenbach, vol. 2. p. 57.]

Of these amusements the natives are passionately fond; and when once they

have so far overcome their naturally indolent disposition as to be

induced to engage in them there is no knowing when they will give over.

Dances are sometimes held during the day, but these are of rare

occurrence, and seem to be in some way connected with their ceremonial

observances or superstitions, since rude figures, and lofty branches of

trees, decorated with tufts of feathers, emu plumes, swan's down and red

ochre, occupy a prominent part in the exhibition, although never met with

in the dances by night.

The dances vary a great deal among the different tribes, both as to

figures and music; the painting or decoration of their persons, their use

of weapons, and the participation of the females in them. Throughout the

entire continent, as far as it is known. there are many points of

resemblance in the dances of all the Aborigines, such as the practice of

painting the body with white and red ochre, carrying boughs in their

hands, or tying them round their limbs; adorning the head with feathers

or down, bearing bunches of feathers, tied in tufts in their hands, the

women singing and beating time upon folded skins, the men beating time

upon sticks or some of their smaller weapons, an old man acting as leader

of the band, and giving the time and tune to the others; the dances

representing the actions of animals, the circumstances of the chase, of

war, or of love; and the singular and extraordinary quivering motion of

the thighs when the legs are distended, a peculiarity probably confined

to the natives of the continent of Australia.

The most interesting dances are those which take place at the meeting of

different tribes. Each tribe performs in turn, and as there is much

rivalry, there is a corresponding stimulus to exertion. The dances

usually commence an hour or two after dark, and are frequently kept up

the greater part of the night, the performers becoming so much excited

that, notwithstanding the violent exercise required to sustain all their

evolutions, they are unwilling to leave off. It is sometimes difficult to

induce them to commence a dance; but if they once begin, and enter into

the spirit of it, it is still more difficult to induce them to break up.

The females of the tribe exhibiting, generally sit down in front of the

performers, either irregularly, in a line, or a semicircle, folding up

their skin cloaks into a hard ball, and then beating them upon their laps

with the palm of their hand, and accompanying the noise thus produced

with their voices. It is surprising to see the perfect time that is kept

in this way, and the admirable manner in which the motions of the dancers

accord with the music. There is no confusion, irregularity, or mistake.

Each person is conversant with his part; and all exhibit a degree of

elasticity and gracefulness in their movements which, in some of the

dances, is very striking and beautiful.

In many of the figures, weapons are carried, such as the waddy, the

shield, the spear, etc. and in these it is amazing to behold the facility

and skill with which they form in close array, spread into open rank,

change places, and thread through the mazes of the dance, without ever

deranging their plans, or coming in contact with each other.

The tribes who are not engaged in dancing, are seated in a large

semicircle as spectators, occasionally giving a rapturous exclamation of

delight, as any part of the performance is well gone through or any

remarkable feat of activity exhibited. Where natives have not much

acquaintance with Europeans, so as to give up, in some measure, their

original habits, if there is any degree of jealousy between the

respective tribes, they are sometimes partitioned off from each other by

boughs of trees, whilst they look at the dance. On one occasion I saw

five tribes met together, and the evening was of course spent in dancing.

Each tribe danced in turn, about forty being engaged at once, besides

sixteen females, eight of whom were at each corner of the male

performers. The men were naked, painted in various devices with red and

white, and had their heads adorned with feathers. The women wore their

opossum cloaks, and had bands of white down round their foreheads, with

the long feathers of the cockatoo sticking up in front like horns. In the

dance the men and women did not intermingle; but the two sets of women

who were dancing at the corners of the line, occasionally changed places

with each other, passing in this transit, at the back of the men. All

sung, and the men beat time upon their smaller weapons whilst dancing,

the whole making up a wild and piercing noise, most deafening and

ungrateful to the ears.

The natives of the Rufus and Lake Victoria (Tar-ru) have a great variety

of dances and figures. One of these, which I witnessed, representing the

character, habits, and chase of the kangaroo was admirably performed, and

would have drawn down thunders of applause at any theatre in Europe. One

part of this figure, where the whole of the dancers successively drop

down from a standing to a crouching posture, and then hop off in this

position with outstretched arms and legs, was excellently executed. The

contrast of their sable skins with the broad white stripes painted down

their legs; their peculiar attitudes, and the order and regularity with

which these were kept, as they moved in a large semicircle, in the

softening light of the fire, produced a striking effect; and in

connection with the wild and inspiriting song, which gave an impulse to

their gesticulation, led me almost to believe that the scene was

unearthly.

In some of the dances the music varies rapidly from slow to quick, and

the movements alter accordingly. In some they are altogether measured and

monotonous, in others very lively and quick, keeping the performers

almost constantly at a double quick march, moving in advance and retreat,

crossing past or threading through the ranks, and using a kind of motion

with the feet in unison with the music, that bears a strong resemblance

to the European mode of dancing. At particular points the figures

terminate by some simultaneous motion of the whole performers,

accompanied by a deep, gutteral "Waugh," [Note 66 at end of para.] uttered

by all together; at others by the actors closing in a dense circle, and

raising and pointing their weapons upwards with the same exclamation.

[Note 66: This very peculiar sound appears to be common among the American

Indians, and to be used in a similar manner.--Vide Catlin, vol. 2. p.136.]

The "Paritke," or natives inhabiting the scrub north-west of Moorunde,

have quite a different form of dancing from the river natives. They are

painted or decorated with feathers in a similar way; but each dancer ties

bunches of green boughs round the leg, above the knees, whilst the mode

of dancing consists in stamping with the foot and uttering at each motion

a deep ventral intonation, the boughs round the knees making a loud

rustling noise in keeping with the time of the music. One person, who

directs the others in the movements of this dance, holds in his hands an

instrument in the form of a diamond, made of two slight sticks, from two

and a half to three feet long, crossed and tied in the middle, round this

a string, made of the hair of the opposum, is pressed from corner to

corner, and continued successively towards the centre until there is only

room left for the hand to hold the instrument. At each corner is appended

a bunch of cockatoo feathers. With this the chief performer keeps a

little in advance of the dancers, and whisking it up and down to the time

of the music, regulates their movements.

In another dance, in which women are the chief performers, their bodies

are painted with white streaks, and their hair adorned with cockatoo

feathers. They carry large sticks in their hands, and place themselves in

a row in front, whilst the men with their spears stand in a line behind

them. They then all commence their movements, but without intermingling,

the males and females dancing by themselves. There is little variety or

life in this dance, yet it seems to be a favourite one with the natives.

The women have occasionally another mode of dancing, by joining the hands

together over the head, closing the feet, and bringing the knees into

contact. The legs are then thrown outwards from the knee, whilst the feet

and hands are kept in their original position, and being drawn quickly in

again a sharp sound is produced by the collision. This is either

practised alone by young girls, or by several together for their own

amusement. It is adopted also when a single woman is placed in front of a

row of male dancers to excite their passions; for many of the native

dances are of a grossly licentious character. In another figure they keep

the feet close together, without lifting them from the ground, and by a

peculiar motion of the limbs advance onwards, describing a short

semicircle. This amusement is almost exclusively confined to young

females among themselves.

It has already been remarked, that the natives, on particular occasions,

have dances which they perform in the day-time, which are different from

others, and seem to have some connection with their ceremonial

observances or superstitions. I have only witnessed one of these. It took

place at Moorunde, in March 1844, on the occasion of a large number of

distant natives coming to visit the place; and the visitors were the

performers. The Moorunde natives were seated upon the brow of a

sand-bank; the strangers, consisting of two tribes, down in a hollow a

little way off, among a few bushes. When ready, they advanced in a line

towards the others, dancing and singing, being painted and decorated as

usual, some having tufts of feathers placed upon their heads like

cockades and others carrying them in their hands tied to short sticks.

Nearly all the males carried bunches of green boughs, which they waved

and shook to the time of the song. The women were also painted, and

danced in a line with the men, those of each tribe stationing themselves

at opposite ends of the line. Dancing for a while, they retired again

towards the hollow, and after a short interval advanced as before, but

with a person in the centre carrying a curious, rude-looking figure,

raised up in the air. This singular object consisted of a large bundle of

grass and reeds bound together, enveloped in a kangaroo skin, with the

flesh side outwards, and painted all over in small white circles. From

the top of this projected a thin stick, with a large tuft of feathers at

the end to represent the head, and sticks were stuck out laterally from

the sides for the arms, terminating in tufts of feathers stained red to

represent the hands. From the front, a small stick about six inches long

was projected, ending with a thick knob, formed of grass, around which a

piece of old cloth was tied. This was painted white and represented the

navel. The figure was about eight feet long, and was evidently intended

to symbolise a man. It was kept in its elevated position by the person

who carried it, and who advanced and retired with the movements of the

dancers. The position of the latter was alternately erect and crouching,

whilst they sang and beat time with the green boughs. Sometimes they

stretched out their right arms simultaneously, and at other times their

left, apparently for the purpose of marking the time at particular parts

of the song. After dancing for a while in this way, they again retired to

the hollow, and for a few moments there was another pause; after which

they again advanced as before, but without the image. In the place of

this two standards were exhibited, made of poles, about twelve feet long,

and borne by two persons. These were perfectly straight, and for the

first eight feet free from boughs; above this nine branches were left

upon each pole, having at their ends each a bunch of feathers of the hawk

or owl. On the top of one of the standards was a bunch of emu feathers.

The branches were stripped of all their smaller twigs and leaves, and of

their bark. They were painted white, and wound round with the white down

of the black swan, twisted into a rope. This also extended for a

considerable distance down the pole, below the undermost branch.

Having again retired towards the hollow, they remained there for a few

minutes, and then advanced for the third time. On this occasion, however,

instead of the image or standards, they all carried their spears. After

dancing with these for some time, they went forward towards the Moorunde

natives, who sprang upon their feet, and seizing their weapons, speared

two or three of the strangers in the shoulder, and all was over. I was

anxious to have got hold of the rude figure to have a drawing made of it,

but it had been instantly destroyed. The standards I procured.

This dance took place between nine and ten in the morning, and was quite

unlike any thing I had seen before. A stranger might have supposed it to

be a religious ceremony, and the image the object of worship. Such,

however, I am convinced was not the case, although I believe it to have

had some connection with their superstitions, and that it was regarded in

the light of a charm.

Before the country was occupied by Europeans, the natives say that this

dance was frequently celebrated, but that latterly it has not been much

in use. No other instance of it ever came under my own observation in any

part of New Holland.

The songs of the natives are of a very rude and unmeaning character,

rarely consisting of more than one or two ideas, which are continually

repeated over and over again. They are chiefly made on the spur of the

moment, and refer to something that has struck the attention at the time.

The measure of the song varies according to circumstances. It is gay and

lively, for the dance; slow and solemn for the enchanter; and wild and

pathetic for the mourner. The music is sometimes not unharmonious; and

when heard in the stillness of the night and mellowed by distance, is

often soothing and pleasing. I have frequently laid awake, after retiring

to rest, to listen to it. Europeans, their property, presence, and

habits, are frequently the subject of these songs; and as the natives

possess great powers of mimicry, and are acute in the observation of

anything that appears to them absurd or ludicrous, the white man often

becomes the object of their jests or quizzing. I have heard songs of this

kind sung at the dances in a kind of comic medley, where different

speakers take up parts during the breaks in the song, and where a

sentence or two of English is aptly introduced, or a quotation made from

some native dialect, other than that of the performers. It is usually

conducted in the form of question and answer, and the respective speakers

use the language of the persons they are supposed to represent. The

chorus is, however, still the same repetition of one or two words.

The following specimens, taken from a vocabulary published by Messrs.

Teichelmann, and Schurmann, German Missionaries to the Aborigines, will

give an idea of the nature of the songs of the Adelaide tribe.

KADLITPIKO PALTI.

Pindi mai birkibirki parrato, parrato. (DE CAPO BIS.)

CAPTAIN JACK'S SONG.

The European food, the pease, I wished to eat, I wished to eat.

MULLAWIRRABURKARNA PALTI.

Natta ngai padlo ngaityarniappi; watteyernaurlo tappandi ngaityo parni

tatti. (DA CAPO.)

KING JOHN'S SONG.

Now it (viz. the road or track) has tired me;

throughout Yerna there is here unto me a continuous road.

WILTONGARROLO kundando

Strike (him, viz. the dog) with the tuft of eagle feathers.

Kadlottikurrelo paltando

Strike (him) with the girdle

Mangakurrelo paltando

Strike (him) with the string round the head

Worrikarrolo paltando

Strike (him) with the blood of circumcision

Turtikarrolo paltando

Strike (him) with the blood of the arm. etc. etc.

Kartipaltapaltarlo padlara kundando

Wodliparrele kadlondo

Kanyamirarlo kadlondo

Karkopurrelo kadlondo

"This curse or imprecation is used in hunting a wild dog, which, by the

mysterious effects of those words, is induced to lie down securely to

sleep, when the natives steal upon and easily kill him. The first word in

each line denotes things sacred or secret, which the females and children

are never allowed to see.

* * *

KAWEMUKKA minnurappindo Durtikarro minnurappindo

Tarralye minnurappindo Wimmari minnurappindi

Kirki minurappindo Wattetarpirri minnurappindo

Worrikarro minurappindo

"These sentences are used in hunting opossums, to prevent their escape,

when the natives set fire to hollow trees in which the opossums are

living.

* * *

KARRO karro wimmari Karra yernka makkitia

Karro karro kauwemukka Makkitia mulyeria

Karro karro makkitia

"These words are rapidly repeated to the NGULTAS, while undergoing the

painful operation of tattooing; they are believed to be so powerful as to

soothe the pain, and prevent fatal consequences of that barbarous

operation."

Another specimen may be given from the Vocabulary published by Mr. Meyer,

another of the German Missionaries at Encounter Bay.

"Miny-el-ity yarluke an-ambe what is it road me for Aly-..el-..arr'

yerk-in yangaiak-ar! here are they standing up hill . . . . . . s

What a fine road is this for me winding between the hills!

"The above words compose one of the native songs. It refers to the road

between Encounter Bay and Willunga. All their songs appear to be of the

same description, consisting of a few words which are continually

repeated. This specimen, it will be observed, consists of two regular

verses:

-u|--|u-|u-u

-u|--|u-|u-u

"This may, however, be accidental."

I have not thought it worth while to give any specimens of the songs I

have collected myself, because I could not be quite certain that I should

give the original words with strict accuracy, neither could I be

satisfied about the translations.

The assemblage of several tribes at one place for any of the objects I

have described, rarely continues uninterrupted for any great length of

time, for even where it has taken place for the most pacific purposes, it

seldom terminates as it began; and the greater the number of natives

present, the less likelihood is there that they will remain very long in

a state of quiescence.

If not soon compelled to separate by the scarcity of food, or a desire to

follow some favourite pursuit, for which the season of the year is

favourable, they are generally driven to it by discord and disagreements

amongst themselves, which their habits and superstitions are calculated

to foment.

Chapter III.

FOOD--HOW PROCURED--HOW PREPARED--LIMITATION AS TO AGE, ETC., ETC.

The food of the Aborigines of Australia embraces an endless variety of

articles, derived both from the animal and vegetable kingdom. The

different kinds in use depend in a great measure upon the season of the

year and local circumstances. Every district has in it something peculiar

to itself. The soil and climate of the continent vary greatly in their

character and afford a corresponding variety of productions to the

Aborigines. As far as it is yet known there are no localities on its

coast, no recesses in its interior, however sterile and inhospitable they

may appear to the traveller, that do not hold out some inducements to the

bordering savage to visit them, or at proper seasons of the year provide

him with the means of sustenance. Captain Grey remarks, in volume 2, of

his travels, page 261--

"Generally speaking, the natives live well; in some districts there may

at particular seasons of the year be a deficiency of food, but if such is

the case, these tracts are, at those times, deserted. It is, however,

utterly impossible for a traveller or even for a strange native to judge

whether a district affords an abundance of food, or the contrary; for in

traversing extensive parts of Australia, I have found the sorts of food

vary from latitude to latitude, so that the vegetable productions used by

the Aborigines in one are totally different to those in another; if,

therefore, a stranger has no one to point out to him the vegetable

productions, the soil beneath his feet may teem with food, whilst he

starves. The same rule holds good with regard to animal productions; for

example, in the southern parts of the continent the Xanthorrea affords an

inexhaustible supply of fragrant grubs, which an epicure would delight

in, when once he has so far conquered his prejudices as to taste them;

whilst in proceeding to the northward, these trees decline in health and

growth, until about the parallel of Gantheaume Bay they totally

disappear, and even a native finds himself cut off from his ordinary

supplies of insects; the same circumstances taking place with regard to

the roots and other kinds of food at the same time, the traveller

necessarily finds himself reduced to cruel extremities. A native from the

plains, taken into an elevated mountainous district near his own country,

for the first time, is equally at fault.

"But in his own district a native is very differently situated; he knows

exactly what it produces, the proper time at which the several articles

are in season, and the readiest means of procuring them. According to

these circumstances he regulates his visits to the different portions of

his hunting ground; and I can only state that I have always found the

greatest abundance in their huts."

It is evident therefore that a European or even a stranger native would

perish in a district capable of supplying the necessaries of life, simply

because he had not the experience necessary to direct him where to search

for food, or judgment to inform him what article might be in season at

the particular time of his visit. It is equally the same with respect to

procuring water. The native inhabiting a scrubby and an arid district

has, from his knowledge of the country and from a long residence and

practical experience in the desert, many resources at command to supply

his wants, where the white man would faint or perish from thirst.

The very densest brushes, which to the latter are so formidable and

forbidding, hold out to the former advantages and inducements to resort

to them of more than ordinary temptation. Abounding in wild animals of

various kinds, they offer to the natives who frequent them an unlimited

supply of food: a facility for obtaining firewood, a grateful shade from

the heat, an effectual screen from the cold, and it has already been

shewn that they afford the means of satisfying their thirst by a process

but little known, and which from a difference in habits and temperament

would be but little available to the European.[Note 67 at end of para.]

In judging, therefore, of the character of any country, from the mere

fact of natives being seen there, or even of their being numerous, we must

take all these circumstances into consideration; and, in estimating the

facility with which a native can remain for a long time in a country,

apparently arid and inhospitable, we must not omit to take into account

his education and experience, and the general nature of his habits. The

two former have accustomed him from infancy to feel at home and at ease,

where a European sees only dread and danger: he has thus the advantage

over the European in the desert, that a swimmer has in the water over the

man who cannot swim; conscious of his own powers and resources, he feels

not the least apprehension, whilst the very terrors of the other but

augment his danger. On the other hand, the general habits, mode of life,

and almost temperament of the savage, give him an equally great advantage.

Indolent by disposition and indulgence, he makes very short stages in his

ordinary travels, rarely moving more than from eight to twelve miles in

the day, and this he does so leisurely and quietly, that he neither

becomes excited nor heated, and consequently does not experience that

excessive thirst, which is produced by the active exertions or violent

exercise of the European, and which in the latter is at the same time so

greatly augmented, by his want of confidence and anxiety.

[Note 67: Vide vol. I. p.349 (March 26.)]

Another very great advantage on the part of the natives is, the intimate

knowledge they have of every nook and corner of the country they inhabit;

does a shower of rain fall, they know the very rock where a little water

is most likely to be collected, the very hole where it is the longest

retained, and by repairing straight to the place they fill their skins,

and thus obtain a supply that lasts them many days. Are there heavy dews

at night, they know where the longest grass grows, from which they may

collect the spangles, and water is sometimes procured thus in very great

abundance. [Note 68 at end of para.] Should there be neither rains nor

dews, their experience at once points out to them the lowest levels where

the gumscrub grows, and where they are sure of getting water from its

roots, with the least possible amount of labour that the method

admits of, and with the surest prospect of success.

[Note 69: Vide vol. I. p.349 (March 27.)]

[Note 68: Vide vol. I. p.361 (March 30.)]

Another very important circumstance in favour of the native, and one

which results in a measure from some of the above-mentioned

considerations, is the fact, that the native sets to work to procure his

supply calmly and collectedly, and before he requires it; whilst the

European, even if acquainted with the method of obtaining it, would not

resort to it until the last extremity, when the body was fatigued and

heated by previous exertion, the mouth dry and parched by thirst, and the

mind excited and anxious from apprehension. The natural consequence of

such a very different combination of circumstances would be, that the

native would obtain an abundant and satisfying supply, whilst the

European would never be able to procure a sufficiency to appease his

thirst, but would rather fatigue and exhaust his strength the more, from

his want of skill and experience, and from his body and mind being both

in an unfit state for this particular kind of exertion. Such at least, on

many various occasions, I have found to be the case both with myself, and

with natives with me who have not been accustomed to the scrub, or to

this method of procuring water. The difficulty and labour of finding and

digging out the roots, our want of skill in selecting proper ones, the

great dust arising from the loose, powdery soil in which they were, and

our own previously excited and exhausted state, have invariably prevented

us from deriving the full advantage we expected from our efforts.

In cases of extreme thirst, where the throat is dry and parched, or life

at all in danger, the toil of digging for the roots would be well repaid

by the relief afforded. I have myself, in such cases, found that though I

could by no means satiate my thirst, I could always succeed in keeping my

mouth cool and moist, and so far in rendering myself equal to exertions I

could not otherwise have made. Indeed, I hold it impossible that a

person, acquainted with this means of procuring water, and in a district

where the gum-scrub grew, could ever perish from thirst in any moderate

lapse of time, if he had with him food to eat, and was not physically

incapable of exertion. Under such circumstances, the moisture he would be

able to procure from the roots, would, I think, be quite sufficient to

enable him to eat his food, and to sustain his strength for a

considerable time, under such short stages as would gradually conduct him

free from his embarrassments.

In addition to the value of the gum-scrub to the native, as a source from

whence to obtain his supply of water, it is equally important to him as

affording an article of food, when his other resources have failed. To

procure this, the lateral roots are still made use of, but the smaller

ones generally are selected, such as vary in diameter from an inch

downwards. The roots being dug up, the bark is peeled off and roasted

crisp in hot ashes; it is then pounded between two stones, and has a

pleasant farinaceous taste, strongly resembling that of malt. I have

often seen the natives eating this, and have frequently eaten it myself

in small quantities. How far it alone would support life, or sustain a

man in strength, I have of course no means of forming an opinion; but it

is, probably, only resorted to when other food is scarce. Several of the

roots of other shrubs are also used for food, and some of them are

mucilaginous and very palatable.

Throughout the greater portion of New Holland, where there do not happen

to be European settlers, and invariably where fresh water can be

permanently procured upon the surface, the native experiences no

difficulty whatever in procuring food in abundance all the year round. It

is true that the character of his diet varies with the changing seasons,

and the formation of the country he inhabits; but it rarely happens that

any season of the year, or any description of country does not yield him

both animal and vegetable food. Amongst the almost unlimited catalogue of

edible articles used by the natives of Australia, the following may be

classed as the chief:--all salt and fresh-water fish and shell-fish, of

which, in the larger rivers, there are vast numbers and many species;

freshwater turtle; frogs of different kinds; rats and mice; lizards, and

most kinds of snakes and reptiles; grubs of all kinds; moths of several

varieties; fungi, and many sorts of roots; the leaves and tops of a

variety of plants; the leaf and fruit of the mesembryanthemum; various

kinds of fruits and berries; the bark from the roots of many trees and

shrubs; the seeds of leguminous plants; gum from several species of

acacia; different sorts of manna; honey from the native bee, and also

from the flowers of the Banksia, by soaking them in water; the tender

leaves of the grass-tree; the larvae of insects; white ants; eggs of

birds; turtles or lizards; many kinds of kangaroo; opossums; squirrels,

sloths, and wallabies; ducks; geese; teal; cockatoos; parrots; wild dogs

and wombats; the native companion; the wild turkey; the swan; the

pelican; the leipoa, and an endless variety of water-fowl, and other

descriptions of birds.

Of these articles, many are not only procurable in abundance, but in such

vast quantities at the proper seasons, as to afford for a considerable

length of time an ample means of subsistence to many hundreds of natives

congregated in one place; and these are generally the kinds of food of

which the natives are particularly fond. On many parts of the coast, and

in the larger inland rivers, fish are obtained of a very fine

description, and in great abundance. At Lake Victoria, which is filled

with the back waters of the Murray, I have seen six hundred natives

encamped together, all of whom were living at the time upon fish procured

from the lake, with the addition, perhaps, of the leaves of the

mesembryanthemum. When I went amongst them I never perceived any scarcity

in their camps. The fish were caught in nets.

At Moorunde, when the Murray annually inundates the flats, fresh-water

cray-fish make their way to the surface of the ground from holes where

they have been buried during the year, in such vast numbers that I have

seen four hundred natives live upon them for weeks together, whilst the

numbers spoiled or thrown away would have sustained four hundred more.

This fish is an excellent and nutritious article of food, and would be

highly prized by the epicure. It is caught by the women who wade into the

water in a long close line, stooping down and walking backwards, whilst

they grope with their hands and feet, presenting a singular, and to the

uninitiated, an incomprehensible spectacle, as they thus move slowly

backwards, but keep the line regular and well preserved, as all generally

occupy the same position at one time. When a cray-fish is caught the

large claws are torn off to prevent the animal from biting, and both

claws and body are put into a small net suspended from the neck for that

purpose. In two or three hours a woman will procure as many fish as will

last her family for a day. The men are too lazy to do anything when food

is so abundant, and lie basking under the trees in luxurious indolence,

whilst their wives, mothers, or sisters are engaged in cooking for them.

An unlimited supply of fish is also procurable at the Murray about the

beginning of December, when the floods, having attained their greatest

height, begin again to recede; and when the waters, which had been thrown

by the back water channels of the river into the flats behind its banks,

begin again to reflow through them into the river as it falls in height.

At this time the natives repair to these channels, and making a weir

across them with stakes and grass interwoven, leave only one or two small

openings for the stream to pass through. To these they attach bag nets,

which receive all the fish that attempt to re-enter the river. The number

procured in this way in a few hours is incredible. Large bodies of

natives depend upon these weirs for their sole subsistence, for some time

after the waters have commenced to recede.

Another very favourite article of food, and equally abundant at a

particular season of the year, in the eastern portion of the continent,

is a species of moth which the natives procure from the cavities and

hollows of the mountains in certain localities. This, when roasted, has

something of the appearance and flavour of an almond badly peeled. It is

called in the dialect of the district, where I met with it, Booguon. The

natives are never so well conditioned in that part of the country, as at

the season of the year when they return from feasting upon this moth; and

their dogs partake equally of the general improvement.

The tops, leaves, and stalks of a kind of cress, gathered at the proper

season of the year, tied up in bunches, and afterwards steamed in an

oven, furnish a favourite, and inexhaustible supply of food for an

unlimited number of natives. When prepared, this food has a savoury and

an agreeable smell, and in taste is not unlike a boiled cabbage. In some

of its varieties it is in season for a great length of time, and is

procured in the flats of rivers, on the borders of lagoons, at the

Murray, and in many other parts of New Holland.

There are many other articles of food among the natives, equally abundant

and valuable as those I have enumerated: such as various kinds of

berries, or fruits, the bulbous roots of a reed called the belillah,

certain kinds of fungi dug out of the ground, fresh-water muscles, and

roots of several kinds, etc. Indeed, were I to go through the list of

articles seriatim, and enter upon the varieties and subdivisions of each

class, with the seasons of the year at which they were procurable, it

would at once be apparent that the natives of Australia, in their natural

state, are not subject to much inconvenience for want of the necessaries

of life. In almost every part of the continent which I have visited,

where the presence of Europeans, or their stock, has not limited, or

destroyed their original means of subsistence, I have found that the

natives could usually, in three or four hours, procure as much food as

would last for the day, and that without fatigue or labour. They are not

provident in their provision for the future, but a sufficiency of food is

commonly laid by at the camp for the morning meal. In travelling, they

sometimes husband, with great care and abstinence, the stock they have

prepared for the journey; and though both fatigued and hungry, they will

eat sparingly, and share their morsel with their friends, without

encroaching too much upon their store, until some reasonable prospect

appears of getting it replenished.

In wet weather the natives suffer the most, as they are then indisposed

to leave their camps to look for food, and experience the inconveniences

both of cold and hunger. If food, at all tainted, is offered to a native

by Europeans, it is generally rejected with disgust. In their natural

state, however, they frequently eat either fish or animals almost in a

state of putridity.

Cannibalism is not common, though there is reason to believe, that it is

occasionally practised by some tribes, but under what circumstances it is

difficult to say. Native sorcerers are said to acquire their magic

influence by eating human flesh, but this is only done once in a

life-time.

[Note 70: The only authentic and detailed account of any instance of

cannibalism, that I am acquainted with, is found in Parliamentary Papers

on Australian Aborigines, published August, 1844, in a report of

Mr. Protector Sievewright, from Lake Tarong, in one of the Port Phillip

districts.

"On going out I found the whole of the men of the different tribes

(amounting to upwards of 100) engaged hand to hand in one general melee.

"On being directed by some of the women, who had likewise sought shelter

near my tent, to the huts of the Bolaghers, I there found a young woman,

supported in the arms of some of her tribe, quite insensible, and

bleeding from two severe wounds upon the right side of the face; she

continued in the same state of insensibility till about 11 o'clock, when

she expired.

"After fighting for nearly an hour, the men of the Bolagher tribe

returned to their huts, when finding that every means I had used to

restore the young woman was in vain, they gave vent to the most frantic

expressions of grief and rage, and were employed till daylight in

preparing themselves and weapons to renew the combat.

"Shortly before sunrise they again rushed towards the Targurt and

Elengermite tribes, who, with about a dozen of Wamambool natives, were

encamped together, when a most severe struggle took place between them,

and very few escaped on either side without serious fractures or dangerous

spear wounds. Although the Targurt tribe were supported by the Elengermite

and Wamambool natives, and were consequently much superior in number,

they were, after two hours hard fighting, driven off the ground and

pursued for about four miles, to where their women and children had

retired; when one of the former, named Mootinewhannong, was selected,

and fell, pierced by about 20 spears of the pursuers.

"The body of this female was shortly afterwards burned to ashes by her

own people, and the Bolagher natives returned to their encampment,

apparently satisfied with the revenge they had taken, and remained

silently and sullenly watching the almost inanimate body of the wounded

female.

"When death took place, they again expressed the most violent and

extravagant grief; they threw themselves upon the ground, weeping and

screaming at the height of their voices, lacerating their bodies and

inflicting upon themselves wounds upon their heads, from blows which they

gave themselves with the leangville. About an hour after the death of the

young woman, the body was removed a few hundred yards into the bush

by the father and brother of the deceased; the remainder of the tribe

following by one at a time, until they had all joined what I imagined

to be the usual funeral party. Having accompanied the body when it

was removed, I was then requested to return to my tent, which request

I took no notice of. In a few minutes I was again desired, rather

sternly, and by impatient signs to go. I endeavoured to make them

understand that I wished to remain, and I sat down upon a tree close to

where the body lay. The father of the deceased then came close up to me,

and pointed with his finger to his mouth, and then to the dead body. I

was at this moment closely and intensely scrutinized by the whole party.

I at once guessed their meaning, and signified my intention to remain,

and, with as much indifference as I could assume, stretched myself upon

the tree, and narrowly watched their proceedings.

"With a flint they made an incision upon the breast, when a simultaneous

shriek was given by the party, and the same violent signs of grief were

again evinced. After a short time the operation was again commenced,

and in a few minutes the body disembowelled.

"The scene which now took place was of the most revolting description;

horror-stricken and utterly disgusted, while obliged to preserve that

equanimity of demeanour upon which I imagined the development of this

tragedy to depend, I witnessed the most fearful scene of ferocious

cannibalism.

"The bowels and entire viscera having been disengaged from the body,

were at first portioned out; but from the impatience of some of the women

to get at the liver, a general scramble took place for it, and it was

snatched in pieces, and, without the slightest process of cooking,

was devoured with an eagerness and avidity, a keen, fiendish expression

of impatience for more, from which scene, a memory too tenacious upon

this subject will not allow me to escape; the kidneys and heart were

in like manner immediately consumed, and as a climax to these revolting

orgies, when the whole viscera were removed, a quantity of blood and

serum which had collected in the cavity of the chest, was eagerly

collected in handsful, and drunk by the old man who had dissected

the body; the flesh was entirely cut off the ribs and back, the

arms and legs were wrenched and twisted from the shoulder and hip

joints, and their teeth employed to dissever the reeking tendons, when

they would not immediately yield to their impatience. The limbs were now

doubled up and put aside in their baskets; and on putting a portion of

the flesh upon a fire which had previously been lit, they seemed to

remember that I was of the party; something was said to one of the women,

who cut off a foot from the leg she had in her possession, and offered it

to me; I thought it prudent to accept of it, and wrapping it in my

handkerchief, and pointing to my tent, they nodded assent, and I joyfully

availed myself of their permission to retire. They shortly afterwards

returned to their huts with the debris of the feast, and during the day,

to the horror and annoyance of my two boys, and those belonging to the

establishment, they brought another part, and some half-picked bones, and

offered them to us. The head was struck off with a tomahawk and placed

between hot stones in the hollow of a tree, where it has undergone a

process of baking, and it is still left there otherwise untouched."]

Many methods of obtaining the various articles of food, are resorted to

by the natives, some of these are very simple; some exceedingly

ingenious; whilst others require great tact and skill; and not a few

exercise to their fullest extent those qualities, which they possess so

greatly, and prize so highly, such as quickness of sight, readiness of

hand, caution in arranging plans, judgment in directing them, patience in

waiting for the result, endurance in pursuing, and strength in holding

fast.

Fish are procured in different ways. They are caught with weirs or dams,

as already described; and also with large seines made of string

manufactured from the rush, and buoyed up with dry reeds, bound into

bundles, and weighted by stones tied to the bottom. This is used just in

the same way as the European seine, being either shot from a canoe, or

set by swimming or wading, according to the depth of the water. Great

numbers of fish of various kinds, and often of a large size, are caught

in this way. Fresh water turtles, varying in weight from three to twelve

pounds, are also taken in the same way, and are excellent eating.

Another kind of net (ngail-le) used in fishing is made of slender twine,

and has a large mesh. It is long, but not more than from two to three

feet deep. A string is passed through the loops of the upper part, and is

then stretched across a lagoon, or any other sheet of still water, the

upper part being nearly level with the surface of the water, and the

lower part dangling loose below, without weight. In setting it each

extremity is fastened to a pole or spear, stuck firmly in the mud to keep

it in its place, whilst a third pole is occasionally put in the middle. A

few dry reeds are sometimes fastened at intervals to the line, running

through the upper part to prevent the net from sinking too low. When set,

the native either remains by it to take the fish out as they are caught,

or leaves it there all night. The fish swimming about the lagoon, or

sporting near the surface, strike against the net, and get their heads

fast in the meshes. The net swinging loose, yields to their pressure, and

entangles them the more as they struggle to extricate themselves from it.

This is a most destructive mode of catching fish, and generally secures

the finest and largest.

Fish are sometimes taken in another way. A party of natives proceed to a

lagoon, or lake of still water, each carrying in his hand a small net

(ken-de-ran-ko) of a semi-oval shape, about twenty inches long, from

seven to nine inches across, and from five to seven inches deep. This net

is kept in shape by a thin hoop of wood running round it in the upper

part. With this the native dives to the bottom, and searches among the

weeds until he sees a fish; he then cautiously places the net under it,

and, rising suddenly to the surface, holds his victim at arm's length

above his head; and then biting it to kill it, he throws it on the shore

and dives down again for another.

The natives are very skilful in this mode of fishing, and it is an

interesting sight to see several of them in the water diving together,

and exerting themselves against each other in their efforts to catch the

best fish, whilst the affrighted inhabitants of the water swim wildly and

confusedly about, seeking shelter in the mud and weeds, only to become an

easier prey. I have even seen natives dive down in the river, without net

or implement of any kind, and bring up good-sized fish, which they had

caught with their hands at the bottom.

Another method of diving with the net is conducted on a larger scale. The

net itself is made of strong twine, from six to eight feet long, oval at

the top, about two feet across, and two deep. It is looped to a wooden

hoop or bow, with a strong string drawn tightly across the two ends of

the bow, and passed through the loops of the straight side of the net.

With this two natives dive together under the cliffs which confine the

waters of the Murray, each holding one end of the bow. They then place it

before any hole or cavity there may be in the rocks beneath the surface,

with the size, shape, and position of which they have by previous

experience become well acquainted; the terrified fish is then driven into

the net and secured. Fishes varying from twenty to seventy pounds are

caught in this way. It is only, however, at particular seasons of the

year, when the female fish are seeking for a place to deposit their spawn

that this mode of fishing can be adopted.

Other kinds of hoop-nets are used for catching fish in shallow waters, or

for taking the shrimp, and a small fish like the white-bait, but they

need not be particularly described.

The next principal mode of procuring fish is by spearing them, and even

this is performed in a variety of ways, according to the season of the

year, the description of fish to be taken, and the peculiarities of the

place where they are found. In the shallow waters upon the sea-coast the

native wades with his spear and throwing-stick, and follows the windings

of the fish with singular rapidity and skill, rarely missing his aim

where he has an opportunity of striking.

In the larger rivers, when the waters are low and clear, a party of

natives varying in numbers from five to forty plunge in with their

spears, which for the purpose are made of hard wood, with smooth, sharp

points, and about six feet long. Forming themselves into a large

semicircle in the water, they all dive down, simultaneously, with their

weapons, accompanied sometimes by a young man, a few yards in advance of

the middle of the party, and without a spear. For a considerable time

they remain under water, and then, if successful, gradually emerge, and

deliver the fish that have been speared, to their friends on the shore.

If unsuccessful they swim a few yards further down, and dive again with

their weapons. And thus they frequently go on for a mile or two, until

they are either tired or satisfied with their success. I have known a

party of thirty natives kill seven or eight fish in the course of an

hour, none of which were under fifteen pounds, whilst some of them were

much larger.

The regularity with which they keep their relative positions,

notwithstanding the current of the river, and the dexterity and order

with which they dive under the water, are truly surprising to a person

who witnesses them for the first time.

At the period of floods, and when they have nearly attained their height,

and the young reeds and rushes begin to shew themselves above the surface

of the water, near the bank of rivers or of lagoons formed by the floods

in the alluvial flats behind, another method of spearing fish is

practised from a canoe (mun) made out of a solid sheet of the bark of the

gum-tree (eucalyptus).

To these reeds the fish are very fond of resorting, probably to feed upon

the insects that are found upon the tender leaves; in moving about from

one place to another they strike against the reeds, and produce a

vibration in the tops above the water; this indicates to the native, who

is sailing stealthily along in his canoe, the exact place where they are

passing, and suddenly raising his arm with great energy he strikes

forcibly among the reeds with his spear, without letting it go out of his

hand. If the first blow does not succeed, it is rapidly repeated, and

seldom fails in securing a prize. When a large fish is speared, it is

pressed downwards to the ground, and the native leaps out of his canoe

and dives to the bottom to secure it. The spear (moo-ar-roo) used in this

method of fishing varies from ten to sixteen feet in length, and is made

of pine, pliant, and of nearly a uniform thickness; it is about an inch

and a half in diameter, and has two short pointed pieces of hard wood

lashed to one end, projecting about five or six inches, and set a little

apart, so as to form a kind of prongs or grains. This instrument is also

used for propelling the canoe.

It is used too for spearing fish by night, which is by far the most

interesting method of any.

Having previously prepared his canoe, straightened his spear, and

hardened and sharpened the points of the prongs, the native breaks up his

fire-wood in small pieces, and loads his canoe with a stock calculated to

last the time he intends to be absent. An oval piece of bark, about three

feet long and two broad, is then coated over with wet mud and placed in

the stern of the canoe, on a framework of sticks. One or two sticks are

stuck upright in the mud, and others placed around them in the form of a

cone. A fire is then put underneath, and the native, stepping into the

bow of his canoe, pushes steadily into the stream, and commences his

nocturnal employment. The wood of which the fire is made is of a

particular kind, and, as only one description of tree will answer, it has

frequently to be brought from a considerable distance. It is obtained

among the brush of the table-land stretching behind the valley of the

Murray, on either side, and its peculiarities are that it is light,

brittle, and resinous, emitting when burning a most agreeable fragrance

and a powerful and brilliant light, almost wholly free from smoke.

Two men usually accompany each canoe, one to attend to the fire, and keep

it always burning brightly, and the other to guide the canoe and spear

the fish. As soon as the fire begins to blaze up the scene becomes most

beautiful. The low black looking piece of bark floats noiselessly down

the middle of the stream, or stealthily glides under the frowning cliffs,

now lit up by a brilliant light. In the bow is seen the dark, naked, but

graceful form of the savage, standing firm and erect, and scarcely

seeming to move, as with the slightest motion of his arms he guides the

frail canoe. His spear is grasped in his hand, whilst his whole attitude

and appearance denote the most intense vigilance and attention. Suddenly

you see his arm uplifted, and the weapon descending with the rapidity of

thought, a splash is seen, a struggle heard, and a fish is slowly and

cautiously drawn towards the canoe pierced through with the spear. If it

is a large one, the native at once plunges into the water, still

retaining his hold of the spear, and soon reappears with the trophy in

his arms.

Among the rocks under the cliffs, or among logs or roots of trees, or on

a clayey bottom, large fresh-water lobsters (poo-ta-ron-ko) are procured

in the same way, weighing from two to four pounds each, and of a most

delicate and excellent flavour. I have frequently been out with a single

native, and seen him spear from ten to sixteen of these in an hour or

two.

It has a singular and powerful effect upon the imagination, to witness at

midnight a fleet of these canoes, gliding about in the distance like so

many balls of fire, imparting a still deeper shade to the gloom of

darkness which surrounds the spectator, and throwing an air of romance on

the whole scene. Occasionally in travelling at night, and coming suddenly

upon the river from the scrub behind, I have been dazzled and enchanted

with the fairy sight that has burst upon me. The waters have been alive

with brilliant fires, moving to and fro in every direction, like meteors

from a marsh, and like those too, rapidly and inexplicably disappearing

when the footsteps of strangers are heard approaching.

A few other methods of catching fish are sometimes resorted to, such as

stirring up the mud in stagnant ponds, and taking the fish when they come

up almost choked to the surface. Groping with their hands or with boughs,

etc. etc.

There is also a particular season of the year (about September), when in

the larger rivers the fish become ill or diseased, and lie floating on

the surface unable to descend, or drift down dead with the current.

Fishes weighing nearly eighty pounds are sometimes taken in this way. The

natives are always looking out for opportunities of procuring food so

easily, and never hesitate to eat any fish, although they may have been

dead for some time.

I have never seen the natives use hooks in fishing of their own

manufacture, nor do I believe that they ever make any, though they are

glad enough to get them from Europeans.

The large fresh-water lobster is sometimes procured by diving, in which

case the females are generally employed, as the weather is cold, and

night is the best time to procure them. It is extraordinary to see a

party of women plunge into the water on a cold dark night, and swim and

dive about amongst logs, stumps, roots, and weeds without ever hurting

themselves, and seldom failing to obtai the object of their search.

Turtle are procured in the same way, but generally by the men, and in the

day time.

Muscles of a very large kind are also got by diving. The women whose duty

it is to collect these, go into the water with small nets (len-ko) hung

round their necks, and diving to the bottom pick up as many as they can,

put them into their bags, and rise to the surface for fresh air,

repeating the operation until their bags have been filled. They have the

power of remaining for a long time under the water, and when they rise to

the surface for air, the head and sometimes the mouth only is exposed. A

stranger suddenly coming to the river when they were all below, would be

puzzled to make out what the black objects were, so frequently appearing

and disappearing in the water.

Cray-fish of the small kind (u-kod-ko) weighing from four to six ounces

are obtained by the women wading into the water as already described, or

by men wading and using a large bow-net, called a "wharro," which is

dragged along by two or three of them close to the bottom where the water

is not too deep.

Frogs are dug out of the ground by the women, or caught in the marshes,

and used in every stage from the tadpole upwards.

Rats are also dug out of the ground, but they are procured in the

greatest numbers and with the utmost facility when the approach of the

floods in the river flats compels them to evacuate their domiciles. A

variety is procured among the scrubs under a singular pile or nest which

they make of sticks, in the shape of a hay-cock, three or four feet high

and many feet in circumference. A great many occupy the same pile and are

killed with sticks as they run out.

Snakes, lizards and other reptiles are procured among the rocks or in the

scrubs. Grubs are got out of the gum-tree into which they eat their way,

as also out of the roots of the mimosa, the leaves of the zamia, the

trunk of the xanthorra, and a variety of other plants and shrubs.

One particularly large white grub, and a great bon-bouche to the natives,

is procured out of the ground. It is about four inches long and half an

inch in thickness, and is obtained by attaching a thin narrow hook of

hard wood to the long, wiry shoots of the polygonum, and then pushing

this gently down the hole through which the grub has burrowed into the

earth until it is hooked. Grubs are procured at a depth of seven feet in

this way without the delay or trouble of digging.

Moths are procured as before described; or the larger varieties are

caught at nights whilst flying about.

Fungi are abundant, and of great variety. Some are obtained from the

surface of the ground, others below it, and others again from the trunks

and boughs of trees.

Roots of all kinds are procured by digging, one of the most important

being that of the flag or cooper's reed, which grows in marshes or

alluvial soils that are subject to periodical inundations. This is used

more or less at all seasons of the year, but is best after the floods

have retired and the tops have become decayed and been burnt off. The

root is roasted in hot ashes, and chewed, when it affords a nutritious

and pleasant farinaceous food.

The belillah is another important bulbous root, which also grows on lands

subject to floods. It is about the size of a walnut, of a hard and oily

nature, and is prepared by being roasted and pounded into a thin cake

between two stones. Immense tracts of country are covered with this plant

on the flats of the Murray, which in the distance look like the most

beautiful and luxuriant meadows. After the floods have retired I have

seen several hundreds of acres, with the stems of the plant six or seven

feet high, and growing so closely together as to render it very difficult

to penetrate far amongst them.

The thick pulpy leaf of the mesembryanthemum is in general use in all

parts of Australia which I have visited, and is eaten as a sort of relish

with almost every other kind of food. That which grows upon the elevated

table lands is preferred to that which is found in the valleys. It is

selected when the full vigour of the plant begins to decline and the tips

of the leaves become red, but before the leaf is at all withered. The

fruit is used both when first ripe and also after it has become dried up

and apparently withered. In each case it has an agreeable flavour and is

much prized by the natives.

Many other descriptions of fruits and berries are made use of in

different parts of the continent, the chief of which, so far as their use

has come under my own observation, are--

1. A kind of fruit called in the Moorunde dialect "ketango," about the

size and shape of a Siberian crab, but rounder. When this is ripe, it is

of a deep red colour, and consists of a solid mealy substance, about the

eighth of an inch in thickness, enclosing a large round stone, which,

upon being broken, yields a well-flavoured kernel. The edible part of the

fruit has an agreeable acid taste, and makes excellent puddings or

preserves, for which purpose it is now extensively used by Europeans. The

shrub on which this grows, is very elegant and graceful, and varies from

four to twelve feet in height. [Note 71: A species of fusanus.] When in

full bearing, nothing can exceed its beauty, drooping beneath its

crimson load.

Another shrub found in the scrubs, may sometimes be mistaken for this, as

it bears in appearance a similar fruit; but on being tasted, it is bitter

and nauseous. This in the Murray dialect is called "netting." The natives

prepare it by baking it in an oven, which takes the bitter taste away.

The "netting" is earlier in season than the "ketango."

2. A berry about the size and shape of a large sloe, but with a smaller

stone; conical in shape, and rounded at the large end. This fruit is

juicy and saline, though not disagreeable in taste. There are several

varieties of it, which when ripe are of a black, red, or yellow colour.

The black is the best. The bush upon which it grows is a salsolaceous

bramble [Note 72: Nitraria Australis], and is found in large quantities

on the saline flats, bordering some parts of the Murrumbidgee and Murray

rivers; and along the low parts of the southern coast, immediately behind

the ridges bounding the sea shore. It is a staple article of food in its

season, among the natives of those districts where it abounds, and is

eaten by them raw, stone and all.

3. A small berry or currant, called by the natives of Moorunde

"eertapko," about the size of No. 2. shot. When ripe it is red, and of an

agreeable acid flavour. It grows upon a low creeping tap-rooted plant, of

a salsolaceous character, found in the alluvial flats of the Murray,

among the polygonum brushes, and in many other places. A single plant

will spread over an area of many yards in diameter, covering the dry and

arid ground with a close, soft, and velvety carpet in the heat of summer,

at which time the fruit is in perfection. To collect so small a berry

with facility, and in abundance, the natives cut a rounded tray of thin

bark, two or three feet long, and six or eight inches wide, over this

they lift up the plant, upon which the fruit grows, and shake the berries

into it. When a sufficiency has been collected, the berries are skilfully

tossed into the air, and separated from the leaves and dirt. The natives

are very fond of this fruit, which affords them an inexhaustible resource

for many weeks. In an hour a native could collect more than he could use

in a day.

The other sorts of fruits and berries are numerous and varied, but do not

merit particular description.

[Note 73: Mr. Simpson gives the following account of the Bunya Bunya, a

fruit-bearing tree lately discovered on the N.E. coast of New

Holland.

"Ascending a steep hill, some four miles further on, we passed

through a bunya scrub, and for the first time had an opportunity of

examining this noble tree more closely. It raises its majestic head above

every other tree in the forest, and must, therefore, frequently reach the

height of 250 feet; the trunk is beautifully formed, being as straight as

an arrow, and perfectly branchless for above two-thirds of its height;

branches then strike off, nearly at right angles from the trunk, forming

circles which gradually diminish in diameter till they reach the summit,

which terminates in a single shoot; the foliage shining, dark green, the

leaves acutely pointed and lanceolate, with large green cones, the size

of a child's head, hanging from the terminal branches in the fruiting

season (January). It is, too, very remarkable that the bunya tree,

according to the natives, is nowhere to be met with but in these parts;

it is, however, there is no doubt, a species of the araucaria genus, well

known in South America; the timber, when green, is white, fine grained

and very tough, but whether it retains these qualities when dry, has not

yet been determined. The Aborigines are particularly fond of the bunya

nuts, which are as large as a full sized almond, including the shell,

and, in good seasons, come from a distance of 100 or 200 miles to feast

upon them."]

Bark from the roots of trees and shrubs is roasted, and then pounded

between two stones for use.

Gums exude from the trees on which they are procured. These are generally

varieties of the Mimosa.

Manna exudes in great abundance from the tree already mentioned, as

constituting the firewood which the natives use in fishing by night. It

is of a mottled red or brown colour, of a firm consistency and sweet

taste, resembling exactly in appearance, flavour, and colour, the manna

used medicinally in Europe.

Another variety is yielded by the Eucalyptus mannifera and is found early

in the morning under the tree, scattered on the ground. This is

beautifully white and delicate, resembling flakes of snow.

Honey is procured by steeping the cones of the Banksia or other

melliferous flowers in water. It is procured pure from the hives of the

native bees, found in cavities of rocks, and the hollow branches of

trees. The method of discovering the hive is ingenious. Having caught one

of the honey bees, which in size exceeds very little the common house

fly, the native sticks a piece of feather or white down to it with gum,

and then letting it go, sets off after it as fast as he can: keeping his

eye steadily fixed upon the insect, he rushes along like a madman,

tumbling over trees and bushes that lie in his way, but rarely losing

sight of his object, until conducted to its well-filled store, he is

amply paid for all his trouble. The honey is not so firm as that of the

English bee, but is of very fine flavour and quality.