HUNTING
True sportsman’s instinct—Comprehensive list
of game—Land-snails—Fresh-water mussels—Marine
molluscs—Caterpillars—Grubs—Tree-climbing—Trees felled by
burning—Witchedy hook—Eggs of birds and reptiles—Snakes
and lizards—Fishing methods described—A turtle
hunt—Crocodile—Dugong—Hawk traps—Wild geese and other
birds—The emu—Big game hunted by men—Opossums—Burrowing
marsupials—Wallaby—Kangarooing expeditions—The buffalo—Wild bee
honey—The honey ant.
Nothing surpasses the pleasure of real pristine chase. The aboriginal’s
ideal of life is attained when he finds himself in hot pursuit of the
game, which shares with him the wilds of his ancient haunts. He lives
at an accelerated pace; his pulse quickens, and in his excitement he
completely dissociates his mind from everything but the spoor of his
prospective prey. His vision is focussed rigidly upon the fleeing
animal—he is blind so far as any other objects are concerned—and, behind
it, he beholds just the one picture of his ambition realized, _viz._ the
“kill.”
The love of the sport, the keenness of the senses, and the astounding
powers of endurance are natural attributes, which the aboriginal alone
knows how to use to their fullest. These are the hereditary gifts of man
which characterize the primitive hunter; and these are the instincts
which modern representatives of the human species have deplorably
neglected.
The object of the chase is, of course, in its original phase, to find
the means wherewith to sustain the hunter’s existence. Although he loves
the sport so well, a native will never kill wantonly; whatever is slain
is eaten; to kill just for the pleasure of the thing is beyond his
comprehension and clashes seriously with his profound notions of justice
and fair-play being meted out to all his fellow-creatures.
Apart from some of the flabby marine creations, there are few things in
the animal world which the aboriginal does not eat, either raw or cooked
in ashes. Generally speaking, the male only hunts the larger mammals and
such things as require expert knowledge to locate, or the taking of which
is associated with adventure and skill. We shall consider a few items
separately.
The larger land-snails are collected by the women in their food-carriers.
After a good downpour of rain such come out from their hiding places
in great numbers and can be collected in large numbers, but even in
midsummer, in the ranges of central Australia, a meal of snails can at
any time be secured by searching under tussocks and beneath stones. The
principal species eaten by the Aluridja, Wongapitcha, and to a less
extent by the Arunndta tribes, is the _Helix perinflata_. When sufficient
have been collected, they are merely thrown upon hot ashes to roast and
then picked out of the shell with a small pointed stick.
Fresh water mussels are gathered from the mud, roasted and consumed.
These molluscs, known as the _Unio_, are very plentiful in some of the
permanent water-holes, such as exist along the Cooper and Strzelecki
Creeks in the Yantowannta, Wongkanguru, and Dieri country. Along the
banks of the River Murray great heaps of the shells of such mussels are
encountered by travellers even nowadays, indicating to what an enormous
extent the molluscs were eaten by the extinct river tribes.
Countless marine species, both heliform gastropods like the periwinkle
and cockle-like bivalves, contribute towards the daily meals of the
coastal tribes. All along the south-eastern shores of South Australia,
that is, upon the cliffs occurring between Kingston and the Glenelg River
and in Victoria, many kitchen middens are still to be found containing
heaps upon heaps of the large _Turbo undulata_—the remains of what the
local tribes have feasted upon. Associated with these heaps are the
stones of their ovens and other camp refuse.
The cliffs and reefs, which fringe the north coast of Australia, are
profitable hunting grounds where all kinds of shell-fish, especially
oysters, abound. The last-named are gathered and thrown upon hot ashes;
when the valves open, the “fish” are detached without any difficulty and
swallowed.
The Wongapitcha and other desert tribes do not hesitate to consume
quantities of green caterpillars, but such usually only at the beginning
of a good season, when fresh herbs are available, and the morsel is
in consequence claimed to have acquired a sweetish flavour. The only
treatment the caterpillars receive is to be thrown upon hot ashes until
they expand and straighten with the heat. The small hairs covering them
are thus singed off, but the caterpillars are far from being cooked when
eaten.
The most popular and at the same time most widely distributed article of
diet in the insect line is the larva of the big _Cossus_ moth, commonly
known as the witchedy grub (Plate XVIII). The two varieties which make
themselves most conspicuous are, firstly, one living in the roots of such
shrubs as the Cassia and certain species of Acacia, and, secondly, one
which bores into the butt of the eucalyptus. The first cannot usually
be located by the eye, but its presence is determined by ramming the
yam-stick into the ground under the root of the shrub and testing its
resistance to leverage—if the grub is present, the root will readily
snap, whereupon the native soon unearths it by digging with the stick and
his hands. This variety is smaller than the tree-grub and is mostly of a
yellow colour.
The abode of the tree-grub is detected by the native’s keen eye in the
small holes the young larva bores into the bark and lives in until it
attains the mature moth stage. The larva lives in the butt or in any of
the larger limbs of the tree; consequently it may at times be concealed
in the bark high above the ground. In the latter case the native will
have to climb the butt and effect an ascent, no matter what the shape of
the tree happens to be. Various methods are made use of, one of which we
have already considered on page 13.
One of the commonest methods is to cut shallow notches in the bark of
the butt, one above the other, and so placed that the toes of either
foot of the climber can be placed into them, alternately right and left.
The climber, as he ascends, cuts fresh notches into the bark with his
tomahawk; and if the butt is so big that he cannot hold on to it, he is
obliged to cling to a notch with the fingers of one hand whilst the other
hand is used to cut the new notch above it. In this manner he works his
way upwards to the nearest lateral branch, whence the ascent is in most
cases easier. It is wonderful with what assurance and ease the native
accomplishes this dangerous task; and one marvels how it is possible for
him to retain his balance against the vertical trunk of the tree. The
notches, too, which he cuts into the bark, are so shallow that only the
very toe-tips can be inserted. One uncertain movement, or one slip of
either toe or finger, and he would fall to the ground; and considering
the height to which he occasionally climbs, this might mean certain
death. All grub-holes are examined on the way up and the occupants
extracted. Vide Plate XIX, 1.
When the diameter of the butt is not too large to prevent the native from
holding his hands around the distant side, the notches are dispensed
with, and the climber simply “walks” up the tree, keeping his arms
extended and allowing his hands to slide along the surface as he ascends.
The method is in vogue principally in the tropical portions of Australia,
where small-trunked trees and palms are plentiful in the jungles
surrounding permanent water-holes and rivers.
In the same region, strong vines and creepers, which are interlaced with
the branches of a tree to be explored, are climbed, hand over hand, by
the hunter, who gets his hold by gripping the stem between the big and
second toes.
In north-eastern Queensland, tree-climbing is accomplished by the aid
of a long and strong piece of the lawyer-cane, which is passed around
that side of the tree-trunk lying away from the climber. The native
seizes both ends of this loop, one in either hand, and keeping it taut
by throwing his body backwards into a sloping position, he places his
feet against the tree. Momentarily relaxing the strain upon the cane, by
a jerk from his arms, he thrusts the loop a short distance up the trunk,
at the same time lifting one foot above the other as though he were
walking up a ladder. The same operation is repeated, when the other foot
is lifted; and thus he makes quick progress towards the first lateral
branches of the tree. Should at any time the climber want to use one of
his hands, he passes one end of the cane under the knee of the same side
as the hand to be liberated and holds the end between the big toe and
that next to it.
Often the natives do not climb the tree, but prefer to light a fire
at the base of it and wait until the flame has eaten its way through
sufficiently far to fell it. After a giant of the woods has crashed to
the ground, it is comparatively easy for the hunters to obtain any spoil
concealed in its bark, hollows, or branches.
Although we have considered the methods of tree-climbing in connection
with the witchedy grub, it must be understood that the same methods are
employed in hunting small animals, in bird-nesting, in honey-collecting,
and so forth.
The witchedy grub is extracted from its hiding place by means of a
light hooked stick. This implement is from four to six inches long and
is usually cut from a small pronged twig, one arm of which is left the
required length, the other cut short and sharpened to form the hook.
The stick is inserted into the hole occupied by the witchedy grub,
hook foremost, and pushed in until the grub is penetrated; then it is
withdrawn, the hook bringing the grub with it. As the hole is usually
small at its entrance, the bark is first cut away to a small depth with
a tomahawk in order to avoid the constriction when the grub is being
withdrawn. The witchedy-hook is known throughout central and southern
Australia; the Arunndta word for it is “_ullyinga_.”
The witchedy grub is prepared like most things already described, namely,
by throwing it upon hot ashes for a few moments until it straightens and
expands, but does not burst. Although we Europeans have become adverse
to eating anything in the grub line, there are many bush people who
regularly partake of the witchedy; indeed, by many the grub is regarded
as a very tasty dish. The flavour of the cooked witchedy is like that of
scrambled egg, slightly sweetened.
The eggs and fledglings of all birds yield abundant food supplies during
favourable seasons. In central Australia such seasons are dependent
entirely upon the rains. Birds breed usually after the setting in of
rain, which might be once or twice a year, but in the driest regions,
like the Victoria Desert, perhaps only once every few years. There is
no doubt that emu, black swan, and native goose are amongst the biggest
suppliers of eggs. Of the two last-named birds, in particular, enormous
harvests of eggs are occasionally wrested during exceptional seasons. At
these times the tribes who have been so bounteously favoured carry on a
regular trade with neighbouring tribes, who have perhaps not had the same
opportunity or good fortune.
The eggs of the larger birds mentioned are laid upon, or into, hot sand
and frequently turned to ensure them cooking on all sides. The desert
tribes of the Kimberley district have a knack of snatching the egg, as it
lies upon the hot ashes, spinning it in the air, catching it again, and
replacing it on to the ashes. The process might be repeated two or three
times. The idea is to stir up the contents of the egg, in order that
they may cook uniformly, much after the style of an omelette or scrambled
egg.
The eggs of lizards, crocodiles, turtles, and other reptiles are also
feasted upon. Of turtles in particular great numbers of eggs are
collected along the north coast of Australia. The female turtle comes
out of the ocean and lays many eggs in the sand, a short distance
above high water mark; between fifty and sixty eggs are commonly found
in a single nest. The turtle lays the eggs into a hole it previously
scoops out, and covers them with sand it piles up with its paddles. The
aboriginal locates the nest by tracking the characteristic spoor across
the sand. When the nest has been discovered, the hunter probes the pile
with a pointed stick or spear to ascertain whether the eggs are still
available. This he can presage by looking at the point of the stick when
he withdraws it: if the eggs are freshly laid, the point will be covered
with yellow yolk, if partly hatched blood will show itself. The eggs are
eaten in either condition. The lucky hunter, immediately he finds a nest,
digs out the eggs with his hands and yam stick, and carries them in a
food-vessel back to camp. Their preparation is much the same as that of
birds’ eggs, but, in the case of the turtle’s, the white of the egg does
not coagulate.
Snakes and lizards, especially the larger species, contribute towards the
daily meals. They are tracked to their holes and hiding places and dug
out. Great catches are made in the northern coastal districts by setting
fire to areas covered with long, dry grass. The hunting party surrounds
the burning patch and kills the reptiles, as they are driven out of their
hiding places by the heat. Many creatures are overtaken by the flames and
partially roasted before they can escape. These are collected as soon as
the ground permits of walking over it, but very often such morsels fall
into the claws of the birds of prey, which hover over the place directly
the fires are started. In order to ensure a rapid spread of the flames,
the natives make use of a stick, about a yard long, with a hook at one
end. With this stick in their hand, they pick up some of the blazing
grass at the hook-end, and run with it along and through the grass,
setting fire to as much as they can, and in as short a time as possible.
Of the lizards, the most favoured are the species of _Varanus_, popularly
known as the printhy and the goanna. These species live in central
and northern Australia and attain a considerable size, the printhy in
particular, living in the MacDonnell and Musgrave Ranges, attain a
size of over six feet. These lizards in a good season are considered a
delicacy, and the fat is prized as nutriment, as medicine, or as cosmetic
ointment alike. The lizards are slain either in the caves they inhabit
or as they are running from the hunter. In sandy stretches of country,
the smaller goannas are often dug out of the holes they dwell in, and are
killed on the spot.
Fishing is indulged in wherever the conditions permit of it.
Opportunities are naturally rare in central Australia, and are restricted
to only a few permanent water-holes along the courses of river systems
like the Cooper, Diamentina, and Finke. In the northern rivers, which
are nearly all permanently flowing, as for example the Fitzroy, Prince
Regent, Victoria, Daly, Alligators, Roper, and Leichhardt, there is
always an abundant supply of fish available. A common method practised
both in central and northern Australia is to form a fishing party of men
and boys, who enter a water-hole at one end and drive the fish before
them, by making as much noise and splash as possible, at the same time
gradually working their way towards the shallow water. Great care is
taken not to allow any of the prey to make its escape by darting back
through the line of the party into deep water again. Suddenly a final,
united drive is made, through which most of the terrified fish find
themselves in disastrously shallow water. In their frantic endeavour to
escape, they entangle themselves in the mud, and can easily be grabbed
by the members of the party. As fast as the fish are taken by the men,
they are thrown on to the dry bank, where some gins are in readiness to
seize them and dispatch them by crushing their heads between their teeth.
Many of the larger fish living in the water-holes have the habit of
throwing themselves out of the water when the mud is stirred up in it;
lying high and dry upon the muddy banks of the hole, they are easily
seized by the natives and killed.
In the western rivers district of the Northern Territory, after the
water has dried up in the creeks, leaving only shallow pools behind,
the imprisoned fish are driven towards small inlets by means of long
bundles of grass and twigs held horizontally in the water. In this way
they are pushed forward on to the bank, and the water filters back to the
hole. The fish are retained by the brushwood, from which they are easily
extricated by the hunters.
The Carpentaria tribes build ingenious races at suitable sites, as
for instance at a point where a river drains a billabong. By means
of a series of embankments, the water is conducted along a number of
constricted channels to long hollow logs, through which it flows, and,
subsequently, empties itself over stacks of brushwood. The fish are
entangled in the brushwood, whence they are removed by the hunters to a
place of safety.
Crawfish are traced in shallow pools by keeping a constant look-out
for the ends of their antennæ, which stick out above the surface of
the turbid water; the native seizes these, and, with a jerk, hurls the
crustaceans on to the bank.
[Illustration: _PLATE XVI_
1. Wongapitcha women carrying dogs which they hold across their backs to
enjoy the warmth of the animals’ bodies.
2. Kolaia man standing in the characteristic bird-like attitude,
Cambridge Gulf.]
In the Victoria River district of the Northern Territory, where there are
suitable constrictions in shallow tidal-inlets and creeks, the natives
sit in a line across the opening at ebb-tide after the following fashion:
Each person squats with his legs doubled in the knees, the thighs
resting well apart and in contact, one on either side, with those of his
neighbours, who are seated just as he. When the last of the water ebbs
out, the fish endeavour to make through the line of the fishers, but the
moment one invades the angle contained by an aboriginal’s thighs, it is
immediately pounced upon, caught, and thrown across to the women waiting
on the shore.
In place of the human line, very often a net is spanned across an ebbing
inlet, being kept in a more or less vertical position by a number of
stakes, which are driven into the sand. These nets are made of vegetable
fibre twine, strung or knitted together, after a loop-within-loop
pattern, into pieces many yards in length.
Barriers are also built across shallow inlets, which upon the recession
of the tide may occasionally retain large numbers of fish. Such
structures are plentiful in the Berringin territory along the north
coast, and in the Carpentaria Gulf country.
More temporary structures are made of branches and strips of paper-bark,
stayed by vertical piles, driven into the sand at short distances apart.
This type of barrier was seen mostly across the beds of creeks such as
the McKinlay, Cullen, and Lennard.
A kind of noose is made by the Daly River tribes consisting of a long
piece of big meshwork, which is loosely suspended across a narrow arm of
water, or a creek, known to be frequented by larger varieties of fish.
Whilst endeavouring to swim through the meshes of this contrivance,
which at first offers no material resistance to the attempt, the fish,
in carrying the noose onwards, forces its body partly through one of the
meshes. Some of the prey might succeed in slipping through, others will
pull the noose over their heads and fix the mesh in such a position that
it will move neither forwards nor backwards. In this case, the fish will
be obliged to linger until the natives come along to ascertain what luck
they have had, when it is removed, together with any others which have
met with a similar fate.
Practically all coastal tribes of Australia have made use of fishing nets
at some time or other. Nowadays only the far northern coastal tribes
still practise netting. The Daly River tribes, the Wogait, Sherait,
Larrekiya, Berringin, and others construct nets after one and the same
principle. Two hoops are made of the long shoots of _Spinifex_, growing
upon the sandhills on the shore, usually by twisting two pairs of such
pieces together, respectively, and tying their ends so as to form a
complete ring, measuring about five feet in diameter. Round the inside
of this ring is tied a circular net made out of fibre twine or of
Hybiscus bark. The net is made by hand, after the loop-within-loop method
previously referred to. To use the net, two natives, usually females,
seize it with one hand placed at either side of the rim. As they wade out
to a suitable depth, they hold the net between them, partly submerged and
slightly inclined, so that the lower edge is in advance of the upper. In
their free hands the gins carry branches, with which they frequently beat
the water on either side, so as to drive any fish, within the beating
radius, towards the centre of the net. So soon as a fish is noticed to go
inside, the net is quickly turned up into a horizontal position and the
captive bagged (Fig. 3).
[Illustration: Fig. 3. Berringin women netting fish.]
A constant watch is kept for large fish, which may be swimming close in
to shore, in order that they might be dispatched with a stone or throwing
stick. Feeding stingrays are often captured this way. When saw-fish come
into shallow water, the natives wade in, seize the fish by their tails,
and throw them up on to dry land before the dangerous “saws” can do any
harm.
The spear is a favourite weapon with which to obtain a fish. A special
type is used by the Larrekiya, Wogait, the Alligator River, and other
coastal tribes in the north. The spear is about eleven feet long, has a
shaft of reed or bamboo, and three barbed prongs of ironwood grouped in a
circle around the head of the shaft. These spikes, measuring from twelve
to fifteen inches, are attached with resin and string or paperbark. The
barbs are short and directed backwards, each prong containing from eight
to eleven, gradually increasing in size from the point towards the shaft.
This trident-spear is used mostly for salt-water fish, and is thrown
with or without a spear-thrower. The idea of the three spikes is to jam
the fish so that it is held by the retrorse barbs. The spearing is done
either off reefs and rocks, or simply by wading out into shallow water
and securing the prey as it emerges from sea-weed or swims near the sandy
bottom; many of the coastal and river tribes do much of their spearing
from the bow of a canoe. Some tribes make similar fish-spears, but with
two prongs only.
The Kimberley tribes of Western Australia, the island tribes off the
north coast and the north Queensland coastal tribes use straight, pointed
spears of mangrove wood, those of the Crocker Island being exceptionally
well finished and of harder wood.
The tribes living more inland in the river districts of the north also
use a singly pointed, straight fish-spear. A native does most of his
fishing by perching himself upon a high bank, rock, or fallen log, at
a place where he knows fish are being attracted to the surface of the
water by flies or other causes. He stands rigidly for hours, with his
spear poised, patiently waiting for the opportunity, which will allow him
to thrust the sharp point into the body of the unsuspecting prey. The
spear is thrown with such force that it either sticks in the mud below
or disappears under water for a while. In either case, the native has to
wade or swim out to the missile, and when he retakes it, the fish, if he
has been successful, is found sticking to the end of the spear.
The hook and line are used by the Daly and Alligator River tribes of the
Northern Territory. Two types of hook are employed. One is cut out of a
pelvic bone or shoulder blade of the kangaroo, or out of the pearl shell.
It is of a strongly bent sickle-shape, pointed at one end and containing
a notch at the other, to which a line can be securely tied.
The other hook consists of two pieces of bone of unequal length. The
shorter and thinner piece, about two inches in length, is pointed at one
end and tied at an angle to the bigger piece, which is about four inches
long. The joint at the angle is strengthened with wild bees’ wax.
A fishing line, made of vegetable fibre twine, is looped once around
the hook, and made secure by tying with another piece of string, the
union being covered with bees’ wax. The line is held either in the hand
or is attached to a long rod. The hook is baited with grubs. It is by
this means that the Barramundi is caught in large numbers in most of the
northern rivers.
[Illustration: _PLATE XVII_
Female wood-carriers, Aluridja tribe.
“The women ... are required to collect sufficient to keep the fire going,
during the day for cooking purposes and during the night for warming and
lighting purposes.”]
A turtle hunt is conducted in King Sound after the following style: The
game is sighted, floating upon the surface of the sea, either from the
mainland or from a craft. Instantly a gesticulative appeal is made to all
to keep quiet. “_Hai! Kurdemilla!_” (Look out, a turtle!) “_Sh! Sh! Sh!_”
comes the voice of the person who has made the discovery, and others
repeat it in an undertone. Everybody who has noticed the turtle bends his
body to escape detection, and beckons to all others to do likewise. A
number of the men then creep to the water’s edge and cautiously board a
craft (i.e. if the observation was not made from a craft), in which they
carefully paddle towards the prey. As the boat draws near, the keen eyes
of the hunters endeavour to satisfy their curiosity upon the point as
to whether the object ahead is just one turtle resting upon the surface
in the warmth of a tropical sun, or whether, indeed, there might be a
pair, coupled in the water. The female turtle is much preferred by the
natives on account of the possible nutritious contents of the ovaries,
whose appearance is much like that of a cluster of yellowish dates. When
within reasonable distance of the prey, two men glide inaudibly over the
side of the craft and disappear from view. Upon a signal, two or three
others jump into the water, apparently disregardless of splash and noise,
and swim towards the now startled game, which lifts its long neck and
looks in the direction of the disturbance. Having perceived the imminent
danger, the turtle at once endeavours to escape from the peril by ducking
under water. But, at the same moment, it finds its head clasped by one of
the men below to be thrust back above the surface of the water. One of
the swimmers has now reached the turtle, whose shell he promptly seizes
by the collar-like rim at the back of the neck, and pulls it backwards at
the same time as the head is being thrust upwards from beneath the water.
The turtle works its paddles in a frantic endeavour to escape, but, being
held in the sloping position mentioned, the more its exerts itself, the
more persistently it remains upon the surface, because its paddles are
driving it there. If it be a large turtle, the man who is pulling from
behind lifts his body on to the shell, upon which he sits astride. His
weight tends to further ensure the inclined position of the turtle, which
involuntarily acts as his carrier. The prey is then speedily dispatched
by a blow over the head with a tomahawk or waddy. There is no doubt the
much-criticized De Rougemont must have witnessed such a scene as here
described, and embodied the inspiration in his narration.
During the season that turtles come ashore, moonlight parties are
arranged which overtake the amphibians as they are clumsily working their
way over the sandy beach. The creatures are overturned and either slain
immediately or are left in their helpless position over night to be
killed in the morning.
Crocodiles (_C. porosus et Johnstoni_) and dugongs (_Halicore Australis_)
are located below the surface of water by watching for bubbles of air,
which might rise, or for any little swirls and disturbances in the
water due to the movements of the creatures below. In the case of the
dugong, also known as the sea-cow, its presence might be betrayed by
small nibbled pieces of sea-weed, which come to the surface when it is
feeding. Both crocodile and dugong are speared or harpooned from the bow
of a raft or canoe. A native often ventures into a water-lily pool or
billabong, known to contain crocodile, prodding the mud with his spear,
as he advances, to feel for the horny skin of the hidden prey. When
one has been located, a large hunting party wade in a line through the
water splashing it vigorously and shouting loudly to drive the terrified
crocodile from the pool. Once it appears on dry ground, it is chased and
pelted with heavy spears. Natives do not appear to be the least concerned
about their safety when they wade into water containing crocodiles;
in fact, there are few cases known of natives having been attacked by
the reptiles, although occasionally one finds an individual partially
incapacitated or scarred in consequence of an encounter with a crocodile.
The scaly monsters seem loth to attack a coloured man, but for a white
man to take the risk a native does would mean courting certain death.
Young crocodiles are caught by hand from the bow of a canoe whilst
cautiously drifting upon them as they are floating upon or near the
surface of the water. The natives explain that the teeth of the young
reptiles have not hardened sufficiently to do any harm.
Along the north coast, and on the adjacent islands, a regular watch
is kept for the dugong. This peculiar marine mammal lives in the deep
sea, but comes near to the shore to feed. It might often be observed,
especially at high tide, in small, calm bays and inlets, frolicking at
the surface. Full-grown animals attain a length of twelve feet or more,
and weigh up to 1,500 pounds; they are entirely vegetarian, browsing for
the most part on salt-water algae. At intervals it is necessary for the
animal to rise to the surface to breathe. The drawing in of the air can
be heard a great distance off, and is generally, though erroneously,
referred to as the “blowing.” The man on the look-out watches for the
dugong to show itself upon the surface, and his keen eye can usually
detect it, even upon a slightly rippled water, at some considerable
distance out. The most favourable times are at dusk and on moonlight
nights.
When the signal has been given that a dugong is in sight, the hunters
set out in a canoe and cautiously paddle towards the place at which it
was last seen. It may be that long before the crew reach the particular
spot indicated the animal has moved away, but the trained eye of the
observer, who now stands at the bow of the canoe, is able to follow the
movements of the dugong, even though it be some depth below the surface.
At night the prey is observed on the reflected beam of the moon. When the
game comes up again to take breath, it may be the canoe is still too far
off for action, but the strictest caution is observed not in any way to
cause a disturbance. All men in the boat remain rigid, and the paddles
are held stationary; the man at the bow, holding his harpoon, poised in
readiness above his head, stands like a statue. The moment the dugong
goes below again, he indicates to the oarsmen with his hand how to steer.
Thus the unsuspecting game is followed around from station to station
until it comes to the surface within throwing distance. When this occurs,
and it may be before the animal actually reaches the surface, the man in
front sends the harpoon forward like lightning, with almost infallible
precision, to penetrate the body of the rising dugong and firmly embed
itself in it. The terrified animal plunges forward with a tremendous
splash, tearing the line attached to the harpoon along with it to its
full length. The canoe is pulled along with some velocity through the
water, but the wounded animal soon weakens through loss of blood and the
want of air. It is compelled to rise to the surface to fill its lungs,
but no sooner does it come near than another missile flies from the hand
of the hunter to also stick in the back of the exasperated animal. Again
it shoots away, with a renewed effort to escape from the cruel harpoon,
but in vain. Before long the want of air again necessitates a return to
the surface, only to be met with a similar treatment as before. By this
time the unfortunate dugong is so much weakened that it cannot travel far
without coming to the surface frequently; and every time it does another
spear is planted into its body. Before long it caves in; a final swish
with its powerful tail, a quiver throughout the body, and its helpless
carcase is in the hands of the elated hunters. The victorious shouting or
singing of the men in the canoe is echoed by those watching the hunt on
shore, the latter, moreover, in their excitement usually starting a wild
sort of dance on the sand. A noose is placed round the dugong’s tail,
by which it is towed towards the land. If any resistance is proffered,
the rope is gathered in, and the creature drowned by keeping its head
under water, or one of the hunters suffocates it by thrusting two of his
fingers into its nostrils. This accomplished, the jaws are tied together
to prevent the carcase from water-logging and sinking.
Often the hunters submerge their canoe, and, by swimming alongside, pull
it under the floating carcase. The water is then bailed out of the craft
and in this way the dugong is lifted. The hunters then row their prize
ashore and drag it on to the beach, where it is quartered and cooked.
Practically the whole of it is eaten.
The rich flesh of the dugong is relished by all northern coastal tribes
from the east of Queensland to the west of Western Australia as far south
as the 24th degree of latitude.
The hunters recognize an “old man” dugong by its tusks; and they assert
that often a female is seen carrying its young upon a fin, suckling
it. According to aboriginal information, a young dugong might also
be observed riding on the back of its mother. A pregnant dugong is
considered to make the richest dish of all.
Occasionally a dugong or a big fish, like a whale, is stranded during a
gale, and this is indeed a red-letter day for the fortunate tribe upon
whose territory the find was made.
Birds of every description are hunted with stone, stick, or spear. It is
astounding how adroitly an aboriginal can project the light reed spears;
to fell a dove at a distance of from forty to fifty paces is child’s play
for an experienced thrower.
There are, however, a number of species which are hunted in a peculiar
way; and these will now be described.
In the northern coastal districts, where hawks are very plentiful, the
natives build small stone covers resembling a surveyor’s cairn. A hunter
conceals himself in one of these and holds a dove or other small bird,
which he has speared or captured, in his hand above a small loop-hole
left at the top of the structure. He moves it about to attract the
attention of the birds of prey soaring on high. Presently one of the
hawks swoops down upon the dove and grabs it with its claws. But at the
same moment, the hunter drops the dove and with lightning quickness
seizes the legs of the hawk and pulls the bird under, to quickly kill
it. This method is largely practised in the Victoria River district,
there being an abundance of stones available for the construction of the
covers. The occurrence of many cairns of the type here described has
hitherto puzzled travellers who observed them.
The northern desert tribes of Western Australia adopt a similar
principle, but in place of the stones they use the tussocks of porcupine
grass to cover themselves. In order to attract the hawks they are
hunting, they set fire to one or two plants of porcupine grass growing
close by.
In the same district, and more especially on the Daly and other rivers
in the Northern Territory, wild geese are captured much after the
same principle. Large flocks of these semi-palmated geese (_Anseranus
melanoleuca_) are in the habit of visiting one and the same place year
after year. The natives know these places well, and during the absence
of the geese make an excavation in the ground, which they cover with
twigs, pieces of paper-bark, grass, and soil, leaving only one or two
look-out holes. When the birds have returned, a couple of natives sit in
the excavation and watch for the geese to draw near. As soon as a head or
a leg of a goose comes near to an observation hole, one of the natives
seizes the bird, draws it below, and wrings its neck. In this way many
birds may be bagged without disturbing the flock.
On other occasions the natives climb trees, in which they build platforms
to seat themselves upon and await the arrival of geese at dusk. The birds
come in such large numbers that dozens are caught at a time; they are
simply seized by hand and killed on the spot. By cleverly imitating the
call of the birds: “_nga ngang, ngang-ngang-ngang_,” the hunters entice
as many birds as they like to the platform. But even at daytime, a native
often hides in a tussock of grass and imitates the cry of the bird,
which, when it unsuspectingly draws near, is either grasped with the hand
or hit on the head with a stick.
At times the hunter plucks a large water-lily leaf, into which he cuts
two holes for his eyes to look through. Holding this leaf over his face,
he swims out to some geese he has observed on a lagoon, and, when within
grasping length of the prey, he simply pulls a bird under by its legs and
strangles it.
The note of the whistling duck (_Dendrocygna eytoni_) is also accurately
reproduced, by which flocks of them are attracted and killed with a
throwing stick while hovering around the spot which conceals the native.
Cockatoos, plovers, and many other birds are secured in a similar manner.
The flesh of an emu is valued, if for no other reason than for the size
of the carcase and the large amount of grease which lies beneath the
skin. The northern tribes of Western Australia have discovered a simple
means of capturing the big struthious bird in that they poison a water
known to be frequented by the game. When the bird has quenched its
thirst, it is stupefied to such a degree that it is an easy matter for
the natives, lying in ambush, to overtake it and crack it on the head.
The poison used is supplied by the leaf of _Tephrosia purpurea_, which
the natives call “_moru_”; the active principle is a saponine. In central
Australia the pitjuri leaf is largely used for the same purpose.
The natives also take advantage of the inquisitive nature of the bird
by enticing it into a cul-de-sac or other trap by waving a conspicuous
object, as for instance a corrobboree plume, from behind a boulder or
bush. When the bird is near enough, it is either rushed with waddies or
speared by a number of chosen, astute men.
The Larrekiya and Wogait tribes conceal themselves in the branches of a
tree, the seeds of which are known to attract the emu. The hunters ascend
the tree in the early hours of the morning and remain there perfectly
quiet until the prey arrives. At an opportune moment, the bird is speared
with a specially heavy spear known as “_nimmerima_.”
The south-eastern tribes used to select one or more men, who would
be “dressed up” as emu after the style of the Kukata men playing emu
described on page 81. In the case of the hunters, however, a real emu
skin is usually employed, with the head attached and held erect by means
of a stick, which passes through the neck. Very cleverly imitating the
strut of the emu, the men carefully approach their prey, drawing their
spears, which they firmly hold between two toes, along with them through
the grass. Carefully and very slowly encircling the birds, the hunters
gradually work towards the birds, when presently one or two of them
are espied. The moment this happens, the curious emu rush towards the
strangers ruffling their feathers and emitting peculiar guttural sounds.
Now the critical moment has arrived because the hunters know that, when
their faked plumage is recognized, the birds will decamp. They stand and
lift their spears with their feet. The birds are now in all probability
within throwing distance and very likely on the point of turning.
That is the time selected for throwing the missile. Having previously
selected their mark, the hunters, with a mighty flourish, let the weapons
fly through the air with almost infallible accuracy. Then sounds the
triumphant whoop; the men, discarding their disguise, rush towards the
wounded victim and promptly put an end to it. In place of assuming
the guise of an emu, the south-eastern tribes, when in grass-tree
(_Xanthorrhœa_) country, cut the crown from a spreading tree and carry
this as a cover.
The real chase, that is the hunting of larger animals, reptiles, and
birds, is strictly the business of the men, although the children and
women often employ themselves at digging out lizards, snakes, and the
smaller marsupials.
Opossums are driven from their hiding places in the hollows of trees by
smoking them out. A fire is lit at the bottom of a tree which is known
to be hollow, to burn through the enclosing wall at one side. Then green
twigs are thrown upon the flame to make as much smoke as possible, which
works its way upwards through all the hollows and emerges wherever there
is an opening. The half-stifled animals make for the openings and
usually drop to the ground; if not they are brought to fall by spear or
throwing stick. Often the greater half of the butt is thus burned through
and the tree crashes to earth. In this case a diligent search of all the
hollows and nooks is made in order that all things to eat, quite apart
from the opossums, may be bagged.
[Illustration: _PLATE XVIII_
Two handfuls of witchedy grubs.
“The most popular and at the same time most widely distributed article
of diet in the insect line is the larva of the big Cossus moth, commonly
known as the witchedy grub.”]
Often, too, notches are cut into the butt of the tree in step-like manner
to allow the hunters to ascend for the purpose of chopping out their prey
from the hollows. Whilst some are thus busying themselves aloft, others
are waiting below in readiness to secure any which might attempt to
escape.
Most of the burrowing marsupials, as well as the dingo and the imported
rabbit, are dug out of the ground. The largest among these is the wombat,
which is nocturnal in habit. The native knows, moreover, that when
the weather is excessively hot, the animal often comes to the surface
and sleeps in front of its burrow. He therefore stealthily surveys
the recognized haunts of the wombat at such times, and, should he be
successful in locating one, he spears it on the spot.
North of the Great Australian Bight the small wallaby is captured as
follows: The hunter ties a bundle of feathers to the top of a long pole,
up to twenty feet in length, and this he whirls around his head, high
in the air, as he walks across the tussocky plains known to harbour the
game they call “_wilpa_.” The wallabies, apparently taking the whizzing
feathers to be an eagle hawk, squat in fear, and, for the moment, do
not attempt to escape from the native. Before the animal recognizes the
fraud, the treacherous spear of the hunter has pinned it to earth.
The larger species of these marsupials are hunted differently; they are
mostly stalked and killed with the spear. It seems almost incredible that
a native can approach a grazing kangaroo on a more or less open plain
to within spear-throwing distance without being detected; but such is
actually the case. He has so perfected his stealthiness that he utilizes
every momentary opportunity, at which the animal’s attention is directed
away from him; and slowly he approaches step by step. His swarthy colour
in itself gives him a natural protection; but more, he has learned the
value of artificially colouring himself with the earth or mud of the
terrain he is about to scout. Thus upon a “blue mud flat” his body is
painted a slaty blue, whilst on a lateritic soil he applies red ochre or
clay. His work is considerably simplified when the ground contains such
features as ant-hills or dark-coloured boulders, which he can simulate. A
native, when stalking a kangaroo in this way, will always have his spear
poised in readiness to be thrown instantaneously if need be. Vide Plate
XX.
In central as well as northern Australia, hunting parties are arranged as
follows: Several men hide themselves at different points of a known pad,
along which kangaroo are in the habit of travelling to water or cover.
A large party of “beaters,” consisting of men, women, and children,
disperse in the direction of where kangaroos have been reported to be
feeding. On drawing near to the animals, all members of the beating party
begin to sing and shout. In the Larrekiya tongue this sounds like “_Ye-we
o-ho, ye-we o-ho_”; in the Arunndta more like “_Yerrewai, yerrewai_.”
They scamper through the bush until a kangaroo is actually sighted, when
it is pursued amidst the cries of “_Yackäu, yackäu_” in the former, and
“_Yackai_” in the latter tongue. The frightened animal usually makes
straight for the beaten pad, along which it tears at a terrific rate.
Upon hearing the cry of the battue, the men in hiding along the pad place
themselves in readiness; and when the animal leaps by, the nearest hunter
quickly rises and discharges his spear. If he is successful in felling
the animal, he raises a loud, triumphant shout of “_Käu_,” as a signal
to the driving party, who as quickly as possible assemble at the spot.
Should the spear of the first thrower miss the kangaroo, the chances are
that the next man, further along the pad, will have a chance of trying
his skill.
A native considers one of the big hind legs to be the most effective
part to wound a kangaroo in, especially if the leg can be broken. If the
animal is hit in any other part of its body, it will in all probability
make off and that will necessitate perhaps a whole day’s tracking, before
it can be overtaken and killed. If only lightly wounded, the hunters will
experience considerable difficulty in bringing the game to bay; and the
shrewdest strategy might be needed to outwit the watchful animal. In the
latter case the pursuers often split their company, and, whilst some are
attracting the kangaroo’s attention in the distance, the others endeavour
to crawl towards it under cover, until they are near enough to impart the
death blow.
Whilst pursuing a wounded animal, a native simply flies over the ground.
He cares for no obstacles and seems instinctively to presage the
stability of doubtfully inclined and pivotted rocks, lying upon hilly
slopes or partially concealed among tall grass. Thus he, with great
confidence, jumps from point to point, with the agility of an antelope,
and makes rapid headway, whereas a white man would hesitate and come to
grief.
In the Musgrave, Mann, and Tomkinson Ranges in central Australia, long
brushwood fences are constructed of a more or less zig-zag shape, the
angles of which lie upon beaten pads, which are known to be used by
kangaroos and wallabies living in the particular area. At each “angle,”
the natives dig a large, deep hole, the mouth of which they cover with
thin sticks, pieces of bark, and subsequently the whole with sand and
grass to give the trap as natural an appearance as possible. So much
completed, a log of timber is placed across the pad, at that side of the
hole, from which the fleeing game is expected to come. The idea of the
log is to make the animal jump over it and land upon the flimsy cover
of the hole on the other side. Quite frequently an aboriginal places
himself in hiding behind the fence at one of the “angles” and spears the
game as it emerges; in this case the hole is dispensed with.
A kangaroo-hunting expedition often takes a tribe far away from a main
camp, and the party may be absent for two or three weeks at a time. A
native knows that kangaroo follow the new grass, which appears upon
patches recently visited by a thunder-cloud or, as is the case upon the
north coast, by a bush fire. When either of such phenomena has been
chronicled, and after a short time has lapsed, a party of experienced
men leave the main camp and prospect the ground for game. When they
return, they report the results of their mission to the old men, and, if
favourable, arrangements are immediately made for the expedition. The
best time for the hunt is considered to be the later afternoon; in the
morning and during the heat of the day, the animals are resting, and the
hunter knows that under those conditions his chances are not nearly so
good as towards evening, when they leave their haunts to feed.
When in 1828 the military settlement at Fort Dundas disbanded, Sir
Gordon Bremer let a number of Timor buffaloes, which had been used by
the residents, roam at large. Since that time, the animals multiplied
to such an extent that large herds were found by later settlers both on
Melville Island and the mainland opposite. Thousands have been shot by
European hunters, principally for their hides. The natives, too, have
learned to recognize these beasts as an important asset to the objects
of their chase, although, it must be admitted, the flesh is not relished
to anything like the extent of that of the indigenous game; often, in
fact, a buffalo is slain merely for a slice or two of the flesh, usually
the tongue. The cattle of the European, on the other hand, is eaten
with distinct pleasure. Buffalo are hunted by stalking with the spear.
This is not a task which demands much skill or laborious strategy. The
buffalo spends most of its time out on the plains, more or less under
cover of the tall, rank grass, which grows up after the “wet season.”
In consequence of this, it is a simple matter for the native to avail
himself of the same cover when approaching his prey. In nearly every
case, the wounded animal makes off, and the excited hunting gang follow
it until it collapses through loss of blood. It might even be necessary
to throw another spear or two during the chase to finally bring the beast
to fall. The jubilation which takes place during the final stage of a
buffalo-hunt is depicted in the _Frontispiece_ of this book, an actual
scene from life witnessed on Melville Island.
[Illustration: _PLATE XIX_
1. Aluridja tree-climber.
“The climber, as he ascends, cuts fresh notches into the bark with his
tomahawk....”
2. Wordaman tree-climber.
“... the hunter is virtually hanging by his arms, which are hooked by the
hands, and is sitting upon his heels.”]
All along the north coast, a welcome addition to the daily fare is wild
bees’ honey, or as it is now generally called by the semi-civilized
tribes “sugar-bag.” The wild bee establishes its hive either in a hollow
tree or in a crevice in the ground, and the hunting native—man, woman, or
child—is ever on the look-out for it. When the exit of a hive has been
discovered in the ground, from which numerous bees are flying, the lucky
finder immediately begins to carefully dig down along the narrow channel
until he reaches the honeycomb. If the supply is limited, it is usually
removed in toto by hand and lifted to his mouth without further ado. If,
on the other hand, there is a goodly amount available, the whole of the
comb is collected and placed in a cooleman or other food-carrier and
taken to camp.
When a hive is located in a hollow tree, the native places his ear
against the butt and listens; by frequently altering the position of his
ear like one undertaking a medical auscultation, he can gauge the exact
position of the hive by the murmur and buzz beneath the bark. It is then
a simple matter for him to cut into the cover and collect the honeycomb.
Some of the experienced hunters can “smell” their way for a considerable
distance to a wild-bee hive.
The Victoria River tribes have invented an ingenious device, by means of
which they can secure honey from otherwise inaccessible fissures in rocks
or hollows in stout-butted trees. A long stick is selected, to one end
of which is tied a bundle of vegetable fibre or pounded bark. With the
bundle forward, the stick is poked into the cleft leading to the hive,
and, when the honey-comb is reached, it is turned around and allowed
to absorb some of the honey. Then the stick is quickly removed and the
absorbed honey squeezed from the fibres into a receptacle. The process is
repeated, time after time, until the greater part of the honey has been
obtained.
Wild bee honey is very liquid, but, nevertheless, quite as sweet and
tasty as that of the Ligurian bee. The wild bee, moreover, possesses
no sting, and so offers no serious resistance to the enthusiasm of the
collector. The bee itself is comparatively small, about the size of an
ordinary house fly.
There are no wild bees in central Australia, but in their stead appears
the honey ant (_Melophorus inflatus_). These remarkable insects live
underground, usually in the red sandy loams carrying forests of mulga.
Throughout the MacDonnell Ranges, and the country north and south-west of
them, and in the Musgrave Ranges district, they are eagerly looked for
by the local tribes. When the entrance to a nest has been discovered,
a gin at once sets to by inserting a thin stick as a guide and digging
down the course of the hole. This is a somewhat tedious undertaking, and
not infrequently she has to dig to so great a depth as to completely
bury herself. On several occasions I have unexpectedly come across a
woman thus engaged, and neither was she aware of my coming, nor I of her
presence, until right opposite her. The “honey-ant” itself is a modified
worker of the colony, which is so overfed by the ordinary workers that
its abdomen swells to the size of a marble, about three-eighths of an
inch in diameter, in consequence of the liquid honey stored within.
With the exception of the few transverse plates, the abdominal walls
are reduced to an extremely fine membrane, through which the honey can
be clearly seen from outside. The insect’s viscera are compressed into
a small space near the vent. The ant, in this condition, is naturally
unable to move from the spot. It appears that the inflated ants in this
phenomenal way provide for the needs of the colony during the barren
season of the year, acting in the capacity of living tanks or barrels,
which can be tapped as required.
The gin collects numbers of these ants, as she burrows her way downwards,
and lays them in her cooleman; when the nest has been ransacked she
returns with her prize to camp.
When a native wishes to partake of the honey, he grips one of the ants by
the head, and, placing the swollen abdomen between his lips, he squeezes
the contents into his mouth and swallows them.
In regard to the taste, the first sensation the palate receives is a
distinct prick of formic acid, which is no doubt due to a secretion
produced by the ant in self-defence. But this is both slight and
momentary; and the instant the membrane bursts, it is followed by a
delicious and rich flavour of pure honey.
The Aluridja and Wongapitcha call this wonderful ant “_winudtharra_,”
whilst to the Arunndta it is known as “_yerumba_.”
In many parts of central Australia the leaves of the red gums
(_Eucalyptus rostrata_), growing along the river-beds, are covered
with _lerp manna_—white, conical structures, about the size of a small
lentil, which are secreted by the larvæ of an insect known as _Psylla_.
On account of their sweetish taste, large quantities of the cones are
collected and eaten. The Arunndta refer to manna as “_prelja_.”