ostrich family in Australia, is still numerous in the open country. The
cassowary, on the other hand, which is found only in the north-eastern
tropical part, is rare, and will doubtless soon become extinct as
civilisation gradually advances and clears the scrubs.
Ducks, geese, and other swimming birds are numerous, and afford
excellent sport, but as they are much sought by sportsmen, the colonies
have passed laws to protect them during a certain season of the year.
Among the geese which have only half-webbed toes, the most common is the
“black and white” (_Anseranas melanoleuca_). These beautiful birds
gather in large flocks, but as civilisation advances they are gradually
decreasing in number. At present they are numerous only in Northern
Queensland, where the flocks are so large and dense that the natives can
easily kill them with their spears. They were of great value to
Leichhardt on his overland expedition to the Gulf of Carpentaria.
It is a remarkable fact that some species of Australian birds without
any apparent reason suddenly leave the district where they have had
their habitat for years, and settle somewhere else, to disappear again
after a few years. Gould gives several examples of this. A squatter whom
I knew told me that the pelicans several years ago quite unexpectedly
made their appearance on Darling river in New South Wales, 400 miles
from the coast. Neither the whites nor the blacks had ever seen them
there before. They settled down near a lake called Dry Lagoon and bred
there. Meanwhile the lagoon dried up as usual, and the pelicans were
obliged to bring fish for their young from a lake two miles away. As
soon as the young became large enough they were transferred to the
latter lake, the whole colony requiring three weeks for the journey. As
a rule the pelicans build their nests on islands near the coast.
Australia has no less than 700 species of birds; of these probably 600
are found in Queensland alone, and this must be said to be a great
wealth of species. Europe, which is somewhat larger and has been
incomparably much more thoroughly explored, has only about 500 species.
Reptiles, amphibious animals, and fishes are well represented in
Australia, and among them are some of great interest.
Lizards are found everywhere, but it is a strange fact that, as in the
case of plants, some species are found in West Australia that are
peculiar to this district and have never been observed outside of it.
That characteristic forms are not wanting is shown by the frilled-lizard
(_Chlamydosaurus kingii_) represented at the beginning of this chapter.
Around its neck it has a large, loose skin which it is able to raise
into a Queen Elizabeth ruff. Unlike all other lizards, this animal
assumes in sitting the same posture as a kangaroo, and when startled it
makes, like them, long jumps five to six feet high before it begins to
run.
Although _Viperidæ_ and _Crotalidæ_, which elsewhere are the most
venomous families of snakes, are not found in Australia, still scarcely
any other part of the globe has so many venomous serpents in comparison
with the number of those that are harmless. Here, as elsewhere, the
number of snakes increase with the heat of the climate, so that Tasmania
has only three species, while Queensland can show fifty, and among the
latter several large harmless pythons, which the natives are fond of
eating. Water-snakes abound along the coasts of tropical Australia, and
are all venomous.
Amphibious animals with tails (salamanders) are not found. On the other
hand, frogs are plentiful. They have a remarkable faculty for
accommodating themselves to all the dry climatic conditions of the
country. In South Australia a drought once lasted for twenty-six months.
The country was transformed into a desert, and life was not to be seen.
Sheep and cattle had perished, and so had the marsupials. Suddenly rain
poured down. The long drought was at an end; and six hours after the
storm had begun the rain was welcomed by the powerful voices of the
frogs. Flies afterward came in great numbers, and then bats appeared in
countless swarms. On my travels in Western Queensland I heard the people
on Diamantina river speak of a species of large frog which after rain
buried themselves about six inches down in the ground, and remained
there during the dry season. These frogs contain much water, a fact
known to the natives, who dig them up in the dry season and quench their
thirst by squeezing the water out of them. The white population also
sometimes resort to these frogs for water. They know the little mounds,
which resemble mole-hills, under which the frogs lie hid, and dig them
out. According to report, such a frog contains about a wine-glassful of
“clear, sweet water.”
The colonists of Australia have a fondness for giving familiar names to
Australian animals. Thus they have called a large fish found in some of
the rivers of Central Queensland burnett salmon. This fish, which the
natives call barramunda, is, however, no salmon, for both salmon and
carp are entirely wanting in Australia. But its size and its fat and
delicate-tasting flesh reminded the people of the salmon, and it had
long been eagerly sought as food both by whites and blacks, when in 1870
the scientific world became acquainted with it, and discovered in it a
remarkable survival of the prehistoric past. Fossil teeth of this fish,
now known as _Ceratodus forsteri_, had long ago been found in the Trias
and Jura formations in Europe, India, and America, but the animal was of
course thought to be extinct, like the _Iguanodon_ or _Dinotherium_.
Like the _Protopterus_ from Africa and the _Lepidosiren_ from the Amazon
river, it belongs to the very ancient and remarkable lung-fish
(_Dipnoi_), which, as the name indicates, has both gills and lungs.
_Ceratodus forsteri_ has only one lung, and can breathe with it alone,
or with the gills alone, or with both at the same time, and therefore it
leaves the water in the night and goes ashore, where it eats grass and
leaves, while in the daytime it may be seen sunning itself on logs lying
out of the water. This “living fossil,” which attains a length of six
feet, thus forms a remarkable connecting link between fishes and
reptiles.
While Australia is poor in regard to butterflies, it has many beautiful
beetles, _e.g._ the family _Buprestidæ_. The lower animal life is
peculiar, but still comparatively little known.
* * * * *
Professor G. O. Sars, of Christiania, has made some exceedingly
interesting experiments, whereby he has succeeded in hatching
artificially and domesticating in his aquarium various Australian
fresh-water _Entomostraca_. The materials for these experiments
consisted of small quantities of mud taken from the bottom of lakes and
small fresh-water ponds near Rockhampton. After being thoroughly dried,
I forwarded this mud to Christiania. The specimens sent looked on their
arrival like small masses of rock, and were so hard that they could
scarcely be broken with a hammer. Nevertheless they contained living
germs in the form of eggs, which had been deposited by entomostraca
living in the waters in question. In most cases these eggs proved to be
encased in peculiar capsules, which frequently bore a startling
resemblance to bean-pods, and in some of the specimens they were found
in great numbers. By softening the mud and by a suitable preparation in
aquaria, Professor Sars succeeded not only in producing perfectly
developed individuals, but also in getting them to propagate in the
aquaria, and thus it became possible to make very exhaustive
investigations in regard to a portion of Australia’s fauna hitherto
almost entirely unknown. One of the most striking forms hatched in this
manner is the little _Daphnia_ called _D. lumholtzii_.
[Illustration:
EGG OF _Daphnia lumholtzii_.
]
[Illustration:
_Daphnia lumholtzii._
]
In addition to this, nine others have been described by Professor Sars
in two treatises: “On some Australian Cladocera raised from dried mud,”
_Christiania Videnskabs-selskabs Forhandlinger_, 1885; and “Additional
Notes on Australian Cladocera,” _Christiania Videnskabs-selskabs
Forhandlinger_, 1888. On the same subject he has recently published a
treatise: “On _Cyclestheria hislopi_ (Baird), a new generic type of
bivalve Phyllopoda, _Christiania Videnskabs-selskabs Forhandlinger_,
1887,” in which he has described a most interesting animal form, which
the author hatched in the same manner, and observed through several
generations. This animal has been noted heretofore in specimens from
India and Ceylon, but very imperfectly, and hence mistakes have been
made in regard to its systematic position, and no knowledge was obtained
as to its interesting habits and life. It belongs to the so-called
shell-covered phyllopoda, of which only a limited number of species have
hitherto been known. One of its chief characteristics is the fact that
it is enclosed in a transparent double shell, which has a deceptive
likeness to a clam-shell. The anatomical examination of the animal has
demonstrated that it cannot be classified with any of the known genera,
but forms the type for a new one, to which the name cyclestheria has
been affixed. In regard to propagation and development, this form
differs widely from all the phyllopoda heretofore known. Contrary to the
general rule, the eggs are developed within the shell of the mother
animal, and this development is direct, not through any metamorphosis,
as is the case with the other known _Phyllopoda_. In his treatise
Professor Sars has given the whole history of the development of this
animal, which abounds in interesting facts.
[Illustration:
_Cyclestheria hislopi._
]
[Illustration:
SHELL OF A _Cyclestheria hislopi_.
]
Finally, I may add that the results obtained by these hatchings are
already so important that they supply materials for many future
treatises, and that many lower fresh-water animals, not only
entomostraca, but also forms belonging to totally different departments
of zoology, _e.g._ _Bryozoæ_, have in this way been thoroughly examined
and studied in a living condition.
[Illustration:
C. Lumholtz’ travels.
MAP
of
AUSTRALIA
_Charles Scribner’s sons, Broadway, New York._
]
[Illustration:
MAP
to illustrate
CARL LUMHOLTZ’ TRAVELS
in
QUEENSLAND.
]
INDEX
Aborigines, two types of, 129;
characteristic feature, 130;
sight of, 143;
appearance, 181;
aquiline noses, 130;
results of civilisation, 182, 348;
class divisions, 199;
description, 260, 270;
estimate of white man, 292;
doomed, 348.
_Acacia, fragrans_, 2;
_bidwillii_ 25;
_salicina_, 25;
_harpophylla_, 33;
_excelsa_, 49;
_pendula_ (myall), 49, 76.
_Acrobates pygmæa_, 380.
_Acrocephalus australis_, 21.
Adelaide, city of, 5.
_Ælurædus maculosus_, 96.
_Æpyornis maximus_, fossil egg of, 6.
_Alcyone azurea_, 150.
_Alpinia cærulea_, 296.
_Amphibia_, 384.
_Andropogon contortus_ (spear-grass), 23.
_Anseranas melanoleuca_, 383.
Ants, white, 19;
nests, 27;
black, 118.
_Araucaria, bidwillii_ (bunya-bunya), 21, 372;
_cunninghamii_, 372.
Arrowroot, 74.
_Artamus sordidus_ (wood-swallow), 28.
Artesian wells, 40.
Asters, Queensland, 51.
A strange household, 81.
_Astrebla elymoides_, 37.
_Astur radiatus_, 329.
Australian whites, 29, 315 _passim_;
scenery, 209, 315.
Bailey, F. M. (on mosses), 374.
Ballarat, 8.
“Balnglan,” a dingo, 180, 223, 226, 241;
death of, 267.
Bandicoot (_Paramelidæ_), 27, 73, 92.
Baobab, 374.
Barcoo, river, 39;
rot, 58.
Basaltic table-land, Leichhardt’s, 104.
Basket, 193–195 _passim_.
_Batatas edulis_, 78.
Bats, 19.
_Bauhinia hookerii_, 25.
Bear, native (_Phascolarctus cinereus_), 9.
Bee, European, 29;
Australian, 142.
Beef, 36.
Beliander, 58.
Bellenden Kerr Hills, 102.
Bendi, weapon, 332–334.
Bird of paradise, 302.
Blacks of Herbert river, 72;
civilised, 76;
appearance of, 77;
festival, 84;
agility, 89, 96;
keen sight, 95;
money valueless, 106;
only cult, 136;
absence of clothing, 169;
of medicines, 183;
depredations, 221;
cruelty (women), 222;
greatest delicacy, 271;
myths unknown, 282;
cannibalism, 287;
lazy, 290.
Blankets, 264.
Bledensbourne, 53.
_Bolboceras rhinoceros_, 329.
Boomerang, 49;
origin of, 52;
Indian, S.E., 52;
Assyrian and Egyptian use of, 51.
Boongary, 102;
home of, 152;
food of, 157;
taken, 226.
Bora ceremonies, 136.
Borboby, a meeting for duels, 119, 127.
Borrogo, a small marsupial, 207.
Bottle-tree, 33, 35.
Boundary-rider, 57.
Bower-birds, 28, 139.
Box-tree (_Eucalyptus_), 25.
Boyma (Bhaiamé), a supreme Being, 283.
Bread-fruit tree, 79.
Brigalow-scrub, 33, 37, 52.
Brisbane, 16.
Brow-band, 121, 331.
Brown, Robert, botanist, 369.
Bunjup, an evil spirit, 202.
_Buprestidæ_ (beetles), 329, 385.
Burial customs, 275.
Burnett salmon (barramunda), 385.
Bush costume, 19;
men, 58–60.
Butcher-bird, 94.
Butterflies, 151, 385.
Cabbage, 79.
_Cacatua roseicapilla_, 35.
Cajeput oil, 24.
_Calamus australis_, 89, 103.
_Calladium_, 21.
_Callistemon lanceolatum_, 26.
Calliungal, town, 30.
_Callornis metallica_, 96.
Camping out, 32.
Camps, Herbert river hills, 148;
cave, 153;
hills in rain, 168 _seq._;
with unpleasant bedfellow, 185 _seq._;
no supper, 209–211.
Cannibalism, 101, 134, 176, 254, 273;
in Burma, 274.
Canning meat, Rockhampton, 16.
Canoona Diggings, oldest gold mine, 323.
_Capparis nobilis_, 25.
Cardamom-tree, 96.
Cardwell, town, 66, 250, 263.
Carpentaria, Gulf of, natives of, 273.
Carrots, 79.
_Casuarina_, 33 _passim_.
_Casuarius australis_ (cassowary), 99.
Cat, native, 27;
bird, 96.
Cattle, alarmed, 84;
farmers, 35.
Cedar, red (_Cedrela_), 67.
_Centropus_, 94.
_Ceratodus forsteri_, 385.
_Ceyx pusilla_, 97.
Charters Towers, gold beds, 65.
Child-birth, 134.
Children, black, 192.
Chinaman, a native, 147;
wife, 163;
treachery, 167;
greediness, 173;
rascality, 185;
reappearance, 231.
Chinese hated, 36.
Chivalry, 170.
_Chlamydodera maculata_, 28.
_Chlamydosaurus kingii_, 376, 384.
Christmas in the bush, 207.
_Cicada aurora_, 222.
_Cicada_, evil spirit, 202;
humming, 217.
_Cinchona_, 74.
Clay pipes, 107.
Cleveland Bay, 65.
Climate, tropical, 19;
cold nights, 56;
Christmas hot, 57.
Cloncurry, copper, 44.
Club (_nolla-nolla_), 72 _seq._
Coal, 74, 366.
Cockatoo, 27;
red-breasted, 35;
numerous, 57.
Cocoa-nut, 21;
palm, 79.
Cod, black-fish, 27.
Coffee, 73.
Coleoptera, 153;
larvæ, 154.
_Colocasia macrorhiza_, 153.
Comet river, 33.
Conquat, loquat, guava, 79.
Coomooboolaroo, 204, 325.
Cordilleras, Australian, 102.
Cormorants, 22.
Costume, 106, 120, 129, 215.
_Cracticus nigrogularis_, 94.
Cranes, gray and blue, 22.
Crawfish, 151.
Crime, only, 126.
Curr, E. M., “_The Australian Race_,” 307 _passim_.
Customs, aboriginal, ornamental scars, 135;
making fire, 141;
breaking sticks, 141;
pomade and glue, 142;
honey water, 144;
rights of property, 147;
eating eggs, 149;
marriage, 164;
burial, 277;
cremation, 279.
_Cycas media_, 164.
_Cyclestheria hislopi_, 387.
_Cygnus atratus_, 1, 22.
_Dacelo gigas_, 26.
_Dactylopsila trivirgata_, 220.
Dalrymple Creek, 248;
Gap, 261.
Damper, 32.
Dancing, 236 seq.
_Daphnia lumholtzii_, 386.
Darling Downs, 21;
floods, 61.
_Dasyurus_, 27;
_maculatus_, 174;
_Dasyuridæ_, 80.
Date-palms, Queensland, 21.
Dawson river, 45.
Dee river, 30.
_Dendrolagus lumholtzii_, 102;
caught, 226, 235;
mode of hunting, 231.
Devil, 114;
description of, 202.
Dialects. _Vide_ Language.
Diamantina river, native work, heat on, 44–55.
_Dicæum hirundinaceum_, 253.
_Diemenia_, 299.
_Digitalis purpurea_, 14.
Dingo, 38;
use of, 99, 165, 175, 178, 179.
_Dinornis_, 377.
_Dipnoi_, 385.
_Diprotodon_, 368.
_Dipsas fusca_, 62.
Dirge, 204.
DISCOVERERS and EXPLORERS, 355–359.
Diseases and epidemics, 181.
Doctor, native, 183.
Dog and snake, 64.
Doves, 96.
Dress, mourning, 204.
Drought, 37.
Drugs, 108.
_Duboisia hopwoodii_, 49.
Dugong, 315 _seq._;
meat, 319;
oil, 320;
habitat, 321.
Dungeness, 66.
Education of children, 193.
Eels, Queensland, 23.
_Elanus axillaris_ (kite), 220.
Elderslie, 44, 53.
Elephant sugar-cane, 63.
Elm-tree, 14.
Emus, inquisitive, 30.
Erysipelas, 181.
_Erythrina vespertilio_ (cork), 141.
_Eucalyptus, amygdalina_, 9;
_tereticornis_, _brachypoda_, 24;
_terminalis_, _polyanthemos_, _robusta_. _Vide_ Flora.
_Eudynamis flindersii_ (cuckoo), 28.
_Eurynassa australis_, 93, 154.
Evaporation in bush, 42.
Expedition Range, 33.
_Falco subniger_, 57.
Familiarity breeds contempt, 111.
Fauna—fossil;
Wallace’s line;
marsupials; monotremata—why most noteworthy, 376–388 _passim_;
birds, 382–384;
reptiles, 384;
amphibia, 384;
fish, barramunda, 385;
butterflies, 385;
beetles, 385.
_Entomostraca_, Professor Sars on, 385–388.
Feast, 85.
Ferns, tree-, 103.
Fever, 57.
_Ficus, elastica_, 14;
_platypoda_, _cunninghamii_, 25.
Fig, European, 21;
black, 141;
rarest, 208.
Finch-Hatton, Mr., “_Advance Australia_,” 278.
Fire, producing, 141.
Fitzroy river, 16;
mountains, 16.
Fleas at Elderslie, 45.
Flora—peculiar, evergreen, flowering;
census of _Eucalyptus_, _Proteaceæ_, _Acaciæ_, _Banksia_,
cone-bearers, and allies; grass-trees, baobab, ferns, mosses,
369–375 _passim_.
Food, 21;
eating children, 134;
beetles and larvæ, 154 _passim_;
_pediculi_, 117, 223;
fleas, 179;
grasshoppers, 187;
eel (high), 203;
mode of cooking, 296;
care of, 297.
Frogs, 19.
Gar-fish, 23.
Geese, Queensland, 22.
Gentleman, black, 84.
GEOLOGY—mountain and river systems, primitive rock, coal-bearing
strata, fossils, “desert sandstone,” volcanoes, gold, 366–368.
Georgina river, 128;
romance of, 213.
Gidya-scrub, 37.
Gold, _passim_;
annual production, 9;
region, 253;
mount, 324.
Gould, 23, 171.
Gracemere, residence in, 17, 20, 21;
flora and fauna, 24;
landscape, 26;
return to, 61;
snake story, 61.
_Grallina picata_, 94.
_Granadilla_, and fruit, 79.
Grauan, jungle-hen, 149.
Great Dividing Range, 34, 102 _passim_.
Greenshank, 56.
Grogoragally, son of the Supreme, 283.
Guana, 79.
Gum-tree. Vide _Eucalyptus_.
Hair, cutter, 108;
quality, quantity of, 131.
Handicraft, 331.
Harpoon, 317.
Hawks in Queensland, 62.
Heaven and hell, 283.
_Helix cunninghamii_, 27.
_Hemibelideus_, a new sub-genus, 196.
Herbert river, _passim_;
nets, 94.
Herbert Vale, 65–74;
quarters, 76;
abandoned for cattle station, 78;
keeper and Kanaka at, 80;
bill of fare, 81;
cook, 80 _seq._;
farewell, 302.
Hinchinbrook Island, 67.
HISTORICAL OUTLINE—before discovery, DISCOVERERS and EXPLORERS,
colonisation, 353–365.
Holloway’s pills, 280.
Home life among natives, 191.
Honey, 194, 195 _passim_.
_Hoplocephalus_, 62.
Hornets, 38.
Horse-racing, 7.
Houses, North Queensland, 79.
Humour, native, 239, 291.
Husband, duties of, 161.
_Hyla cærulea_, 18.
_Hypsiprymnodon moschatus_, rare, 114.
Idolatry non-existent, 129.
Iguana, 53.
Imitative faculty, 291.
Infant colour, 132.
_Inoceramus maximus_, 367.
_Irichosurus vulpecula_, 11, 19, 221, 232.
Irish shepherd, a type, 40.
Isis Downs station, 57;
liquor-dealer, 60, 61.
_Itaka_, ornamental tufts, 238.
Jabiru (yabiru), 96.
Jacaranda, Brazil, 21.
Jackass, laughing, a kingfisher, 26, 382.
Jacky, native attendant, 77, 92;
his full dress, 120;
at contest, 125;
story-teller, 256;
inciting to murder, 290.
Jimmy, a native, a murderer, 245–251, 254;
portrait of, 255;
scene of crime, 261.
Jungle-hens, 96;
mound-builders, 97.
Kadjera, poisonous palm, 164.
Kāmin, climbing instrument, 89.
Kanaka, 64;
the, 80, 124, 178, 270, 284, 290, 363.
Kangaroo Island, 2.
Kangaroo, larger, 29;
hunt, 33;
hard to kill, 180;
tree-kangaroo, see _Dendrolagus lumholtzii_;
rat, 11, 27, 29;
size, 327;
nature and nutrition of young, 379;
strength and boldness, 327, 328.
Kassik, a pack-horse, 74, 138, 289;
bucking, 291; falls, 301.
Kélanmi, native girl, story of, 233 _seq._
Kidneys, eating the human, 272.
Kingfisher, 97;
racket-tail, 97;
blue and red, 150;
all over the world, 382.
Kings appointed by squatters, 336 _seq._
Kissing unknown, 213.
Kite, 43;
noticeable, 57.
Koraddan, a fruit, 165
Korroboree, 41, 237.
Kusso and kamala, Abyssinian cure for tape-worm, 153.
Kvingan, evil spirit, 201, 205.
Ladies, white, 8;
in the bush, 322 _seq._
Lagoons, Valley of, 243;
origin of name, 253.
_Lagorchestes conspicillatus_ (rat), 29.
Landscape, Australian, breathes melancholy, 209.
Languages, all closely allied, 304;
comparative words for _eye_, 305;
numerals, 306, 309;
personal pronouns, 306;
common peculiarities, 306;
grammar, 307;
origin, 307;
comparative syntax, 307;
brevity of expression, 308;
suffix _go_, 308;
proper names, 309;
named from _negatives_, _one_ from affirmative, Langue d’_oc_ et
_oyl_, 310;
comparative table, 311;
words from Herbert river, 312, 313.
Larvæ, edible, in acacia, 153, 154 _passim_.
_Lathrodectus scelio_ (spider), 39.
Lava, 253.
Leaves as toy-boomerangs, 52.
Lemons, antidote to tick-bites, 266.
_Leucopathia acquisita_, 99.
Liberality of Gongola, 180;
of hunter, 198.
_Livistonia_, 103, 150.
Lizard, 27, 384.
Loquat, 79.
Lotus-bird, 22.
Love among natives, 213.
Lung-fish (_Ceratodus forsteri_), 385.
Mackay river, 63.
M‘Leay’s Museum, Sydney, 14.
_Macropus, dorsalis_, 29;
_giganteus_, 29.
Magpie, Australian, 33.
Mango, 21.
Mangola-Maggi, a native, 258, 287.
Mangoran, a study, 112;
danger from, 288 _seq._
Marriage ceremonies, 212, 213.
_Marsilea_ (nardu), 41.
Marsupials, destructive to grass, 29;
smallest, 43.
Mat as clothing, 169.
Matrimony in Queensland, 60.
_Megaloprepia magnifica_, 214.
_Megapodius tumulus_, 149. _Vide_ Fauna.
_Melaleuca leucadendron_, 24.
Melbourne, 5;
climate, 8;
Queen of the South, 12.
Melodies, native, 41, 156–158.
Message sticks, 303, 304.
Miasma, 261.
Migration of souls, 279, 282.
Mika-operation, 47.
Miklucho-Maclay, Baron, 47.
Milk, rarely used in bush, 36, 57;
a luxury, 88.
Minnie Downs, 31, 35;
farewell to, 61.
Mitchell-grass, 37.
Mólle-Mólle, a native tragedy, 246.
Mongan, a mammal, 172, 215.
Monsoons, 102.
Moogeegally, half human, half divine, 283.
Morbora, a native, 286.
“More pork,” 32.
_Morelia variegata_, 294.
Moreton Bay, 16.
Mosquito-nets, 56.
Mosses, note on, 374, 375.
Mound-builder, 97.
Mount Morgan, gold, 324.
Mountains, Blue, 15;
Coast; 101, 102, 116, 140;
Great Dividing Range, 34, 102;
Cordilleras, 102;
Sea-View Range, 121, 180;
annoyance from leeches, 265.
Mourning, signs of, 203.
Mueller, Baron F. von, 9. _Vide_ Flora.
Mullagan, black giant, 129.
Mullet, fresh-water, 23.
Mummy, 278.
Murder, punishment of, 45.
Murrumbidgee, 129.
Mūrŭp (_revenant_), 279.
Music, vocal and instrumental, 156, 236.
Musical instruments, 157.
Myall, savage blacks, or _Acacia pendula_, 49, 76.
_Mycteria australis_, 96.
_Mygnimia australasiæ_ (hornet), 38.
Myths, South Australia, 282.
Nardu, 41.
Natives (Diamantina river), 44;
slaughter of, 53;
study of, 80;
mark of distinction, 84;
traits, 100;
cannibals, 101;
instinct for locality, 108;
terror of firearms, 108;
insensibility to cold, 111, 114;
contest, 119;
idea of number, 129;
two types of, 129;
voices of, 135;
comprehension of pictures, 154;
disposition of, 158;
occupations of, 177;
burial customs, 277;
keenness of sight, 295;
snake cooking, 296.
Natives, in original condition, 104;
food, 106;
terror of darkness and devil, 114;
acute sense of smell, 114;
agility, 115;
morning toilet, 116;
height, 129;
dread of rain, 140;
as woodcutters, 148;
friendliness, 180.
Nelly, the cook, 80, 178;
hunting, 222;
change in, 269;
bloodthirsty, 290.
_Nelumbium speciosum_, 25.
_Nephrurus asper_, 329.
Ngalloa, rare animal, 220.
Nilgora, typical savage, 223, 241, 242.
Nocuous grasses, 23, 43.
Nogoa river, 34.
Nolla-nolla, club, 72, 122.
Norseman cold in Australia, 30.
Norwegian scheme, 8.
_Nuphar luteum_, 14.
Opals, 44.
Opium, abuse of, 338.
Opossum, 11, 91;
caught, 221;
thread, 332.
Orange-groves, Parramatta river, 15;
trees, Queensland, 21;
moth, 28;
orchards, 79.
Ornaments, personal, of natives, 135–137, 238.
_Ornithorhynchus_, killed, 214;
swimming, 253.
_Orthonyx spaldingii_, 155.
_Orthoptera_, 73, 151.
_Otĕro_, and other relationships, 199;
ingratitude of Yanki’s, 209.
Palm, lawyer, home of, 152, 172;
fan, 103, 150;
banana, 103.
_Pandanus_, 95.
Pantomime, primitive, 239.
_Papillæ mammæ_ cut off, 135.
_Papyrus_, Egyptian, 21.
Parasites and epiphytes, 25.
_Parra gallinacea_, 22.
Parramatta river, 15.
Parrot, affection of, 34;
scarce, 94.
Pasturage, 37.
Peak Downs, 29, 45.
Peculiar smell of natives, 135.
_Pediculi_, 117.
_Pelargonium_, Queensland, 21.
Pelicans, Queensland, 22.
Perch, Queensland, 23.
_Petauroides, volans_, 91, 181;
_breviceps_, 208.
Phalanger, flying, 90.
_Phascolarctus cinereus_, 9.
_Phascologale minutissima_, 43, 44, 294.
_Phragmites communis_, 23.
_Phrictis crassipes_, 38.
Pickle-bottle, a native, 112;
obstinacy of, 138.
Pigeon, Diamantina river, 43;
Torres Strait, 96;
rare, North Queensland, 208;
king, 214.
Pike, gar-fish, 23.
_Pimelea hæmatostachya_, 29.
Pine-apple, Queensland, 21.
Pipes, 113;
holders for, 130.
_Pitta strepitans_, 27.
_Pituri_, 49.
_Platycercus pulcherrimus_, 34;
nest of, 327.
_Platypus_, 30.
Pleuro-pneumonia, 88.
_Plotus_, 22.
_Podargus cuvierii_, 32.
Poisons unknown, 174.
Police, native mounted, 46, 49;
cruelty of, 54;
native sergeant of, 251.
Pork, aversion to, 225.
Precarious position of author, 289 _seq._
Preparation of food, 296.
Primitive tribe, a, 191.
Protector of the blacks, 73;
murdered, 262.
_Pseudechis_, black snake, 64.
_Pseudochirus, archeri_, 152, 173, 266;
_herbertensis_, 173, 213;
_lemuroides_, 196.
_Ptiloris victoriæ_, 171.
_Ptychosperma cunninghamii_, 171.
Punishment, 126.
Python, Australian, 294.
Quandang-tree, 70.
Queensland, proportion of men to women, 59;
dialect of white children, 8;
East, 16;
precious metals, 44;
native mounted police, 46;
climate, 19, 57;
Central, 21;
sugar, 64;
natives, 68, 69;
Northern, blacks of, 11;
Western (dew), 33, 35;
farewell to, 61;
Queen’s Hotel, Townsville, 65.
Quinine, 74.
Rain in bush, 169, 312.
Rats, plague of, 43;
method of catching, 73.
Rape of the Sabines, 184.
Religion, 339.
Respect for old women, 200.
Rice, 74.
Rifle-bird, 171.
Ring-barking, 9.
Rivers, Yarra, 9;
Parramatta, 15;
Fitzroy, 16;
Brisbane, 16;
Burnett, 21;
Dee, 30;
Nogoa, 34;
Thompson, 40;
Dawson, 45;
Diamantina, 55;
Mackay, 63;
Boulya, 128;
Murrumbidgee, 129;
Murray, tribes on the, 284;
Herbert River and Vale, 66 _seq._
Rockhampton, 16;
botanical gardens, 17;
flora and fauna, 24;
drunkards in, 57;
return to, 61.
Rock-wallabies, 253.
Sacrifices unknown, 284.
Sandy blight, 57.
Scenery, _passim_; Herbert river, 74, 315.
_Scenopæus dentirostris_ (bower-bird), 139.
Screw-palm, 95.
Scrub, 37, 96, 102, 289;
stillness, 294;
clad mountain-tops, 302.
_Scythrops novæ-hollandiæ_, 97.
_Sequoia wellingtonia_, 9.
Serpent adventure, 299.
Sheep farmers, 35.
Silver, 44.
Skulls, 259;
measurements, 260.
Slaughter day, 85.
Smell of land, 2.
_Sminthopsis virginiæ_, 252, 294.
Snakes, 61, 62, 64;
hunting, as food, cooking, sharing, flesh-flavour, 294 _seq._
Snake-birds, 22.
Snake bites, treatment of, 183, 298.
Soap, natives fond of, 291.
Spear-grass, 23.
Spearmen, 92.
Specimens, packing and conveying of, 300.
Spider paralysed by hornet, 38.
Springsure, Kangaroo hunt near, 33.
Spruce, Australian, 21.
Squatter’s homestead, 59.
Squirrel, flying, 90.
Starling, glossy, 96.
Station, description of a, 36;
korroboree at Westlands, 41.
_Stigmodera_ (beetle), 220.
Stinging-tree, 152.
Stock, Queensland, 21;
whip, 53, 59;
yard, 36.
Sugar, 64;
a necessary, 264;
cane, 75;
plantation, 301.
Suttungo, tobacco, 113.
Swamp-pheasant, 94.
Sweet-potato, 78.
Talegalla, 73, 97;
cootjari, 149;
rare, 208;
numerous, 215;
young, 252.
_Talgoro_, 188, 271.
Tallow, 37.
Tamarind, 21.
Tambo, town, 61.
_Tanysiptera_, 97.
Tattooing unknown, 137.
Thompson, river, 40;
town, 56.
Thor’s hammer and the boomerang, 52.
Throwing-stick, 93.
Ticks, 266.
Tiger, marsupial, 101.
Tin, 44.
Torilla, its host and his family, 315, 322.
Treachery of natives, 44, 167, 289.
Tree-ferns, Victoria, 11;
North Queensland, 151.
Trinity, idea and persons of a, 129, 283.
_Triodia irritans_, 43.
_Tristiana suaveolens_, 25.
Tobacco, 73;
as currency, 75, 80, 106.
Tobola, 99;
unbeaten, 217;
preparation of, 230.
Toollah, opossum, 152.
Topinard, Dr., on the blacks, 129.
Torrens, Lake, 129.
_Totanus glottis_, 56.
Towdala, a bird, 155.
Townsville, 65 _passim_.
Turkey, brush, 73.
_Uromys_, 294.
Veera, a fig, 208.
Venereal and other diseases, 182.
Victoria, working-class influence, 8.
Vine-scrub, 26.
Vines, Queensland, 21.
_Vitiligo_, white spots, 99.
_Vitis climatidea_, 26.
Vondo, a root, 207.
Wader, 96.
Wallaby, 29;
hunting, 91–94;
rock, 209;
feeding, 209.
Wardrobe, author’s, 108.
Water-hen, 27;
iguana, 155;
lilies, blue, 22.
Water, precious in bush, 39;
bad in the interior, 42.
Waverley station, Gracemere, 62.
Weapons, 120, 127, 332 _seq._
Weaver-bird, 70, 96.
Western river, 44.
Westwood, 27;
rats at, 44.
Windex station, hospitality at, 43.
Winter, 293.
Winton, 56, 59.
Witchcraft of strangers, 298.
Wives, native, 163.
Wizards, 279;
producing rain, 282.
Women, seldom seen, 59;
timidity of, 91;
condition of, 100;
old, at contests, 124;
matrimonial changes, 127;
beards, 131;
personal appearance of, 132;
child-birth, 134;
ornamental scars improper, 137;
occupation of, 160;
greatest crime, 162;
patience of, 192;
destined from birth, 221;
infanticide and cannibalism among, 254, 272;
rough nurses, 257.
Wood exported from Queensland, 67.
Wood-swallow, 28.
_Xanthorrhæa_, 373.
_Xylomelum pyriforme_, 369.
Yabby, a new phalanger, 196.
Yamina, a monster, 201.
Yanki, a rare fig, 208;
a man’s name, 209.
Yarra river, 5.
Yarri, tiger, 101, 117, 151, 266.
Yokkai, a native attendant, 214;
word-portrait of, 217, 219, 235, 242, 243, 289;
the only faithful black, 290;
ascends Kassik the pack-horse, 290, 291;
washes for cooking, 291;
rewarded, 300;
farewell to, 302.
Yopolo, 114.
York, Cape, 102.
ZOOLOGISTS, a family of, 323 _seq._
FINIS
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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
1. P. 359, changed “West Australia, founded in 1839” to “West
Australia, founded in 1829”.
2. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in
spelling.
3. Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed.
4. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
5. Enclosed blackletter font in =equals=.
6. Denoted superscripts by a caret before a single superscript
character.