If the meeting of the tribes be for the _Journals of Expeditions of Discovery into Central Australia and Overland from Adelaide to King George's Sound in the Years 1840-1: Sent By the Colonists of South Australia, with the Sanction and Support of the Government: Including an Account of the Manners and Customs of the Aborigines and the State of Their Relations with Europeans

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 . . .

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

"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.

White ants are dug in great numbers out of their nests in the ground,

which are generally found in the scrubs. They are a favourite food of the

natives in the spring of the year. The females only are used, and at a

time just before depositing their eggs. They are separated from the dirt

that is taken up with them, by being thrown into the air, and caught

again upon a trough of bark.

The eggs of birds are extensively eaten by the natives, being chiefly

confined to those kinds that leave the nest at birth, as the leipoa, the

emu, the swan, the goose, the duck, etc. But of others, where the young

remain some time in the nest after being hatched, the eggs are usually

left, and the young taken before they can fly. The eggs of the leipoa, or

native pheasant, are found in singular-looking mounds of sand, thrown up

by the bird in the midst of the scrubs, and often measuring several yards

in circumference. The egg is about the size of the goose egg, but the

shell is extremely thin and fragile. The young are hatched by the heat of

the sand and leaves, with which the eggs are covered. Each egg is

deposited separately, and the number found in one nest varies from one to

ten.

One nest that I examined, and that only a small one, was twelve yards in

circumference, eighteen inches high, and shaped like a dome. It was

formed entirely of sand scraped up by the bird with its feet. Under the

centre of the dome, and below the level of the surrounding ground was an

irregular oval hole, about eighteen inches deep, and twelve in diameter.

In this, the eggs were deposited in different layers among sand and

leaves; on the lower tier was only one egg, on the next two, at a depth

of four or five inches from the ground. All the eggs were placed upon

their smaller ends, and standing upright. The colour of the egg is a dark

reddish pink; its length, three inches six-tenths; breadth, two inches

two-tenths; circumference, lengthwise, ten inches, and across, seven

inches two-tenths. The eggs appear to be deposited at considerable

intervals. In the nest alluded to, two eggs had only been laid sixteen

days after it was discovered, at which time there had been one previously

deposited. The bird is shaped like a hen pheasant, of a brownish colour,

barred with black, and its weight is about four pounds and a half.

The eggs of the emu are rather smaller than those of the ostrich. They

are of a dark green colour and the shell is very thick. They are

deposited by the bird almost upon the ground, in the vicinity of a few

bushes, or tufts of grass, and usually in a country that is tolerably

open; a great many eggs are found in one nest, so that it is generally

looked upon by the natives as a great prize.

Eggs are eaten in all stages. I have even seen rotten ones roasted, and

devoured with great relish.

Kangaroos are speared, netted, or caught in pit falls. Four methods of

spearing them are practised. 1st. A native travelling with his family

through the woods, when he sees a kangaroo feeding or sleeping, will

steal silently and cautiously upon it, keeping, as he advances, a tree or

shrub between himself and the animal, or holding up before him, if he be

in an open place, a large branch of a tree, until sufficiently near to

throw the fatal weapon. 2ndly. Two natives get upon the track of a

kangaroo, which they follow up perseveringly even for two or three days,

sleeping upon it at night, and renewing their pursuit in the morning,

until, at last, the wearied animal, fairly tired out by its relentless

pursuers, is no longer able to fly before them, and at last becomes a

prize to the perseverance of the hunters. 3rdly. A small hut of reeds is

made near the springs, or water holes, in those districts, where water is

scarce; and in this, or in the top of a tree, if there be one near, the

native carefully conceals himself, and patiently waits until his game

comes to drink, when he is almost sure to strike it with his spear,

seldom quitting his lurking place without an ample remuneration for his

confinement. 4thly. A large party of men go out early in the morning,

generally armed with barbed spears, and take their stations upon ground

that has been previously fixed upon in a large semicircle. The women and

children, with a few men, then beat up, and fire the country for a

considerable extent, driving the game before them in the direction of the

persons who are lying in wait, and who gradually contract the space they

had been spread over, until they meet the other party, and then closing

their ranks in a ring upon the devoted animals, with wild cries and

shouts they drive them back to the centre as they attempt to escape,

until, at last, in the conflict, many of them are slaughtered. At other

times, the ground is so selected as to enable them to drive the game over

a precipice, or into a river, where it is easily taken. Netting the

kangaroo does not require so large a party; it is done by simply setting

a strong net (mugn-ko) across the path, which the animal is

accustomed to frequent, and keeping it in its place by long sticks, with

a fork upon the top. A few natives then shew themselves in a direction

opposite to that of the net, and the kangaroo being alarmed, takes to his

usual path, gets entangled in the meshes, and is soon despatched by

persons who have been lying in wait to pounce upon him.

Pitfalls are also dug to catch the kangaroo around the springs, or pools

of water they are accustomed to frequent. These are covered lightly over

with small sticks, boughs, etc. and the animal going to drink, hops upon

them, and falls into the pit without being able to get out again. I have

only known this method of taking the kangaroo practised in Western

Australia, between Swan River and King George's Sound,

The emu is taken similarly to the kangaroo. It is speared in the first,

third, and fourth methods I have described. It is also netted like the

kangaroo, indeed with the same net, only that the places selected for

setting it are near the entrance to creeks, ravines, flats bounded by

steep banks, and any other place where the ground is such as to hold out

the hope, that by driving up the game it may be compelled, by surrounding

scouts, to pass the place where the net is set. When caught the old men

hasten up, and clasping the bird firmly round the neck with their arms,

hold it or throw it on the ground, whilst others come to their assistance

and despatch it. This is, however, a dangerous feat, and I have known a

native severely wounded in attempting it; a kick from an emu would break

a person's leg, though the natives generally keep so close to the bird as

to prevent it from doing them much harm.

The emu is frequently netted by night through a peculiarity in the habits

of the bird, that is well-known to the natives, and which is, that it

generally comes back every night to sleep on one spot for a long time

together. Having ascertained where the sleeping place is, the natives set

the net at some little distance away, and then supplying themselves with

fire-sticks, form a line from each end of the net, diverging in the

distance. The party may now be considered as forming two sides of a

triangle, with the net at the apex and the game about the middle of the

base; as soon as the sides are formed, other natives arrange themselves

in a line at the base, and put the bird up. The emu finding only one

course free from fire-sticks, viz. that towards the net or apex of the

triangle, takes that direction, and becomes ensnared.

Opossums are of various kinds and sizes. They inhabit the hollows of

trees, or sometimes the tops, where they make a house for themselves with

boughs. They are also found in the holes of rocks. They are hunted both

in the day-time and by moon-light. During the day the native, as he

passes along, examines minutely the bark of the trees, to see whether any

marks have been left by the claws of the animal in climbing on the

previous night. If he finds any he is sure that an opossum is concealed,

either in that tree or one adjoining. The way he distinguishes whether

the marks are recently made or otherwise is, by examining the appearance

of the bark where the wound is, if fresh it is white, has rough edges, or

has grains of sand adhering to it; if otherwise it is dry and brown, and

free from loose particles. Having ascertained that an opossum has

recently been there, he then ascends the tree to look for it; this, if

the tree be in a leaning position, or has a rough bark, is not difficult

to him, and he rarely requires any other aid than his hands and feet; but

if the bark be smooth, and the tree straight, or of very large

dimensions, he requires the assistance of his stone hatchet, or of a

strong sharp-pointed stick, flattened on one side near the point (called

in the Adelaide dialect, "Wadna," in that of Moorunde "Ngakko,"); with

this instrument a notch is made in the bark about two feet above the

ground. In this the small toes of the left foot are placed, the left arm

is employed in clasping the trunk of the tree, and the right in cutting

another notch for the right foot, about two feet above the first; but a

little to one side of it, the wadna or ngakko is now stuck firmly in the

bark above, and serves to enable him to raise the body whilst gaining the

second notch, into which the ball of the great toe of the right foot is

placed, and the implement liberated to make a third step on the left

side, and so on successively until the tree is ascended. The descent is

made in the same manner, by clasping the tree, and supporting the feet in

the notches. The principle of climbing in the way described, appears to

consist in always having three points of contact with the tree, either

two arms and one leg, or two legs and one arm.

Having got up the tree, the native proceeds to search for any holes there

may be in its trunk, or among the boughs; these vary from one foot to

nine, or more, in depth, for the whole trunk itself is sometimes hollow.

To ascertain in which hole the opossum is, the native drops in a pebble

or a piece of bark, or a broken bit of stick, and then applying his ear

to the outside, listens for the rustling motion made by the animal in

shifting its position, when disturbed by what has been dropped upon it. A

stick is sometimes made use of, if the hole be not very deep, for the

same purpose, after inserting it in the hole, and twisting the rough end

round and withdrawing it, he looks to see if any fur is left on the

point, if so, the animal is there, but if the point of the stick shews no

fur, he goes to the next hole or tree, and so on until he finds it.

If not very far in the hole the native puts in his arm, and draws it out

by the tail, striking its head violently against the tree to prevent its

biting him, as soon as it is clear of the orifice; if the hole be deep,

the furthest point to which the animal can recede is ascertained, and an

opening made near it with whatever implement he may be using. If the

whole trunk of the tree, or a large portion of it be hollow, a fire is

made in the lower opening, which soon drives out the game.

When opossums are hunted by moonlight, the native dog is useful in

scenting them along the ground where they sometimes feed, and in guiding

the native to the tree they have ascended, when alarmed at his approach.

They are then either knocked down with sticks or the tree is ascended as

in the day time.

Flying squirrels are procured in the same way as opossums. The sloth,

which is an animal as large as a good sized monkey, is also caught among

the branches of the larger scrub-trees, among which it hides itself; but

it is never found in holes.

Wallabies are of many kinds, and are killed in various ways. By hunting

with bwirris, by nets, by digging out of the ground; the larger sorts, as

rock wallabies, by spearing, and several kinds by making runs, into which

they are driven. In hunting with bwirris (a short heavy stick with a knob

at one end) a party of natives go out into the scrub and beat the bushes

in line, if any game gets up, the native who sees it, gives a peculiar

"whir-rr" as a signal for the others to look out, and the animal is at

once chased and bwirris thrown at him in all directions, the peculiar

sound of the "whir-rr" always guiding them to the direction he has taken.

It rarely happens that an animal escapes if the party of natives be at

all numerous.

In netting the wallabies, a party of seven or eight men go in advance,

with each a net of from twenty to forty feet long, and when they arrive

near the runs, usually made use of by these animals, a favourable spot is

selected, and the nets set generally in a line and nearly together, each

native concealing himself near his own net. The women and children who,

in the mean time had been making a considerable circuit, now begin to

beat amongst the bushes with the wind, shouting and driving the wallabies

before them towards the nets, where they are caught and killed.

Other species of the wallabie burrow in the ground like rabbits, and are

dug out. The large rock-wallabies are speared by the natives creeping

upon them stealthily among the rugged rocks which they frequent, on the

summits of precipitous heights which have craggy or overhanging cliffs.

In making runs for taking the wallabie, the natives break the branches

from the bushes, and laying them one upon another, form, through the

scrubs, two lines of bush fence, diverging from an apex sometimes to the

extent of several miles, and having at intervals large angles formed by

the fence diverging. At the principal apex and at all the angles or

corners the bushes are tied up, and a hole in the fence left like the run

of a hare. At each of these a native is stationed with his bwirris, and

the women then beating up the country, from the base of the triangle

drive up the game, which finding themselves stopped by the bush fence on

either side, run along in search of an opening until the first angle

presents itself, when they try to escape by the run, and are knocked on

the head by the native guarding it.

Native companions and swans are sometimes speared or killed with bwirris;

the latter are also caught easily in the water holes or lakes when

moulting, as they are then unable to fly. Pelicans are caught in nets or

whilst asleep in the water, by natives wading in and seizing them by the

legs.

Wild dogs are speared, but young ones are often kept and tamed, to assist

in hunting, in which they are very useful. The wombat is driven to his

hole with dogs at night, and a fire being lighted inside, the mouth is

closed with stones and earth. The animal being by this means suffocated,

is dug out at convenience.

Birds are killed on the wing, with bwirris, or whilst resting on the

ground, or in the water, or upon branches of trees. They are also taken

by spearing, by snaring, by noosing, and by netting. In spearing them the

natives make use of a very light reed spear (kiko), which is pointed with

hard wood, and projected when used, with the nga-waonk or throwing

stick. They resort to the lagoons or river flats, when flooded, and

either wading or in canoes, chase and spear the wild fowl. The

kiko is thrown to a very great distance, with amazing rapidity and

precision, so that a native is frequently very successful by this method,

particularly so when the young broods of duck and other wild fowl are

nearly full grown, but still unable to fly far. Getting into his canoe,

the native paddles along with extraordinary celerity after his game,

chasing them from one side of the lagoon to the other, until he loads

himself with spoil.

Ducks and teal are caught by snaring, which is practised in the following

manner. After ascertaining where there is a shelving bank to any of the

lagoons, which is frequented by these birds, and upon which there is

grass, or other food that they like near the edges, the natives get a

number of strong reeds, bend them in the middle, and force the two ends

of each into the ground, about seven inches apart, forming a number of

triangles, with their uppermost extremities about five or six inches from

the ground. From these, strings are suspended with slip nooses, and when

a sufficient number are set, the natives go away, to let the ducks come

up to feed. This they soon do; and whilst poking their heads about in

every direction a great many push them through the snares and get hung.

Noosing waterfowl is another general and very successful mode of taking

them. It is performed by a native, with a tat-tat-ko, or long rod,

tapering like a fishing rod, but longer, and having a piece of string at

the end, with a slip noose working over the pliant twig which forms the

last joint of the rod. [Note 74: Plate 4, fig. 1. (not reproduced in this

etext)] This being prepared, and it having been ascertained where

the birds are, the native binds a quantity of grass or weeds around

his head, and then taking his long instrument, plunges into the water

and swims slowly and cautiously towards them, whilst they see nothing

but a tuft of grass or weeds coming floating towards them, of which

they take no notice, until coming close upon them he gently raises

the tapering end of the instrument, and carefully putting the noose over

the head of the bird, draws it under water towards him. After taking it

out of the noose, he tucks its head in his belt, or lets it float on the

water, whilst he proceeds to catch another, or as many more as he can

before the birds take the alarm at the struggles of their companions, and

fly away. A windy day is generally selected for this employment, when the

water is ruffled by waves. On such occasions a skilful native will secure

a great many birds.

Netting birds remains to be described, and is the most destructive mode

of taking them of any that is practised. Geese, ducks, teal, widgeons,

shags, pelicans, pigeons, and others are procured in this way. The method

adopted is as follows:--a large square or oblong net, (kue-rad-ko) from

thirty to sixty feet broad, and from twenty to forty deep, is formed by

lacing together pieces of old fishing nets, or any others, made of light

twine, that they may have. A strong cord is then passed through the

meshes of one end, and tied at both extremes of the net. The natives then

go down to a lagoon of moderate width, where two tall trees may be

standing opposite to each other on different sides, or they select an

opening of a similar kind among the trees on the bank of the river,

through which the ducks, or other birds, are in the habit of passing when

flying between the river and the lagoons. An old man ascends each of the

trees, and over the topmost branch of both lowers the end of a strong

cord passing through the net. The other end is tied near the root of each

tree, and serves for the native, who is stationed there, to raise or

lower the net as it may be required. When set, the ropes are hauled

tight, and the net dangles in the air between the two trees, hanging over

the lagoon, or dry passage, as the case may be. All being ready, a native

is left holding each end of the rope, and others are stationed at

convenient places near, with little round pieces of bark in their hands

to throw at the birds, and drive them onwards as they approach the net.

The women are then sent to put the birds up, and they come flying through

the open space towards the net, not dreaming of the evil that awaits

them; as they approach nearer, the two natives at the trees utter a

shrill whistle, resembling the note of the hawk, upon which the flock,

which usually consists of ducks, lower their flight at once, and

proceeding onwards, strike full against the net, which is instantly

lowered by the men attending to it, and the birds are left struggling in

the water, or on the ground, entangled in its meshes, whilst the natives

are busy paddling in their canoes, or scampering towards the net on the

ground, to wring their necks off, and get the instrument of destruction

raised again, to be ready for the next flight that may come. Should the

birds fly too high, or be inclined to take any other direction, little

pieces of bark are thrown above them, or across their path, by the

natives stationed for that purpose. These circling through the air, make

a whirring noise like the swoop of the eagle when darting on his prey,

and the birds fancying their enemy upon them, recede from the pieces of

bark, and lowering their flight, become entangled in the net. Early in

the morning, late in the evening, and occasionally in the night, this

work is conducted, with the greatest success, though many are caught

sometimes in the day.

As many as fifty birds are taken in a single haul. I have myself, with

the aid of a native, caught thirty-three, and many more would have been

got, but that the net was old, and the birds broke through it before they

could be all killed. On other occasions, I have been out with the

natives, where a party of five or six have procured from twenty to thirty

ducks, on an average, daily, for many days successively. In these

occupations the natives make use of a peculiar shrill whistle to frighten

down the birds; it is produced by pulling out the under lip with the

fore-finger and thumb, and pressing it together, whilst the tongue is

placed against the groove, or hollow thus formed, and the breath strongly

forced through. Whistling is also practised in a variety of other ways,

and has peculiar sounds well known to the natives, which indicate the

object of the call. It is used to call attention, to point out that game

is near, to make each other aware of their respective positions in a

wooded country, or to put another on his guard that an enemy is near,

etc., etc.

Such is an outline of some of the kinds of food used by the natives, and

the modes of procuring it as practised in various parts of Australia

where I have been. There is an endless variety of other articles, and an

infinite number of minute differences in the ways of procuring them,

which it is unnecessary to enter upon in a work which professes to give

only a general account of the Aborigines, their manners, habits, and

customs, and not a full or complete history, which could only be compiled

after the observation of many years devoted exclusively to so

comprehensive a subject.

In the preparation and cooking of their food, and in the extent to which

this is carried, there are almost as many differences as there are

varieties of food. Having no vessels capable of resisting the action of

fire, the natives are unacquainted with the simple process of boiling.

Their culinary operations are therefore confined to broiling on the hot

coals, baking in hot ashes, and roasting, or steaming in ovens. The

native oven is made by digging a circular hole in the ground, of a size

corresponding to the quantity of food to be cooked. It is then lined with

stones in the bottom, and a strong fire made over them, so as to heat

them thoroughly, and dry the hole. As soon as the stones are judged to be

sufficiently hot, the fire is removed, and a few of the stones taken, and

put inside the animal to be roasted if it be a large one. A few leaves,

or a handful of grass, are then sprinkled over the stones in the bottom

of the oven, on which the animal is deposited, generally whole, with hot

stones, which had been kept for that purpose, laid upon the top of it. It

is covered with grass, or leaves, and then thickly coated over with

earth, which effectually prevents the heat from escaping. Bark is

sometimes used to cover the meat, instead of grass or leaves, and is in

some respects better adapted for that purpose, being less liable to let

dirt into the oven. I have seen meat cooked by the natives in this

manner, which, when taken out, looked as clean and nicely roasted as any

I ever saw from the best managed kitchen.

If the oven is required for steaming food, a process principally applied

to vegetables and some kinds of fruits, the fire is in the same way

removed from the heated stones, but instead of putting on dry grass or

leaves, wet grass or water weeds are spread over them. The vegetables

tied up in small bundles are piled over this in the central part of the

oven, wet grass being placed above them again, dry grass or weeds upon

the wet, and earth over all. In putting the earth over the heap, the

natives commence around the base, gradually filling it upwards. When

about two-thirds covered up all round, they force a strong sharp-pointed

stick in three or four different places through the whole mass of grass

weeds and vegetables, to the bottom of the oven. Upon withdrawing the

stick, water is poured through the holes thus made upon the hissing

stones below, the top grass is hastily closed over the apertures and the

whole pile as rapidly covered up as possible to keep in the steam. The

gathering vegetable food, and in fact the cooking and preparing of food

generally, devolves upon the women, except in the case of an emu or a

kangaroo, or some of the larger and more valuable animals, when the men

take this duty upon themselves.

In cooking vegetables, a single oven will suffice for three or four

families, each woman receiving the same bundles of food when cooked,

which she had put in. The smaller kinds of fish and shell-fish, birds and

animals, frogs, turtle, eggs, reptiles, gums, etc., are usually broiled

upon the embers. Roots, bark of trees, etc., are cooked in the hot ashes.

Fungi are either eaten raw or are roasted. The white ant is always eaten

raw. The larvae of insects and the leaves of plants are either eaten raw

or in a cooked state. The larger animals, as the kangaroo, emu, native

dog, etc. and the larger fishes, are usually roasted in the oven.

In preparing the food for the cooking process a variety of forms are

observed. In most animals, as the opossum, wallabie, dog, kangaroo, etc.

the the bones of the legs are invariably broken, and the fur is singed

off; a small aperture is made in the belly, the entrails withdrawn, and

the hole closed with a wooden skewer, to keep in the gravy whilst

roasting. The entrails of all animals, birds, and fishes, are made use

of, and are frequently eaten whilst the animal itself is being prepared.

Most birds have the feathers pulled or singed off, they are then thrown

on the fire for a moment or two and when warm are withdrawn, skinned and

the skin eaten. The meat is now separated on each side of the breast

bone, the limbs are disjointed and thrown back, and the bird is placed

upon the fire, and soon cooked, from the previous dissection it had

undergone, and from hot coals being put above it.

The smaller fish and reptiles are simply thrown upon the fire, sometimes

gutted, at other times not. The larger fish are divided into three

pieces, in the following manner. The fish is laid on its side, and a

longitudinal cut made from the head to within three or four inches of the

tail, just above where the ribs are joined to the back bone, these are

separated by a sharp pointed stick, and the same done on the other side;

a transverse incision is then made near the root of the tail, the gills

are separated from the head, the fleshy part covering the back dissected

from one to two inches thick, over the whole surface left between the

longitudinal cuts that had been made in the sides, and extending from the

head to the transverse incision near the tail. The divisions then consist

of three pieces, one comprising the head, backbone, and tail, another the

fleshy part that covered the back, and the third the belly and sides. The

last is the most prized of the three. This method of dividing the fish is

well adapted for ensuring rapid preparation in the process of cooking; it

is also well suited for satisfying the respective owners and claimants;

the three pieces being, if not quite equal in size, sufficiently so for

the purpose of partition.

There are many usages in force among the natives respecting the

particular kinds of food allowed to be eaten at different ages;

restrictions and limitations of many kinds are placed upon both sexes at

different stages of life. What is proper to be eaten at one period, is

disallowed at another, and vice versa. And although laws of this nature

appear to be in force throughout the whole continent, there appear to be

occasional differences of custom as to restriction in regard to both food

and age. It also appears that there are more restrictions placed upon the

females, until past the age of child-bearing, than upon the males.

Infants are not often weaned until between two and three years old; but

during this time any food is given to them which they can eat, except

those kind of vegetables which are likely to disagree with them. No

restrictions are placed upon very young children of either sex, a portion

being given to them of whatever food their parents may have. About nine

or ten years appears to be the age at which limitations commence. Boys

are now forbidden to eat the red kangaroo, or the female or the young

ones of the other kinds; the musk duck, the white crane, the bandicoot,

the native pheasant, (leipoa, meracco), the native companion, some kinds

of fungi, the old male and female opossum, a kind of wallabie (linkara),

three kinds of fish (toor-rue, toitchock, and boolye-a), the black duck,

widgeon, whistling duck, shag (yarrilla), eagle, female water-mole

(nee-witke), two kinds of turtles (rinka and tung-kanka), and some other

varieties of food.

When young men they are disallowed the black duck, the widgeon, the

whistling duck, the emu, the eggs of the emu, a fish called kalapko, the

red kangaroo, the young of other kinds of kangaroo, if taken from the

pouch; a kind of shag called yarrilla, the snake (yarl-dakko), the white

crane, the eagle, a kind of water-mole (nee-witke), two kinds of turtle

(rinka and tung-kanka), the musk-duck, the native dog, the large grub dug

out of the ground (ronk), a vegetable food called war-itch (being that

the emu feeds upon), the native companion, bandicoot, old male opossum,

wallabie (linkara), coote, two fishes (toor-rue and toit-chock), etc. etc.

Married men, until from thirty-five to forty years of age, are still

forbidden the red kangaroo, the young of any kangaroo from the pouch, the

fish kelapko, the shag yarrilla, the coote, the white crane, the turtle

rinka, the native companion, the eagle, etc.

Young females, before the breasts are fully developed, are disallowed the

young of any of the kangaroo species if taken from the pouch, the red

kangaroo, the white crane, the bandicoot, the native companion, the old

male opossum, the wallabie (linkara), the shag (yarrilla), the eagle, etc.

Full grown young females are not allowed to eat the male opossum, the

wallabie (linkara), the red kangaroo, the fish kelapko, the black duck,

the widgeon, the whistling duck, the coote, the native companion, two

turtles (rinka and tung-kanka), the emu, the emu's egg, the snake

(yarl-dakko), cray-fish which may have deformed claws, the female or the

young from the pouch of any kangaroo, the musk duck, the white crane, the

bandicoot, the wild dog, two kinds of fish (toor-rue and toitchock), the

shag (yarrilla), the water mole (neewitke), the ground grub (ronk), the

vegetable food eaten by the emu (war-itch), etc. When menstruating, they

are not allowed to eat fish of any kind, or to go near the water at all;

it being one of their superstitions, that if a female, in that state,

goes near the water, no success can be expected by the men in fishing.

Fish that are taken by the men diving under the cliffs, and which are

always females about to deposit their spawn, are also forbidden to the

native women.

Old men and women are allowed to eat anything, and there are very few

things that they do not eat. Among the few exceptions are a species of

toad, and the young of the wombat, when very small, and before the hair

is well developed.

Chapter IV.

PROPERTY IN LAND--DWELLINGS--WEAPONS--IMPLEMENTS--GOVERNMENT--CUSTOMS--

SOCIAL RELATIONS--MARRIAGE--NOMENCLATURE.

Journals of Expeditions of Discovery into Central Australia and Overland from Adelaide to King George's Sound in the Years 1840-1: Sent By the Colonists of South Australia, with the Sanction and Support of the Government: Including an Account of the Manners and Customs of the Aborigines and the State of Their Relations with Europeans — Volume 02 · 第 12 / 15 章

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