Isaac Scott Nind

“ The men and women go out in separate parties, on their respective duties, generally at an early hour in the morning, in companies of two or three together; the women to collect roots or crayfish (challows) , and the men with their spears, to procure fish or game. The women carry a waun, a long pointed stick, with which they dig up roots, and which is occasionally used as a weapon. On their backs they carry a bag (cote) made of a kangaroo’s skin, in which they deposit the food they procure: they also carry a fire-stick. ”

“ It not unfrequently happens that a sickly whale is thrown on shore; upon this they greedily feed, and lay up a large quantity of fat. They also occasionally kill a seal, the flesh of which they esteem highly, and, indeed, when young, it is by no means unpalatable. ”

“ They select a time when the rain is pouring heavily, or the wind blowing hard, to prevent the noise of their approach from being heard, for the kangaroo is very quick of hearing, and always on the alert. The hunter creeps upon them with the greatest caution, and generally succeeds in approaching them unobserved. They always, if possible, keep the wind in their face, and when one is observed, they take off their cloak, and watching when the animal stoops or turns his back upon them, they hastily advance, keeping a bush between them for concealment. ”

“ As they approach their prey they move very lightly in a stooping posture, and only at the time when the noise of the wind prevents their footsteps being heard. Should the kangaroo turn round and observe them, they instantly stop and remain perfectly motionless until he resumes his feeding. In this way they approach within a few yards of their prey, and then pierce him with their spears. The instant he falls they run up and dispatch him with their hammers by blows on the head. ”

“ When individuals quarrel with each other, it is taken up by the respective families.
When a man is killed, his tribe instantly sets about revenging his death; but they are not particular whether they kill the principal offender or any other of his tribe. This feeling of retaliation is, however, extended much farther, for if a man be killed by accident, by falling from a tree, drowned in the sea, or any other way, the friends of the deceased will impute his death to some mulgarradock of an adverse tribe, and kill an individual belonging to it in retaliation. ”

“ In the autumn, when the smaller species of fish approach the shores in large shoals, they surround them, and keep them in shallow water upon the flats until the tide falls and leaves them, when they are easily speared, and very few escape. For this purpose they use a very small spear, without a barb, and throw it by hand; should it so happen that the tide does not sufficiently fall to enable them to take the fish, they gather bushes, and plant them round so thickly, as to enclose them, when they are speared at leisure. ”

“ When the natives kill a snake, they are careful to beat its head to pieces before they take it up; they then examine if it has recently eaten, and if it has undigested food in its stomach, they reject it, for, if eaten, they say it would cause violent vomiting. At the spring-time of the year, they live principally upon the eggs and young of birds, chiefly of the parrot tribe, but also of hawks, ducks, swans, pigeons, &c. They are extremely expert at climbing trees, which they do by notching the bark with their hammers, in the same manner as is practised at Port Jackson. ”

“ A girl of nine or ten years of age has the superintendence of all the little ones who can walk; and she takes them out each with its stick to dig roots in the neighbourhood of their encampment. Should they espy a stranger, they instantly conceal themselves in the herbage, lying as close as a hare in its form. As they get older they accompany the women, and are generally carried astride on their shoulders.
Their dances have been frequently exhibited to us in the settlement for our amusement. They usually strip themselves entirely ”

“ Their hair is frequently matted with the same pigment. When fresh painted, they are all over of a brick—dust colour, which gives them a most singular appearance.
When they are in mourning, they paint a white streak (kaingin) across the forehead and down the cheek bones. The women put on the white colour in large blotches.
Painting the body, with the natives of this part of the country, is not, as in New South Wales, a sign of war. It is considered by them merely as an ornament, and is never neglected at their dances, or when they visit neighbouring tribes. ”

“ As the country does not abound in food, they are seldom stationary, removing, according to the time of the year, to those parts which produce the articles of provision that may be in season. During the winter and early spring they are very much scattered; but as summer advances they assemble in greater numbers.
It is at this season that they procure the greatest abundance of game. It is done by setting fire to the underwood and grass, which, being dry, is rapidly burnt. ”

“ Excepting at these times, those natives who live together have the exclusive right of fishing or hunting upon the neighbouring grounds, which are, in fact, divided into individual properties; the quantity of land owned by each individual being very considerable. Yet it is not so exclusively his, but others of his family have certain rights over it; so that it may be considered as partly belonging to the tribe. Thus all of them have a right to break down grass-trees, kill bandicoots, lizards, and other animals, and dig up roots ”

“ In the mouths of streams or rivers, they take large quantities, by weirs made of bushes, but the most common method is pursuing the fish into shoal water, and spearing them, or as they lie basking on the surface. During calms, they walk over the mud and sand-banks, in search of flat fish, which are easily detected while lying at the bottom. At night, too, they light torches of grass-tree, and thus see the fish at the bottom, apparently asleep, when they very readily spear them. ”

“ When a man dies, it is usual for his younger wives to reside with their fathers' tribe during the period of mourning, at which time they receive little attention from the men to whom they are subsequently to belong, and would meet with severe punishment were they to go and live with them immediately. Should the parties, however, subsequently run away, not much notice would be taken. It is not unfrequent for the wife to descend among the nearest relatives of her husband ”

“ Women and children are alike sacrificed, but we seldom heard of more than one individual being killed at an attack. They are, however, so constantly at war that their numbers must be considerably diminished by it. When an individual falls, there are always some who take upon themselves to revenge his death.
Immediately after the burial, the encampment is broken up, and they quit the neighbourhood for a period, during which time they are cautious not to utter the name of the deceased ”

“ It seldom happens that more than one or two of each party engages; and during the conflict, the rest frequently endeavour to separate the combatants, so that there is much running about. They throw their spears, standing only a few paces from each other; and their dexterity in avoiding them is really wonderful, although they seldom move from the spot, so that many spears are frequently thrown before one of either party is injured. ”

“ The form of the huts must depend very much upon the productions of the country. Where the stringy bark, the best suited for this purpose, is easily procured, as is the case at Port Jackson and the south-east coast, it is by far the best material for the purpose, for it affords shelter and warmth, and is impervious to rain. The settlers of the colony of New South Wales have found the utility of it, for all their cottages are roofed, and many are entirely covered in with it. ”

“ At the age of eleven or twelve years the girl is delivered over to her husband. When a girl is thus, as it were, purchased from her father, the husband is said to be Parn Yockar. Those who steal their wives—a common practice amongst them—are compelled to pay more attention to the female. Sometimes violence is used, and the girl is carried off against her consent; generally, however, in these cases the female is the wife of some old man, and the young couple elope by mutual inclination; even the tribe sometimes are privy to the circumstance. ”

“ The natives of King George’s Sound differ little in their general appearance from the Aborigines of the neighbourhood of Sydney. They are of middle stature, slender in their limbs, and many of them with a protuberant abdomen.
The only article of dress used by them is a cloak of kangaroo skin, reaching nearly to the knee; it is worn as a mantle over the shoulders, and is fastened at the right shoulder with a rush, by which the right arm is left free and disencumbered. They are seldom seen without their cloaks, which in rainy weather are worn with the fur outwards ”

“ At a very early age the girl is brought to her future husband. Attentions and presents are paid more to her father than herself; and, indeed, the trifles she receives are generally transferred to him: these chiefly consist of game, or other articles of food; the father, perhaps, receives a cloak, spears, or other implements. ”

“ Upon discovering the encampment of their enemies, they wait till night, and then cautiously approach, by creeping on their hands and knees, until they have selected the person they are in search of, and immediately spear him through the body. The party who are thus surprised will instantly fly, without attempting resistance; for during the darkness of the night they cannot discern their friends from a foe, and the light of their fires serves to expose them to the spears of their enemies. ”

“ The earth that is removed is arranged on one side of the grave in the form of a crescent; at the bottom is placed some bark, and then small green boughs, and upon this the body, ornamented and enveloped in its cloak, with the knees bent up to the breast, and the arms crossed. Over the body is heaped more green boughs, and bark, and the hole is then filled with earth. Green boughs are placed over the earth, and upon them are deposited the spears, knife, and hammer of the deceased, together with the ornaments that belonged to him ”

“ When a nest is found, the hunters conceal themselves behind a bush near it, and endeavour to secure the male bird first. The female they are pretty certain of, unless she has been disturbed, when she will forsake the nest. Emus, however, are not very often procured by the natives, but, with the kangaroo, are highly esteemed as articles of food. Lizards, also, afford a favourite repast; and, at some seasons, form a considerable portion of their food. There are three species that are eaten—the largest, called munnāar, appears to resemble an iguana found at Sydney ”

“ At King George’s Sound they live upon the productions of nature, unassisted by art, varying at different seasons and in different districts, poor in quality, often scanty, and therefore compelling the natives to a vagrant life. The population is consequently far from numerous, and varies in appearance and habits according to the nature of the food in their district. ”

“ The curl, or boomering, is seldom used as a weapon, nor are they so expert in the use of it as the New South Wales blacks. The natives, however, say, these instruments are more common in the interior. They are used for skinning the kangaroo, and also for amusement.
Their wigwams [5] (tourloits) are merely composed of a few small twigs stuck in the ground, and bent over in the form of a bower, about four feet high, and five or six wide. Sometimes two are united. They also thatch them slightly with the leaves of the grass tree. ”

“ With a kind of torch made of the dry leaves of the grass tree, they set fire to the sides of the cover by which the game is enclosed and cannot escape. The hunters, concealed by the smoke, stand in the paths most frequented by the animals, and with facility spear them as they pass by. On these occasions vast numbers of animals are destroyed. The violence of the fire is frequently very great, and extends over many miles of country; but this is generally guarded against by their burning it in consecutive portions. The women also kindle fires, but only for the purpose of taking bandicoots ”

“ It is in this district that the mearn is the most abundantly found; but distant tribes will not eat the mearn, and complain much of the brushy nature of the country [12] —that it scratches their legs. Kangaroos of the larger sort are scarce here, but the small brush kangaroo is plentiful, and grass-trees and Banskia are abundant, as is also, in the proper season, fish.
The natives residing on the right, and extending to the coast about North-West Cape, are called Murram. This country, or district, is said to be more fertile, and produces different kinds of edible roots. ”

“ When the owner does not wish the dog to follow, he ties the foreleg to the neck with a band of rushes, and leaves him in a shady place. He frequently carries the dog upon his shoulders. When they are puppies, between six and twelve months old, they are called jimmung,—they are then used to hunt lizards and bandicoots; and previous to this they are consigned to the care of the women. They seldom bark, but bite very sharply, snapping like a fox. They are excellent watch dogs, and will attack strangers. ”

“ Although sharks are very numerous, the natives are not at all alarmed at them, and say that they are never attacked by them [8] . Sometimes they will spear them, but never eat any part of the body. Sting rays and maiden rays are also common, but not eaten, though sometimes killed for amusement. On some part of the coast the sting is used to point their spears.
Oysters, and other edible kinds of shell-fish, are to be obtained in large quantities. None of them were eaten by the natives previous to the formation of the settlement ”

“ In attempting to drive away a storm of rain, they stand out in the open air, tossing their arms, shaking their clothes, and making violent gesticulations, which they continue for a long time, with intervals, if they are not successful. ”