156 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



firmed by those who have known them best. Their fights were prob- 

 ably half ceremonial or of a sportive character and they were usually 

 stopped when blood flowed freely. 



They undoubtedly did fear strangers, and a man from a strange 

 tribe, unless accredited as a sacred messenger, would be speared at 

 once. 11 On the other hand, delegations from distant tribes were re- 

 ceived and treated with the utmost kindness if they came in the recog- 

 nized way. They were even permitted to take a prominent part in 

 the ceremonies of their hosts. 



The relations subsisting between members of the same tribe or 

 group were, according to Spencer and Gillen, marked by consideration 

 and kindness. There were occasional acts of cruelty, but most of them 

 can be attributed to something else than a harshness of character. 

 Thus, much cruelty resulted from their belief in magic (The Central 

 Tribes, p. 48). The revolting ceremonies practised at initiation were 

 all matters of ancient tribal custom and hence cast little reflection upon 

 the real disposition of the native. 



All things considered, we are obliged to say that their life was 

 moral in a high degree, when judged by their own social standards, 

 and not even according to our standards are they to be regarded as 

 altogether wanting in the higher attributes of character. Dawson 

 holds that, aside from their low regard for human life, they compared 

 favorably with Europeans on all points of morality. Howitt says 

 (p. 639): 



All those who have had. to do with the native race in its primitive state 

 will agree with nie that there are men in the tribes who have tried to live up 

 to the standard of tribal morality, and who were faithful friends and true to 

 their word; in fact, men for whom, although savages, one must feel a kindly 

 respect. Such men are not to be found in the later generation." 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



Angas, G. F. " Savage Life and Scenes in Australia and New Zealand." Lon- 

 don, 1847. 



Bicknell, A. C. " Travels and Adventures in Northern Queensland." London, 

 1895. 



Bonnet, F. " The Aborigines of the River Darling." Journal of the Anthropo- 

 logical Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 13, 1884, p. 122. 



Cameron. " The Tribes of New South Wales." Journal of the Anthropological 

 Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 14, 1885, p. 344. 



Carnegie, D. W. " Spinifex and Sand" (West Australia). London, 1898. 



Creed, J. M. " The Position of the Australian Aborigines in the Scale of Human 

 Intelligence." The Nineteenth Century and After, Vol. 57, 1905, p. 89. 



Curr. " The Australian Race." 



Dawson, James. "Australian Aborigines (West Victoria)." Melbourne, 1881. 



11 Spencer and Gillen, " Northern Tribes," p. 32. 



12 As many of the accounts refer to tribes, or at least to customs which are 

 practically extinct, it seems best to use the past tense consistently throughout. 



