1839.] canoes. 25 



any enmity . he will crawl through the tall grass like 

 American savage, and his aim is deadly, and his spear stril. 

 far. 



The boomereng is the most singular offensive impleme 

 in use among the Australians. It is made of tough and ha 

 wood, about three feet long, two inches wide, and three qu^ 

 tors of an inch thick. It is curved or crooked at the centr 

 so as to form an obtuse angle, and sharpened at the en I: 

 When hurled by a skilful hand, it rises with a rotatory motio, 

 in the air, strikes at a great distance, and then returns 1 

 within a few feet of the thrower ; or if thrown upon th 

 ground, it rebounds in a straight line, and ricochets along til 1 

 it reaches the thing aimed at. It is useful in hitting one ob- 

 ject concealed behind another, and it mav also be thrown wit! 

 the back of the thrower turned towards the mark. It is em 

 ployed by the natives in hunting, as well as in war. 



Rude canoes, fourteen feet long, and three feet wide, ar 

 made by the natives from the bark of the gum tree. Foi 

 this purpose the tree is girdled, and a piece of bark, of th. 

 proper size and dimensions, is stripped off; this is folded ii 

 at either end, and fastened together with cords made of th 

 fibres of the bark, or wooden pins. The canoe is then com 

 pleted, and though not very strong, answers their purpose ii 

 coasting along the shores within the surf, or ferrying acros- 

 the creeks and rivers. It is customary among them, as wit 

 the Fuegians, to build fires in the bottom of their canoes, o<. 

 layers of earth or clay. 



They are not great eaters, nor are they fastidious in thei 

 diet. Hunger is appeased by the spontaneous products o 

 the soil, such as roots and berries, and the shell fish found on 

 the sea shore, with reptiles, insects, and their larvse. They 

 sometimes kill a bird or kangaroo, or find one dead ; in either 

 case it is greedily devoured. The latter has become so 

 scarce, that young men are forbidden to eat it. The great 

 quantities of wild cattle now roaming at large over the plains 

 and through the valleys of Australia, might afford a greal 

 deal of sustenance to the natives, and contribute much to 



