290 AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL STONE WEAPONS AND IMPLEMENTS, 



and one-eighth inches in breadth by two inches long, but the two 

 largest are respectively one and five-eighths, and one and two- 

 eighths in breadth by three and four-eighths, and three and one- 

 eighth in length. A fourth is more lanceolate, one and one-eighth 

 inches broad, by three and two-eighths in length. The fifth knife 

 departs from the general type of the others to some extent in 

 that it is more truly scalpriform, thicker along the back than at 

 the cutting edge, and the surface . gradually sloping off from the 

 former to the latter without being angular. 



The whole of the knives are mounted in black gum, in four 

 instances coated with led pigment. In three instances the gum 

 hafting is gradually rounded off at the base to an obtuse point, 

 and clearly was never continued by a wooden handle. In the 

 fourth the mounting is broken short off against the posterior 

 margin of the knife, but the fifth possesses a wooden extension to 

 the gum base as previously described. In three instances the 

 gum mounting or hafting bears small quadrangular impressions, 

 on one or both sides, as if it had been bound with coarse canvas. 

 The entire length of the most complete knife is about eight and 

 one-eighth inches, made up as follows- -blade three and four- 

 eighths inches ; gum mounting two and seven-eighths inches ; and 

 wooden handle one and seven-eighths approximately. 



The bark sheaths all appear to be made of the inner layers of 

 the stringy-bark, two pieces laid together as described by Lumholtz 

 in each case, and bound loosely with string. In three cases the 

 string is of native manufacture, composed of a kind of flax, 

 but in the fourth some manufactured string has been used with it. 

 Three of the sheaths are very roughly made, but the fourth and 

 longest, six and a half inches, is very neatly put together, and 

 tightly and regularly bound round with string, the interspaces 

 between the successive coils being tilled in with a white clay, or 

 pigment. It is the apex of this sheath which bears the tuft of 

 bird's feathers. 



Whether or no these knives are restricted in their use to the 

 Mika operation, or as Mr. E. M. Curr terms it the " terrible 



