DEXTERITY IN THROWING THE SPEAR. 315 



and every kind of abusive epithet were bandied 

 about^ and the women and children in the bush kept 

 up a waiHng- cry all the while rising* and falling- in 

 cadence. The pantomimic movements were of various 

 descriptions ; besides the sing-ular quivering- motion 

 given to the thig'hs placed w ide apart (common to all 

 the Australian dances)^ they frequently invited each 

 other to throw at them^ turning- the body half round 

 and exposing- the breech^ or dropping- on one knee or 

 hand as if to offer a fair mark. At leng-th a spear 

 w as thrown and returned^ followed by many others^ 

 and the fig*hting- became g-eneral^ with an occasional 

 pause. The precision with which the spears Avere 

 thrown was not less remarkable than the dexte- 

 rity with which they were avoided. In nearly 

 every case the person thrown at would^ apparently^ 

 have been struck had he stood stilly but^ his keenness 

 of sig-ht enabled him to escape by spring-ing* aside 

 as required^ variously inchning- the body^ or some- 

 times merely lifthig* up a leg- to allow the spear 

 to pass by^ and had two been throAvn at one per- 

 son at the same moment he could scarcely have 

 escaped^ but this I observed was never attempted^ 

 as it would have been in w^ar^— here each individual 

 appeared to have a particular opponent. I had a 

 capital view of the whole of the proceeding's^ being- 

 seated about fifty yards behind and slig-htly on the 

 flank of one of the tw^o contending parties. One spear 

 throwai hig-her than usual passed within five 3'ards 

 of me, but this I was satisfied was the result of 



