80 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [JaN. 30 



exactly as by Littin<? the oblique bars of a wind-mill, it forces 

 it to go round. The ingenuity of this ancient weapon, which is 

 worthj of the highest scientific calculation, is very extraordinary 

 as coming from the almost lowest race of mankind." 



Extraordinary is too mild a term. "When a black savage from 

 "almost the lowestrace of mankind ' can, by the deliberate exercise 

 of his inventive ingenuity, succeed, if not in turning our very 

 philosophy upside down, at least in so efiectually confounding a 

 popular educator of the highest race of mankind, that he sub- 

 verts the very laws of fluid resistances, requiring that the 

 boomerang should be thrown bulged side down in order that 

 the "air impinging thereon" might lift it, etc., when, as a 

 matter of fact the boomering is never thrown l)ulged side down, 

 and even if it should be, the effect would be exactly the opposite 

 from that stated. 



Any one who has ever been pulled nearly off his feet by the 

 wind getting on the wrong side of his umbrella, knows the truth 

 of that statement without once thinking of the immortal Newton, 

 or his prop. 31. 



I take this opportunity to say : I do not believe there was a 

 particle of ingenuity exercised in the creation of the first return- 

 ing boomerang. I believe, as suggested by Pitt liivers, F.R.S., 

 in the AnOtropologicalJo urn al, thai it may be very easily explained. 

 But, not to commit the A^er}^ error I am condemning in the 

 encyclopfedist, and setup imaginary causes as dogmatic assump- 

 tion of fact, I Avill, in attemiDting to tell the stoi'y of its origin, 

 admit that it is a flight of fancy — and so I begin with the good 

 old and appropriate phrase : 



Once iipon a time many years ago there lived in the bush of 

 Australia, a wild and woolly black man. One particularly hungry 

 day, while roaming his native haunts in search of food, he 

 came suddenly upon a wild animal, large, powerful and fleet of 

 foot. He grabbed the neai'est missile at hand, and hurling it 

 Avith all his eager might, broke the leg of a bouncing kangaroo. 



With this advantage gained, the fierce and hungry savage 

 soon thi'ottled the disabled game and appeased his appetite. 

 But he failed not to note that the successful weapon which 

 chance had thrown in his way, was a heavy, crooked stick. He 

 noted well its elbow-like bend, its whirling motion and wide 

 range, and he straightway proceeded to cultivate his lucky 

 throwing club. 



Indeed, so easy and natural a step was this in the inception of 

 the art of maiming game, that the braves of all lands seem to 

 have known the wonderful virtues of a curved club, and some 

 gods as well, if we may believe what Mr. Ferguson and philo- 



