NOKTll t,>UKKN',sl,A\|) I';thNO(;I<A ['H V — KOTK. 69 



stroke and limits a far smaller circle, the elbow appearing aliove 

 the water-surface at each stroke. 'I'he legs, not much separated, 

 ■ would seem to work " dog-fashion." Jf I could liken this manner 

 of swimming to anything of ours, it would be something after 

 the style of the ordinary side-stroke. When swimming any long 

 distances, the Bloomfield River Blacks will go liand-over-hand 

 fashion like a dog; otherwise, the body is tilted laterally, one 

 arm doing the usual side-stroke, the other working pretty close 

 to the body, ant! moving the fore-arm somewhat vertically. In 

 diving any long distance, and to ensure rapidity of speed, the 

 one arm, instead of doing the ordinary side-stroke will be 

 strongly circumrotated vertically from behind forwards over the 

 head. In all cases, the lower extremities are markedly brought 

 into requisition. On the Pennefather River and at Cape Bed- 

 ford, either the breast — or side-stroke, according to pace required 

 is brought into requisition. The fact of a whole group of 

 natives, though occupying the lands bordering a river, not being 

 able to swim has already been drawn nttentiou to^. 



6. 2'ree-C limbing. — Tlie various methods adopted in climbing 

 depend in very j.'reat measure upon the size, height and slope of 

 the tree. Where the butt is comparatively small and vertical, 

 the native will clutch it with the two feet on the same horizontal 

 level, the knees being kept well out (PI. xx., fig. 1) ; thus firmly 

 planted, he drags his body up hand-over-hand fashion, and by a 

 repetition of the movement rapidly advances. This sort of 

 climbing is the chati-balgin of the Mallanpara occupying the 

 Lower Tully River District, the second half of the word 

 signifying the jumping-motion of a wallab3\ 



In the case of a long dependent vine, the black climbs it hand- 

 over-hand (PI. xxi., fig, 1), getting a purchase by grasping it 

 between the first and .second toes — MAL. parpaji. 



Where the size and slope of the butt admits, e.g., a cocoa-nut or 

 other palm, the native will just walk up the tree (PI. xx., fig. 2), 

 throwing the weight of his body backwards, overbalancing being 

 prevented by his clutching the tree firmly with his hands. MAL. 

 balngai-chanin, where balngai signifies "to cross" in the sense 

 of a log laid horizontally, and clianin means " to stand."- 



7. When the butt i.s too large, and the first limb not within 

 reach, a very common practice is to place a forked stick at an 

 angle up against the tree (PI. xxi., fig. 4) and walk up it. At 

 Cape Bedford such a forked sapling is called a walmbar, the same 



1 See Navigation — Ante, p. 2. 



