70 



RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. 



term as is applied to a log thrown across a stream for walking over 



it. On Mornington Island an interesting development of this 

 method consisted of two such forks placed " 

 upon the butt in such a way as not only 

 to interlock hut also to support a hori- 

 zontal piece (fig. 43) ; this foims a kind 

 of platform upon which the islander can 

 stand securely while cutting out a bees' 

 nest, etc. 



8. To ascend a tree with the Calamus 

 "lawyer-cane" climber-, the following 

 procedures are adopted : — the}' were all 

 demonstrated to me by a Tully (left- 

 handed) native, an expert in the art, in 

 that he had the moon-shaped cicatrix cut 

 on either buttock, indicative of his special 

 skill in the craft-^. This pliable cane- 

 \0 climber (MAL. kambai) is specially pre- 

 ^'?- 43. pared by greasing with fat, and wlien not 



in use is always kept in the shade, and at one extremity is tied 



into a knot*. 



(a) A more or less straight tree. The right hand holds the 



cane just in advance of the knot, the cane being then passed 



round the tree, tightened up with the left hand, 



and passed in a half-turn from under the wrist 



to over the elbow-groove and so to under the 



arm-pit (fig. 45). Slanting himself backwards 



(PI. xviii., fig. 3), the native, with elbows a 



little out, gives a jerk as he raises the cane, 



simultaneously taking a step np ; by repeating 



the movement, he thus gradually makes pro- 

 gress. The advance is always on the outer 



<jurve of the bend of the tree. Thus, supposing 



the tree is spirally curved, the course of the ascent is in a 



'■^The local Mallanpara word bumareii is the verb indicating the ascent 

 of a tree by this means. 



A specimen in Dr. Roth's collection from Miriam 

 Vale, where it is known as yn-rol, measures t\\enty-four 

 feet in lengtli ; to theTarumbal of Rockhanipton it was 

 known as a ba-rin or ku-ti. 



2 Here on the TiiUy River, there is a lialf-mooa 

 cicatrix cut on the buttocks of men who are considered 

 to be expert tree climl)ers (fig. 44). Such a half-moon 

 scar (MAL. kauren), which may be supplemented with 

 small horizontal cuts, is said to teacli tiie owner how 

 Pip 44. to climl) iiroi)eily. 



Pifr. 45. 



.-«? 



