156 



THE MUSEUM. 



the boulder still firmly frozen in its 

 grasp. Thus it was borne down the 

 valley for a distance of two miles when 

 the rock struck against a small hill 

 which rose about ten feet above the 

 level of the valley. Here the boulder 

 became detached, and here it remains, 

 to tell how, on a grander scale, some 

 of the mighty changes which have tak- 

 en place in the surface of the earth, 

 were caused. 



The Boomerang and its Freaks. 



The singular instrument of hunting 

 warfare and sport peculiar to the ab- 

 origines of Australia, and by them com- 

 monly called the "wango" or "kilee, " 

 but more generally known elsewhere as 

 the boomerang, has always excited 

 great curiosity and wonder among oth- 

 er peoples. Indeed, so remarkable is 

 the flight of the boomerang after it 

 leaves the hands of a skillful thrower 

 that it seems possessed of actual life 

 or of some supernatural power. 



The boomerang was first described 

 by Capt. Philip King, in a "Narrative 

 of a Survey of the Intertropical and 

 Western Coast of Australia," 1818- 

 1823, although others, a few years 

 earlier, had briefly referred to it. 

 Strange to say, neither Capt. Cook 

 nor any navigator of that period men- 

 tioned this implement in their accounts 

 of Australia (then called New Holland) 

 and the natives, unless the mention of 

 a "wooden sword of cutlass shape"had 

 reference to the boomerang, perhaps 

 before they had seen it in actual use. 



The boomerang is always made of 

 the hardest and heaviest wood obtain- 

 able, and for this purpose a certain 

 kind of acacia is commonly chosen. 

 A natural crook is invariably selected, 

 which is trimmed to the proper dimen- 



sions and further toughened by expos- 

 ure to fire. The size and shape vary 

 greatly, and what is quite remarkable 

 no two are ever exactly alike. The 

 length varies from 18 to 36 inches, the 

 width from 2 to 3 inches and the 

 thickness from | to J of an inch. 



The crook or curve varies, accord- 

 ing as the implement is designed for 

 returning to the thrower or not, for, 

 contrary to the common belief, all 

 boomerangs do not have a backward 

 flight. The different kinds may be 

 divided into three classes, as follows: 

 One, large and but very slightly curv- 

 ed, used exclusively in warfare; anoth- 

 er, of similar shape, but lighter, for 

 hunting, and a third, used mainly for 

 pastime, still smaller and lighter, with 

 more of an "elbow" — often nearly a 

 right angle. The latter class alone re- 

 turn to the thrower, the former two 

 being used for straight throwing and 

 delivering a paralyzing blow. 



One side of the boomerang is flat, 

 and the other slightly convex, the lat- 

 ter being often elaborately carved. 

 The edges all around are sharpeiied, 

 to overcome resistance to the air when 

 thrown, and the whole is highly pol- 

 ished, for the same reason. All taper 

 slightly toward the ends, which are 

 either round or pointed. 



In throwing the boomerang of the 

 third class, it is grasped by one end, 

 with the curve toward the thrower and 

 the slightly convex side uppermost. 

 As it is brought forward (generally 

 over the shoulder) it leaves the hand 

 in nearly a perpendicular plane, which 

 gradually becomes horizontal. At the 

 last moment a peculiar rotary as well 

 progressive jerk is imparted to it, and 

 the missile speeds away like a bird to 

 distance of forty to fifty yards or more, 



