RY FRITZ NOETLlNd, M.A., I'H.l). 93 



modern man fights again his battles at a long range, with 

 the difference, however, that the distance between the com- 

 batants is now almost as many thousands of yards as it used 

 to be yards. Between the two stages falls the period of 

 close combat ; this period must have coanmenced with the 

 invention of the dagger and the sword, the axe, and the 

 club, the weapons suitable for a close fight. Perhaps this 

 invention coincides with the Magdalenian, though I should 

 feel inclined to date it somewhat -later. Ever since, pro- 

 bably all through the Neolithic and Bronze age, human 

 beings fought their battles hand to hand. All the great 

 battles of the antique world were fought at close quarters, 

 and so were those of early middle ages. Only with the in- 

 ventions of gunpowder the combatants separated again, and 

 the distance gradually increased, and is apparently still in- 

 creasing. There will, however, be an end tO' this ever-in- 

 creasing distance ; at present the range of some of the big 

 guns is such that it is impossible to discern a small or even 

 large object at that distance. There must, therefoi'e, be 

 an end to this increase of the horizontal distance, and I 

 think we are pretty near that end. What would be the 

 use of a gun having a range of 30 or 40 miles if the object 

 to be fired at is below the horizon, and cannot be seen? But 

 what is going to happen then? Are wo to eiXpect that the 

 pendulum swings back and the combatants again come to 

 close quarters? I hardly think so, even if an invention 

 were made that one man could annihilate a whole army at 

 close quarters, thei other side would take the gi-eatest carG 

 that that one man would never come to close quarters. I 

 almost think that as fighting in the horizontal plane has 

 com© to its practical limit, the next movement will be the 

 shifting of the plane, and instead of in the horizoaital plane 

 the fighting will be carried out in the vertical plane, which 

 very likely means coming to close or relatively close quar- 

 ters again. 



APPENDIX. 



THE DUTERRAU ENGRAVINGS. 



Mr. J. W. Beattie, who is so indefatigable in hunting up 

 old records and ot-lier relics connected with the early history 

 of Tasm^ania, has kindly drawn my attention to some quaint 

 eld engravings, which bear on the subjects discussed in the 

 above paper. 



These engravings were "designed, etched, and pub- 

 lished by Bn. Duterrau" between July 15th, 1835, and 

 March 23rd, 1836, in "Hobart Town, Van Diemen's Land." 



