ABORIGINES OF TASMANIA. 177 



of mountain and forest, extending throughout the whole 

 length of the island. In the dense forests covering a 

 large part of this region, the heavy timber is tangled 

 with an almost impenetrable undergrowth, in which 

 scarcely any animal or bird is found to disturb the 

 silence. Where the forest gives place to bare mountain 

 peak or to so-called " plain," the 4< button-grass "* or the 

 stunted scrub constituting the sole growth, is not much 

 more favourable to animal life. In places, wallaby and 

 kangaroo are to be found, but, as a general rule, the 

 "badger" {i.e. wombat) is the only game. "It will 

 be seen, therefore, that the native population was mainly 

 confined to the sea coast, where they could obtain an 

 abundant supply of shell-fish and crayfish, and to the 

 lightly timbered and open lands of the central valley and 

 of parts of the east and north-east, where opossum, 

 wallaby, kangaroo, efnu, and other game were more or 

 less plentiful. 



It appears that the blacks were accustomed to take 

 considerable pains, by means of periodical burnings, to 

 keep dow r n the scrub and promote the growth of grass 

 on their favourite hunting-grounds. Many open plains, 

 especially in the north, which were formerly known as 

 favourite resorts of the blacks, subsequently became 

 overgrown w r ith forest through the discontinuance of 

 these annual burnings. 



They usually roamed the country in small groups or 

 parties, probably composed of nearly related families 

 living together. Their camps rarely contained more 

 than 30 or 40 individuals — men, women, and children. 

 At certain seasons of the year, however, large hunting 

 parties were formed, in which the whole tribe, or 

 possibly more than one tribe, joined forces to surround 

 and drive the game. Such was, doubtless, the gathering 

 of the Oyster Bay natives at Risdon in 1804, which was 

 attended with such an unfortunate result. The number 

 of natives, men and women, then engaged in driving the 

 kangaroo was variously stated at from 300 to 500, though 

 it is probable that even the smaller number was an 

 exaggerated estimate. Captain Kelly, in his evidence 

 before the Committee, says that he saw a mob of 300 at 

 Brown's River in 1806, and about a dozen instances of 



* The " button-grass " is a species of sedge ( Gymnoscoemis sphaero- 

 cephalus — Nat. Ord. Cyperaceae). 



