THROWING-STICKS AND CLUBS. 19 



handle^ and when used^ the end rests ag'ainst the 

 pahn of the rig-ht hand, the three last fing-ers g-rasp 

 the stick, and the forefing*er and thumb loosely 

 retam the spear. With the aid of the powerful 

 leverag-e of the throwing-stick a spear can be thrown 

 to a distance varying- according- to its weig'ht from 

 30 to 80 yards, and with considerable precision ; 

 still, if observed coming-, it may easily be avoided. 



The only other weapon which I have seen in 

 Torres Strait is a pecuhar khid of club procured 

 from New Guinea, consisting- of a quoit-like disk of 

 hard stone (quartz, basalt, or serpentine), with a 

 sharp edg-e, and a hole in the centre to receive one 

 end of a long- wooden handle. 



The huts which the Kowrareg-as and Cape York 

 people put up when the rains commence are 

 usually dome-shaped, four to six feet hig-h, con- 

 structed of an arched framework of flexible sticks, 

 one end of each of which is stuck firmly in the 

 g-round, and over this sheets of tea-tree [Melaleuca) 

 bark — and sometimes an additional thatch of g-rass 

 —are placed until it is rendered perfectly water-ti^ht. 



Not only at Cape York but throug'hout Torres 

 Strait the males use no clothing- or covering of any 

 kind. At Cape York and the Prince of Wales 

 Islands g-rown up females usually wear a covering- 

 in front, consisting* of a tuft of long- g-rass, or flag- 

 (Philydrum lanuginosum), or split pandanus leaves, 

 either hang-ing- loosely or passed between the leg-s 

 and tied to another behind ; over this a short petti- 



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