98 ON ABORIGINAL CAVE-DRAWINGS, ETC. 



nation of imperfect drawing. The hope was finally dashed to 

 the ground by the discovery of the Palmer cow, and still more 

 by that of the man in the hat, which proved that the drawings 

 did not date further back than the settlement of the district by 

 white man, viz., 1873. It is to be remarked that the hat is the 

 only instance in which the artist has taken any notice of cloth- 

 ing, even on subjects presumably European or Chinese. 



Before dismissing the subject, allusion may be made to the 

 hazy ideas of the black artist regarding numbers. The number 

 of fingers on the human hand is only correctly given in two cases, 

 and even varies in the same individual. This vagueness, I think, 

 is characteristic of the aboriginal mind. Not that the aboriginal 

 is absolutely incapable of correctly appreciating numbers when 

 he gives his mind to it. Probably the locks of hair on the two 

 figures in No. 10 are correctly delineated, as they are drawn 

 with great care, and the number (seven) is the same in both. 

 Possibly the number of locks in this instance was of ceremonial 

 importance. 



I may mention finally that in a certain class of delineation 

 I have found at least one native (of the Townsville district) 

 singularly expert. The native referred to has many times, for 

 my information, drawn route maps on the sand with a stick, in 

 a manner which would be no discredit to a Fellow of the Royal 

 Geographical Society, showing the river system of the district, 

 where crossing a river was practicable, where a detour would 

 have to be made to avoid a mountain or other obstacle, and 

 so forth. Drawings of this class would be unlikely to be 

 perpetuated by natives on caves or rocks, 



