60 



she happened to be too old a body, her own blood-sons would 

 look after her, or failing them, her daughters ; the sons, how- 

 ever, were always first in their attentions. 



Infanticide was not practised, nor was anything specially 

 done with twins when they put in an appearance. 



The conditions of marriage might be shortly expressed as 

 suitable group relationship, stealth, or betrothal, and the attain- 

 ing of the nose-boring initiation ceremony, which took place 

 sometime subsequent to puberty. They had a very general idea 

 that a man was always more courageous before matrimony than 

 after ; and, as owing to the comparative paucity of eligible 

 women, the getting of a wife very often proved a constant source 

 of feud, the older men were always discouraging the younger 

 ones from entering the married state. On an average, there 

 were about six men required to provide by hunting, for the wants 

 of every two women (with children). Of the latter, the majority 

 would appear to have died before reaching middle age ; the pro- 

 portion of two or three young women to every old one, being 

 pretty constant. Three or four children would not uncommonly 

 be noticed as belonging to one mother, who might be seen 

 suckling more than one of her infants at a time. 



Children were taught how to climb trees as well as the 

 use and exercise of arms ; they learnt to throw spears by prac- 

 tising on small reeds, etc., to commence with. They were cer- 

 tainly not instructed in the manufacture of the different weapons, 

 but apparently did this by imitation, though they might 

 occasionally get instruction and assistance from their fathers. 

 The mother would look after the education of her girls, teach- 

 ing them how, when, and where to dig for roots, yams, etc., and 

 also how to prepare the different foods. Tracking was never 

 actunlly taught ; the aboriginals apparently picked it up as time 

 went on. 



A very common game played by both little girls and 

 boys, up to 8 or 10 years of age, consisted in throwing along 

 the ground, with a peculiar turn of the wrist, a more or less 

 ovate-shaped piece of bark, and throwing a 6ft. reed at it as it 

 spun. 



Among the elders and at the camp-fires a man would often 

 stand forward with his wommera and recite some adventure of 

 his, telling all about what he had done, and often what he 

 hadn't done, what prowess he showed under the circumstances, 



