62 NOTES ON SAVAGE LIFE, ETC., 



had its own fire burning at about a yard to a yard and a-half in 

 front of the entrance. Permission had to be asked and obtained 

 before travellers were allowed within the precincts. In travel- 

 ling, the men went in front, generally in single file, the women 

 bringing up the rear some sixty or seventy yards behind. The 

 former carried the weapons, and any game that might have 

 been caught during the day, while the latter burdened them- 

 selves with all the remaining property. Some of the particularly 

 old men — this was certainly never ol)-;erved among the younger 

 ones — used to carry a small dilly-bag over ttie left shoulder, 

 hanging in the armpit; this contained red ochre, pieces of 

 crystalline quartz (for the spears, etc.), gum, and hair. Their 

 powers of rendering the voice distinct and intelligible over 

 comparatively great distances were remarkable. They could 

 both speak and reply. In one case that came particularly 

 under Austin's observation, over an estuary quite one and a-half 

 miles wide, where they would ascend a tree to a height of about 

 20 feet, the better so to do, the voice of conversation in 

 that particular instance was carefully modulated rather 

 than high-pitched, though the initial sound to attract attention 

 was a sharp shout. 



The red ochre, wil-gi, was rubbed up in the hand dry, 

 or pounded with a stone to a fine powder. It was also 

 subsequently mixed with snake's entrail or iguana fat held at 

 the end of a stick over a fire. Supposing now that our 

 individual in question was about to take his departure on a visit 

 elsewhere, etc., he would arrange his toilet somewhat after the 

 following fashion : — -After seeing that his weapons and accoutre- 

 ments were all in good condition, and removing his head and 

 belly strings, he would put the wil-gi powder into his left hand, 

 and then with the right thumb dab it in rings round his chest, 

 arms, thighs and legs. Admiring himself, he would take up a 

 spear and wommera, shake them in defiance at an imaginary 

 foe, and probably sing a song concerning his own prowess, his 

 wife, of course, telling him all the time what a line, noble 

 fellow he looked, and how that be was by far the better of the 

 two. In this mood of supreme self-satisfaction he would squat 

 down, and with some fat smear the whole of his body and limbs 

 until the skin showed a uniform appearance of a greasy vermil- 

 lion colour. Singing all the time, he would finally red-ochre 

 grease the head and belly strings before putting them on again. 



