298 
they throw this stick with such wonder- 
ful “precision, that: they scarcely ever 
fail to bring down a bird from the tops 
of the’highest trees..0) 99) = eu on 
In their habits these people seem to 
resemble the natives of New South 
Wales; but there are shades of differ- 
ence; which fully indicate that they do 
motoccupy so low a place on the gra- 
‘duated scaleof the human species. Like 
them; they wander about in search of 
the*scanty and precarious means of pre- 
serving life; like them, they make use 
of the most disgusting food, the filthy 
remains of which we often found; and, 
like them, they have no fixed habitation 
seldom remaining two nights in the 
same place ; nor do they seem to have 
any idea of forming themselves into any 
larger scope of society, beyond their own 
immediate tribe or family. But they 
‘are superior in person; and, if the co- 
vering of the women be general, which 
it probably is, it isa mark of decency, 
and astep towards civilization, perfectly 
unknown. to the aborigines of Aus- 
tralia. 
. These savages have certainly some 
notion of a supreme power, and a fu- 
ture state, and are by no means so rude 
and barbarous as those that are to be 
‘met with amongst the New Hollanders 
generally ; for, on Bathurst Island, we 
Readaithiec tomb of a'native. The situa- 
tion was one of such perfect retirement 
and repose, that it displayed great feel-. 
ang inthe survivors who placed it there ; 
‘and the simple order and decorations 
‘of it, would not have disgraced a 
eivilized people. It was an oblong 
square, open at the foot, the remaining 
end and sides being railed round with 
small trees, seven or eight feet high, 
some of which were carved witha stone 
cor shell, and further ornamented with 
‘sings of wood, also carved. On the 
tops of these posts were placed the 
waddys of the deceased. The grave was 
-raised above the level of the earth; but 
othe raised part was not more than three 
feet long. At the head was placed a 
“piece of canoe, and a spear; and around 
‘it were little baskets made of the fan 
_palm-leaf: these, from their small size, 
we imagined to have been placed there 
by the children of the departed; but 
nothing could exceed the neatness and 
_simplicity of the whole, as not a vestige 
-of weed or shrub was suffered to remain 
-within the area... - 
veeThe natives..of those islands must. 
-have strong.powers of mimicry, for on 
the first interview I was present at with — 
agrtnsy 
Voyage to Australia, §c. 
them (which was at Bathurst Island on 
a fishing party, where we-had=been all 
the morning), just as we were‘about to 
return ‘on board, they came:tothe-beach 
inva body. of seventeen’ or»eighteen, 
making a hideous noise, swinging: their 
arms-about, and crying eut-“‘warra wa, 
warra wa, warta wa,” imitatingns ex- 
actly in hauling the~ seine, .by ing 
into the sea, and following-all-our ma- 
neeuvres, and making signs for us to/re- 
turn; "but, it being near twelve o’eleck, 
and the officer having charge of the boat 
being desirous to take the boat’s crew 
off to dinner, we told them in plain En- 
glish (but laughed loudly at the same ~ 
time) that we were going away. . They 
laughed much louder than we were ca- 
pable of doing, and repeated, as plain as 
we had spoken it, “ going away, going 
away,” &c., and continued to.do so as 
long as we were within hearing. We 
found, in all the intercourse we had 
with them afterwards, that they could 
imitate us with equal facility whenever 
they pleased. “ 
The sinking of wells, on various parts 
of both islands, and particularly the one 
near the fort, gave us a good opportunity 
of observing the soil. For the first two 
or three feet, it was generally a fine 
black vegetable mould, then a strong 
red clay for a few feet, on a thick bed 
of sandstone rock, on a strata of loose 
red clay, intermixed with a sort of pipe- 
clay or marl; next a coarse red gravel, 
to the depth of twenty-eight feet, where 
the water flowed in in abundance; but 
the well near the fort was the only one 
sunk to that depth. 
This soil appears to be excellent, and 
capable of producing most, if not.all, 
the valuable trees, shrubs, &ce. of the 
Eastern Islands: The whole. of» the 
plants brought from Sydney. flourish 
luxuriantly, particularly the orange and: 
lemon, the lime, banana and sugar-cane. 
The napal also thrives well, inthe gar- 
den near the settlement, which was at- 
tended by a professed gardener from 
Sydney. Melons, pumpkins, -small'sal- 
lads, and different sorts of cabbage plants, 
sprung up immediately; the plantain, 
prickly pear and loquets, never-lost a 
moment from being transplanted. .-The 
maize was above ground. on the fourth 
day, and the Indian corn on thé seventh 
or eighth day after they had been:sown. 
Potatoes were not so fortunate; how- 
“ree this ann cael be accountedofor, 
ause, in first instances they:were 
not intended for seedy andweresfar from 
being good, even for present-use, when 
we 
