13 



cannot spear fisli in waterholes or creeks, thej strip the bark 

 o£ certain trees, which is pounded with stones till the fibre 

 gets soft. It is then put in the waterhole, which after a little 

 while has the effect of stupefying the fish, and they float on the 

 surface, when they are gathered up. Torches are employed by 

 night, by which the fish are attracted and speared. Small nets 

 made of the fibre of the bark of Banjan trees are also used for 

 catching fish. Snakes, lizards, &c., are knocked over with sticks 

 and stones. In the dry season the grass is set on fire, when 

 all kinds of reptiles and other animals are easily secured. 



Kangaroos generally have regular beaten tracks or paths 

 leading to water, on which they are waylaid and speared. 



Ducks and geese are killed in various ways. "While feeding 

 in swamps, the natives armed with short sticks crawl up to them 

 among the rushes, and when near enough throw the sticks 

 among the flock, which generally cripples some. The natives 

 also climb up high trees near swamps, and with small sticks 

 kill geese flying over to their feeding ground. But the more 

 ingenious method of catching ducks and geese is to go into the 

 water some distance from where the game is, cover their heads 

 with lilies and leaves growing in the water, and then work their 

 way with just their eyes and nose above water up to the game, 

 which is seized by the legs and pulled under water. This 

 method of catching game is also practised on the shores of 

 Lake Alexandrina, in South Australia. 



Another method of catching geese — which at certain times of 

 the year are very plentiful — is to build a small bell- shaped hut 

 among the rushes and swamps visited by geese. The hut is 

 constructed of rushes, and a few holes just large enough to 

 admit the body of a goose are made round the bottom of the 

 hut. In these holes are placed young lilies and roots, on which 

 the geese feed. A native then gets into the hut and closes it 

 in at the top. The geese come feeding about the hut, and 

 seeing the lilies and roots, put their head through the hole to 

 get them, when the native inside the hut seizes them by the 

 head, pulls them through the hole, and twists their neck off ; 

 others seeing their mates disappearing through the holes have 

 a look in also, and are treated in the same way, and great 

 numbers are caught sometimes by this simple process. Turtle, 

 geese, and alligator eggs in all stages and condition are delica- 

 cies, and much sought after. 



Tams of different kinds are, when in season, a considerable 

 item of food for the natives. Some of these yams when eaten 

 raw cause the mouth and throat to swell, accompanied by great 

 pain. These yams have to be specially prepared to render them 

 eatable. To do this a hole is scraped in the ground, which is 

 paved with stones. A large fire is then made in the hole till 



