THE MALLEE COUNTRY 99 



were placed, in the shape of a tent, over the dead, 

 and on them were hung fishing nets, and, in later times, 

 blankets that they had used in life. Before the 

 settlers' advent the blacks, apparently, piled logs 

 above the graves, and buried with the bodies stone 

 axes and other primitive implements. 



Many old trees on the station bear marks of stone 

 axes, where Opossums' or Parrots' nests were cut out 



THE ISLE OF THE DEAD, KULKYNE. 



by the natives. And, here and there, one sees a great 

 Eucalypt, its gaunt gray limbs outstretched, from 

 which bark was stripped for a canoe. On the bank 

 of Chalka Creek, at the time of my visit, an ancient 

 bark canoe was rotting under some bushes. I made 

 a short voyage in it, and learned to admire the skill 

 of the aborigines, who launched such frail craft on 

 the Murray. It requires a thorough knowledge of 

 the art of balancing to keep a bark canoe afloat, even 

 on still water. 



Lake Cantalla lies five miles, by water, from the 

 homestead. Accompanied by the station manager and 



