Jtily 20, 1876] 



NATURE 



249 



the man would become sick and die. I have never seen it 

 done.^ 



_ " Soon after Bamy died. News went about that Latnby had 

 killed him. Then went about also ' Laywin a ngangata ' (news 

 of war) . Word was sent by the dead man's relations to come 

 and fight at some place. It was near the mouth of the Nichol- 

 son River at the Lakes. All the Kurni from Baimsdale to the 

 Snowy River came. The women sate down, beat the 'possum 

 rugs with their hands, and called the other side names for 

 'njarrat bun a Kurni' (bewitching or making sick a black 

 fellow). The two brothers of the 'poor fellow' (the term com- 

 monly used in speaking English for dead man) threw boome- 

 rangs and ' kunnin ' (a straight steel pointed at each end and 

 about 2 feet 6 inches to 3 feet in length). Lamby had a shield. 

 At last a ' kunnin ' went through his right leg just above his 

 knee. He drew it out behind and threw it back. But he 

 missed, it was too slippery with blood. Then they wanted to 

 throw spears at him, but some ' Kurni ' men and women stood 

 up before Lamby, and the fight stopped. Then they were 

 friends. Lamby had two shields (tummung), one in his hand 

 and one on the ground before him to be ready. " 



The above narratives will, I think, throw some light on the use 

 of the boomerang, and are characteristic of the customs of the 

 aborigines, which it is much to be regi-etted are going to oblivion. 

 A careful record of these — in fact a faithful record of the customs, 

 the beliefs, the systems of consanguinity of the Australian abori- 

 gines would throw much light on the probable early condition 

 even of the now civilised races. I have for some years treasured 



Fig. I.— Side view of Turnmung; made apparently of stringy bark (Euca- 

 lyptus obliqud). Height 28 inches, circumference at handle 8 inches, 

 circumference at end 2 inches. 



Fig. 2. Front view of Turnmung, 



Fig. 3. Side view of Bamarook, made apparently of stringy bark wood. 

 Height 29J inches, width across (Fig. 4) a to ^ (s\ inches. The slight! / 

 convex surface is marked with angular or dotted incised patterns in 

 opposite quarters. 



Fig. 5. — CuUuck drawn from memory, a X.o b rounded handle ; b Xo c 

 flattened and .somtwhat edged along the inside curve. 



up for future use everything I could gather on these subjects. 

 This mine of strange information is immense, and I regret to 

 say not only unworked, but I fear destined to remain so — while 

 the aborigines are rapidly fading away before the advancing 

 wave of settlement. To anyone who has not endeavoured to 

 collect such information through others, the utter apathy which 

 exists throughout the Australian colonies may seem inconceiv- 

 able. I regret to say that sad experience has shown me that 

 it exists. As an instance I may mention that of some 400 or 

 500 circulars which I have, together with my colleague in the 

 inquiry, the Rev. Mr. Fison, sent out asking for information 

 as to the systems of kinship obtaining, certainly not five per cent. 



' As an example I may give the snake-charm which is sung to a mono- 

 tonous chant. The blacks tell me they sing this and suck the wound for 

 snake bite ; — 



" Yane thay, gaylunga, gaylunga, 

 Yane thay, gaylunga, gaylunga, 

 Willeba, wirreba, wirribiyow " 

 repeated indefinitely. It may be translated— 



" Oh, the jaw of the gaylung, the gaylung. 

 Oh, the jaw of the gaylung, the gaylung, 

 Go and hide yonrselt in the bush-rat's nest." 

 Gaylung is, I believe, a Hoplocephalus, and very deadly. It is said to fre- 

 quent the rats' nests, which are made of grass. 



have produced leplies, and scarcely more than one per cent. 

 yielded results. 



This is, however, a digression, and I now give, as illustrating the 

 two above narratives, slight sketches of the "bamarook," the 

 " tummung," and the " culluck." 



The boomerang throwing to which I have referred took place 

 on the open flat lying between the River Mitchell and its 

 branch known as the Backwater. It was open and well suited 

 for the purpose, but a sea-breeze was blowing. There were pre- 

 sent eight black fellows from different localities, extending from 

 the Mitchell River to the Snowy River. Among them was 

 Lamby, the hero of the fight which I have narrated, Toolabar, 

 a brother of the man Bamy, and Long Harry, the acknowledged 

 boomerang-thrower of the whole district ; so much so that when I 

 suggested that he should be called for thefuture " Bungil Wunkun," 

 i. e.," He of the Boomerang, " the term was received with acclama- 

 tion, and it is not improbable that for the future this may be his 

 native name. The only boomerang we had was one of the 

 " marndwuUun, " or returning sort. Throws were made by all, 

 and the defects of the throws as well as of the instrament 

 pointed out by one or the other almost in the same terras. One 

 arm of the boomerang was held to be too much curved for the 

 instrament to return near the thrower. The throws proved this 

 to be the case, as it was evidently impossible for the thrower or 

 the spectators to tell exactly what the course of the missile 

 would be in returning. In some cases it flew past over our 

 heads and fell in the rear, at others flew in the opposite direction 

 far to the front. The explanation of this given me was that it 

 was partly due to the uncertainty of the boomerang's return flight 

 unless of rare perfection in make, and partly due to the wind 

 which affected its course. I found that the throws could be 

 placed in two classes, one in which the boomerang was held 

 when thrown in a plane perpendicular to the horizon, the other 

 in which one plane of the boomerang was inclined to the left of 

 the thrower. 



In the first method of throwing, the missile proceeded, revolv- 

 ing with great velocity, in a perpendicular plane for say 100 

 yards, when it became inclined to the left, travelling from right 

 to left. It then circled upwards, the plane in which it revolved 

 indicating a cone, the apex of which would lie some distance in 

 front of the thrower. When the boomerang in travelling passed 

 round to a point above and somewhat to the right of the thrower, 

 and perhaps ico feet above the ground, it appeared to become 

 stationary for a moment ; I can only use the term hovering to 

 describe it. It then commenced to descend, still revolving in the 

 same direction, but the curve followed was reversed, the boome- 

 rang travelling from left to right, and the speed rapidly increasing, 

 it flew far to the rear. At high speed a sharp whistling noise could 

 be heard. In the second method, which was shown by " bungil 

 wunkun," and elicited admiring ejaculations of *'ko-/5?" from the 

 black fellows, the boomerang was thrown in a plane considerably 

 inclined to the left. It there flew forward for say the same dis- 

 tance as before, gradually curving upwards, when it seemed to 

 ** soar " up — this is the best term — ^just as a bird may be seen to 

 circle upwards with extended wings. The boomerang of course 

 was all this time revolving rapidly. It is difficult to estimate the 

 height to which it soared, making, I think, two gyrations ; but 

 judging from the height of neighbouring trees on the river bank, 

 which it surmounted, it may have reached 150 feet. It then 

 soared round and round in a decreasing spiral and fell about 1 00 

 yards in front of the thrower. This was performed several times. 

 The descending curve passed the thrower, I think, three times. 

 £)ther throws were spoiled by the wind, which carried the 

 boomerang far to the front. I observed, and some of the abori- 

 gines confirmed it, that the thrower preferred throwing with the 

 wind. Another method of throwing was mentioned, namely, to 

 throw the boomerang in such a maimer that it would strike the 

 ground with its flat side some distance in front of the thrower. 

 It would then rise upwards in a spiral, returning in the same. This 

 was not attempted as it was decided the boomerang was not 

 strong enough. A final throw in a vertical plane so that the 

 missile struck the ground violently fifty or sixty yards in advance 

 terminated the display. It ricocheted three times with a twang- 

 ing noise and split along the centre. My black friends said they 

 should soon manufacture a number of the best constructed 

 "wunkun" to show me. I observed that the spectators stood 

 about a hundred yards on one side of the thrower, and when the 

 boomerang in its gyrations approached us every blackfellow had 

 his eyes sharply fixed on it. The fact stated by them that it was 

 dangerous was well shown in one instance, where it suddenly 

 wheeled and flew so close over us that I and Toolabar fell over 



