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NATIVE ORNAMENTS. 



The tendons of the muscles about the tail of 

 the kangaroo, and those of the legs of the emu, 

 are converted into thread by the natives, who 

 manufacture from it a neat net ornament, 

 called " Bollombine." One of these ornaments, 

 made for me by a native female, of the ten- 

 dons procured from the kangaroo, v^^as executed 

 in the following manner : — The longest tendons 

 selected from the tail were laid in an extended 

 position to dry in the sun ; they were afterwards 

 divided into threads ; (when dry they are ca- 

 pable of producing threads of considerable fine- 

 ness ;) the cord intended for this ornament was 

 made by two of these threads being rolled upon 

 the thigh, additions being made until a suffi- 

 cient length was obtained for the purpose re- 

 quired, usually extending to several yards. The 

 netting process is executed in a manner some- 

 what similar to our own ; the ornament, one 

 inch and a-half in breadth, extends like a fillet 



although, perhaps, not to the same extent.) A settler 

 lost himself in the bush, and thinking he saw a native at a 

 distance, he hailed with the usual " Cu, he ; cu, he," (which 

 can be heard at a great distance, and is borrowed from the 

 natives,) until he made the woods resound ; but receiving no 

 reply, he galloped up to the object, and then discovered it 

 was merely a charred stump of a tree ; so this may be some 

 apology for the poor kangaroos. 



