Aborigines of North-West Australia, 205 



were regular, and for the most part pleasing ; the hair was long, 

 black, and wavy, sometimes hanging in ringlets ; the nose was 

 aquiline, with broad alee nasi, and having the septum perforated 

 for the reception of a white stick like a pipe-stem ; the upper 

 lip, cheek, and chin were furnished with a moderate growth of 

 hair ; the teeth were regular — no incisors removed ; trunk and 

 extremities almost devoid of hair ; the skin of the arms, chest, 

 and abdomen was decorated with cicatrices which stood out from 

 the skin in bold relief, having the form and consistency of cords. 

 On the arms these scars were disposed in parallel vertical lines, 

 while on the chest and abdomen they were in horizontal curves. 

 Dr. Morice informed me that these ghastly decorations were 

 produced in some way unknown by means of a sharp cutting 

 instrument, and that no foreign substance is introduced into the 

 wound. He had been unsuccessful in all his efforts to ascertain 

 how the peculiar raised and indurated character of the sore is 

 produced. The women had fewer scar decorations than the men, 

 but had the same nasal perforation, in which they also wore sticks. 

 All seemed cheerful, happy, and contented with their lot. Their 

 huts were of the usual unsubstantial character, but were, however, 

 an improvement on the " shelter-screens " of the eastern aborigines. 

 They were constructed of boughs of trees supplemented with 

 stray bits of iron sheeting, and other scraps of wood and iron 

 gleaned from the settlement, and they were provided with an 

 arched roof, so that the whole structure was of the shape of a 

 half cylinder lying on its side. Many, however, were little more 

 than " shelter screens," to protect them from the prevailing winds. 

 Their weapons consisted of spears and clubs. The spears were 

 of different shapes and sizes, some being provided with two or 

 three long slender tapering points of hard wood, deeply serrated 

 along one side, while others were tipped with rudely chipped 

 pieces of sandstone. The former is used for spearing fish, the 

 latter for fighting purposes. The " woomerahs," or throwing 

 sticks, which they always use in propelling their spears, are of 



