Burial of their dead. 



NEW SOUTH WALES. 



Arrival of convict-ship. 

 Prison fare on board. 



appear to take little care of their children. Poly- 

 gamy exists, and they will frequently give one of 

 their wives to a friend who may be in want of one; 

 but notwithstanding this laxity they are extremely 

 jealous, and are very prompt to resent any freedom 

 taken with their wives. Their quarrels for the 

 most part are occasioned by the fair sex, and being 

 the cause, they usually are the greatest sufferers; 

 for the waddy is applied to their heads in a most 

 unmerciful style, and few old women are to be 

 seen who do not bear unquestionable marks of the 

 hard usage they have received. The husband who 

 suspects another of seducing his wife, either kills 

 one or both. The affair is taken up by the tribe, 

 if the party belongs to another, who inflict punish- 

 ment on him in the following manner. 



The guilty party is furnished with a shield, and 

 made to stand at a suitable distance, and the whole 

 tribe cast their spears at him ; his expertness and 

 activity often enable him to escape any serious 

 injury, but instances do occur in which the party 

 is killed. Such punishments are inflicted with 

 great forrtlality, upon an appointed day, and the 

 whole tribe assemble to witness it. The person 

 most injured has the first throw, and it depends 

 upon the feelings of the tribe respecting the offence 

 committed, whether they endeavour to do injury 

 to the culprit or not; and thus it may be supposed 

 that there is some judgment evinced in this mode 

 of punishment. 



The following account of the burial of their dead 

 was received from the missionary who was an eye- 

 witness to it. He was called out one evening to 

 see a native, who they said was dying. On re- 

 pairing to the camp, he was too late, for the man 

 was already dead, and notwithstanding the short 

 space of time that had elapsed, the corpse was 

 already wrapped up for burial. The legs had been 

 bent at the knees and hips, and tied to the body, 

 and the head bent downwards towards the legs. 

 In this position the corpse was enveloped in a 

 blanket, and bound round with many ligatures, so 

 as to form a shapeless lump. There were about 

 fifty natives present, seated within a small space in 

 front. The women were raising dismal lamenta- 

 tions and cutting themselves with sharp sticks; 

 while the men were engaged in an earnest consulta- 

 tion as to the place which should be fixed upon for 

 the burial. At length it was determined to be on 

 the banks of the Macquarie, at no great distance 

 from the mission station. On the following day 

 the missionary proceeded to the place, and found 

 that the natives had already cleared the grass from 

 a space about twenty feet in diameter; in the centre 

 of this the grave was marked out, of an oval shape, 

 six feet long by three feet wide. After digging to 

 the depth of about a foot, they left a ledge all 

 around the grave of a few inches in width: the 

 excavation, thus diminished in size, was continued 

 to the depth of five feet, the sides not being exactly 

 perpendicular, but sloping slightly inwards. At 

 the bottom of the grave was laid a bed of leaves, 

 covered with an opossum-skin cloak, and having a 

 stuffed bag of kangaroo-skin for a pillow; on this 

 couch the body was laid, and the implements of 

 hunting and war which the deceased had used 

 during his lifetime were laid beside him. Leaves 

 and branches of bushes were strewed over him, 

 until the grave was filled up to the ledge or shelf 

 above mentioned. Across the grave were laid 



strong stakes, with the ends resting on this shelf, 

 and on these a layer of stones, which filled the hole 

 to the level of the soil. The excavated earth was 

 then put over the whole, forming a conical heap 

 eight or nine feet high. The trees on each side 

 were marked with irregular incisions, but whether 

 intended as symbols, or merely to identify the 

 place of sepulture, was not understood. All the 

 time this was going on fires were kept burning 

 around the place, to drive away evil spirits, and 

 the women and children uttered loud lamentations, 

 inflicting at the same time wounds upon themselves. 

 When the grave was completed, all the women 

 and children were ordered away, and the mis- 

 sionary, perceiving that it was expected that he 

 would do the same, retired also. His presumption 

 was that they intended to give utterance to their 

 grief, and that they were ashamed to do it in his 

 presence, or before the women and children. 



The day after the burial the natives visited every 

 spot in which they recollected to have seen the 

 deceased, and fumigated it, for the purpose of 

 driving away the evil spirits. They even went 

 into the missionaries' houses, greatly to the annoy- 

 ance of the ladies. 



Their style of mourning consists in bedaubing 

 themselves with pipe-clay; and a more hideous 

 object than an old woman thus tricked out can 

 hardly be conceived. The body and limbs are 

 streaked with it, and the face completely covered 

 as with a mask, in which holes are left for the 

 eyes, nostrils, and mouth. The mask is gradually 

 removed, until the last that is seen of it is a small 

 patch on the top of the head. 



They have some idea of a future state, although 

 some assert that the whole man dies, and that 

 nothing is left of him; while others are of opinion 

 that his spirit yet lives, either as a wandering ghost 

 or in a state of metamorphosis, animating a bird 

 or other creature of a lower order than man. 



During our stay at Sydney, a convict-ship ar- 

 rived; and being desirous of obtaining a view of 

 her accommodations, and the mode of treating the 

 convicts, I visited her. This vessel was prepared 

 expressly for the purpose. Between decks, a 

 strong grated barricade, well spiked with iron, is 

 built across the ship at the steerage bulkhead. 

 This affords the officers a free view of all that is 

 going on among the prisoners. 



Bunks for sleeping are placed on each side all 

 the way to the bow, resembling those in a guard- 

 room. Each of these will accommodate five per- 

 sons. There is no outlet but through a door in the 

 steerage bulkhead, and this is always guarded by a 

 sentry. Light and air are admitted through the 

 hatches, which are well and strongly grated. The 

 guard is under the command of a sergeant, and is 

 accommodated in the steerage, the whole being 

 under the orders of a surgeon, whose duty it is to 

 superintend and regulate every thing that relates 

 to the prisoners, inspect the ship daily, and ad- 

 minister punishment, even unto death if necessary. 

 The surgeon also has control over the master of 

 the vessel and his regulations. The master and 

 mates, on receiving a certificate from the surgeon, 

 are allowed a small sum for every convict lauded, 

 in addition to their pay. 



The criminals have prison fare, and are supplied 

 with wooden-ware for their eating utensils, which 

 are kept in a very nice order. The quarter-deck 



