PHYSIOGRAPHY ()/ AUSTRALASIA. 



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rugs, etc., as well as baskets and bags, some of which are really elegant productions. 

 The following is a list of the weapons generally used : There are two kinds of spear, 

 from six to ten feet long, commonly known as the jag-spear and the reed-sprar. The 

 jag-spear is made of black-wood (Acacia melanoxylon}, or some other hard-wood, with 

 barbs or jags, cut out of the solid wood along its piercing end. The barbs may also 

 be formed by fixing small Hints, or the tail bones of the sting-ray, along the point 

 with gum from the wattle, 

 or other gum-bearing trees, 

 mixed with burnt shell-lime. 

 Some of these spears are 

 much heavier than others, and 

 are used chiefly for thrusting 

 at close quarters, though they 

 are also thrown by the hand 

 at short distances. The 

 second kind is a much lighter 

 spear, with a handle of reed, 

 and a smooth point of wood 

 hardened by fire. It is used 

 only for casting at a distance, 

 and is thrown by a curious 

 instrument known among the 

 white men as the wotitcra, 

 though this is merely a local 

 word. The woniera, or "throw- 

 ing-stick," is a narrow Hat 

 piece of wood, generally 

 about two feet or two and 

 a half feet long, having a 

 hook at one end. The warrior 

 holds it in his right hand, 

 while with the left he grasps 

 his shield and spears, the 

 latter being held about three 

 or four feet from the butt, 



with the points behind him. In the end of the butt there is a small hollow into 

 which he fixes the hook of his throwing-stick, draws forth his spear, and raises it into 

 position for throwing. He grasps the womcra firmly with his hand, steadying the spear 

 upon it by a light finger touch, and throws it, not from his hand, but from the hook 

 of his throwing-stick. This spear is used both for hunting and for war, and is a deadly 

 weapon at fifty-or sixty yards. Barbs are sometimes attached to it as well as to the jag-spear. 

 For close fighting, besides the jag-spear already described, there are clubs of 

 various kinds, usually from two to three feet in length, some of these are headed by 

 heavy rounded knobs, while others are curved at the end. There is also a curved 



AN AHOKK1INAI, WARRIOR. 



