BY GERARD KREFFT. 371 



is generally attached to a string around the neck, and of coarse 

 women and children who see this sign rejoice, and bring "home 

 the carcass, if it is not too far ; or should more than one animal 

 have been slaughtered, the tribe removes for a day or two, to eat 

 the meat on the spot. 



A species of burrowing kangaroo-rat, (Bettongia campestris) and 

 a sort of bandicoot, (Peragalea lagotis), are dug out occasionally. 



The kangaroo-rat, called Booming, is common in the scrub, 

 and its burrows often cover a couple of acres of ground : the 

 natives trace the direction of the holes, by inserting long slender 

 twigs, and then sink a shaft, which sometimes requires to be 

 from ten to twelve feet deep ; when they labour, they work with 

 a will, and more than once I have noticed a couple of natives 

 to sink three such shafts in a day. A pointed stick to loosen 

 the earth, a sort of scoop to throw it up, or if too deep, to 

 fill a kangaroo skin with it, are all the digging utensils they 

 require. 



The burrowing bandicoot, known as Wuirrappur to the 

 natives, is dug up in a similar manner. In fact there is scarcely 

 a living animal from the grub of a large beetle to a whale, which 

 an Australian rejects. The vegetable kingdom does not offer, 

 however, a great variety of food. 



One or two herbs, the Quandong, and a root the size of a 

 radish, are all the vegetables I have ever noticed these people to 

 eat, though the so called " Pigface " (Mesembryanthemum 

 cequilaterale), must not be forgotten ; it appears to be the only 

 substitute for salt they have, and whenever their women have 

 been out, they invariably return with some bunches of this 

 plant. 



Being dependent upon a variety of food which is not always 

 in season, or more plentiful at one time than at another, they lead 

 of course, a wandering life, and on this account do not erect any 

 permanent dwelling. A simple break-wind of gum-branches is 

 all they require, and sometimes a few sheets of bark are stripped 

 to make their huts more comfortable, but beyond this they do 

 not go ; these light structures are shifted, or rather turned, should 

 there be a change of wind, or they are left altogether in case the 

 vermin become too troublesome. 



