PICTORIAL ART AMONG THE AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES. 309 
over to Australia he took with him a bag of charms which were 
worshipped as gods by his islanders. He showed them to the 
black natives of Australia upon several occasions, and they 
admitted that they had “gods” like them used by their 
“doctors.” He then twice in the presence of European witnesses 
bought for a handsome price several gods from an Australian 
doctor and caused terror to other blacks by showing them. 
Numerous witnesses themselves formally narrate these events, 
one deposition being signed by a Victorian magistrate, Mr. 
Robert Hood of Hexham. Upon the latter’s asking why he had 
never seen or heard of these things before, the answer came, 
‘“‘Long ago white men laughed at black fellows praying to their 
idols. Black fellows said, white men never see them again. 
No white men alive now have seen what you have seen.” 
Professor Locan Lostry.—In the Jermyn Street Museum there 
are some remarkable illustrations of aboriginal art. Along with 
a portion of the floor of a cave in the south of France there are 
exhibited bones with the representation of a reindeer, which were 
therefore contemporaneous with man in that part of Europe, and 
that reminds us of the Neolithic Period of that part of Europe 
long years ago. 
It is also noteworthy in connection with the paper that all the 
indigenous animals of Australia are of a very early type, and 
also the vegetation. We also see now that these have remained 
practically unchanged for a long period. 
The Rev. G. F. Wuinsorye, M.A.—I should like to say a word 
upon what has fallen from the last speaker. 
We have not any distinct indication as to whether the writer of 
the paper regards these as recent drawings or old drawings. 
It strikes me they must represent a very high state of intellectual 
advance, and one would like to know whether the present natives 
can achieve such things, or whether there is any reason to suppose 
that they are remains of lost civilization. We know that some- 
times, even those very old drawings referred to as of the stone 
age, are really very clever and, perhaps, show us much greater 
advance in human culture than one is apt to suppose they do. I 
remember once hearing a lecture, long ago, by a gentleman on the 
rude drawings of ancient days on bone. The lecturer was a man 
of high culture, and he not only gave us facsimiles of those rude 
drawings, but he wanted to illustrate some points in regard to 
