Aborioinal W^oodoi \]'^capons of Australia . 37 



popular combatant was more frequently successful than the best 

 fighter, as his friends and relatives stood ready to as.sist, and at 

 times precipitated a general conflict. 



DIRFENSIVE WEAPONS. 



Of exclusively defensive weapons, the shield alone was used 

 by the Australians. Specimens of irregular and eccentric shape 

 are met with, but these are to be regarded as isolated examples of 

 individual workmanship, and as a rule the shape conforms more 

 or less stridll}' to an established pattern. These vary materially, 

 not only on account of their source, but also according to whether 

 their use was in single combat or general fight. The following 

 groups are charadleristic : 



The Mulga Group. — The Mulga shield is made of the hard 

 heavy wood of a species of Eucalyptus and is widely distributed. 

 Its general length is a little less than three feet, and its breadth 

 and depth are each from four to five inches. It was grasped at the 

 middle, where an aperture for the hand was cut. The slender form 

 of the Australian hand is evidenced by the small opening provided 

 for it. As a rule this is little more than three inches broad — a 

 feature which renders the white man unable to hold these weapons 

 properl}'. The long and tapering form of the mulga was effective 

 for defledling missiles and for warding the blows of a single adver- 

 sary. It was used almost exclusively in single encounters, and could 

 afford little protecftion in the confusion of a general fight. In rare 

 cases a narrow band of opossum or other skin is found wrapped 

 over the face of the weapon and through the handle, to prevent the 

 knuckles from being chafed. K transverse se<ftion of the simpler 

 form in which this shield is made shows a trilateral figure con- 

 tained by one curved and two straight lines, all of approximately 

 equal length. The former being the concave face of the weapon, 

 and the angle of the two straight lines forming the reverse. The 

 aperture for the hand was cut through the angle formed by the 

 latter lines. A better shape of the mulga has the curved face 

 acutefj' convex and developing into an angle, thus making the 

 sedtion of the shield quadrilateral, and rendering the apical margin 

 better adapted for deflecfling missiles. The decoration of the 

 mulga is found only on the obverse surface. It generally consists 

 of incised lines arranged in recl;angles and often filled with colored 



[177] . . 



