THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 101 



alliance. Hence it is necessary to marry into another of what I 

 have called different tribes — perhaps 1 should rather say another 

 branch of the tribe. When a girl is born she belongs, by some 

 tribal right which I am unable to explain, to a certain man, be 

 he young or old, and when she arrives at a proper age he claims 

 and takes her away as his wile. 1 he infants are suckled a much 

 longer time than with us; indeed, I have seen children of six or 

 seven years old at the breast, but, notwithstanding this, they have 

 early to learn to look out for food for themselves, which to a 

 great extent consists of roots. On the boys arriving at man's 

 estate circumcision is practised, the process being a very painful 

 one, but they bear it with great fortitude. From whence they 

 have derived the custom I cannot say, but probably it was intro- 

 duced from the Malay Islands, many of the natives of which 

 must, in gone-by ages, have been driven to and taken up their 

 residence on the mainland. 



One of the most beastly customs, apparently general with all 

 Australian aborigines, is that of anomting the body with the heart 

 and kidney fat ot anyone slain, or indeed, of ariy dead man, and to 

 such an extent has this been practised that I have known natives 

 whose skins have become so im|)itgnated with it that you could 

 scent them almost miles off and. needless to say, no white man 

 could or would toleiate them M'ithin smelling distance. One old 

 man was notorious for his exceptionally high flavour, and was 

 absolutely unbearable even by ihe most cal ous. They also rub 

 'the fat upon their heads, making the hair into a hard knot, 

 through which no comb, nor even a garden rake, could possibly 

 make its way. 



A native is not at all particular as to what he eats, everything 

 being alike to him, the only notable exception being horseflesh, 

 which, apparently only in imitation of the whites, he will not 

 touch. This objection — it cannot be called dislike, for natives 

 have no likes or dislikes — is difficult to account for, and I can 

 only attribute it to his belief or superstition that as the whites do 

 not eat it there must be something in it not good for the natives. 

 In contradistinction to the white, the native is passionately fond 

 of dog, and will get up early in the morning to look for the 

 poison baits laid over night, and when one is missing follow up 

 the trail until he comes upon the unfortunate animal, and then 

 and there make a square meal of him. In connection with this 

 eating of poisoned dog. I at first used' to wonder that none of the 

 natives ever suffered any ill effects after their meal, thinking that 

 some small portion of the poison would be certain to get dis- 

 tributed, but I do nut recollect hearing of a single instance of 

 such occurring, and the practice I speak of is so common that no 

 one ever takes the slightest notice oi it. Another dirty habit the 

 native possesses is that of covering himself with honey, of which 



