XXL — •On the Dialects and Language of the Ahorlghial Tribes 

 of Tasmania, and on their Manners and Ciistovis, Bj 

 .Joseph Milligan, RL.S. 



Thk day is not far distant, wlien according to the ordinary- 

 course of nature, the last of the surviving remnant of the 

 aboriginal inhaliitants of Tasmania, now maintained at a 

 Government establishment, and little more than a dozen in 

 number, must be removed by death, and a distinct people 

 cease to exist. The entire extinction of a population, an 

 isolated stirp of the human family, is neither a matter of 

 every day occurrence nor of tri^dal import. 



When Van Diemen's Land was first occupied by Europeans, 

 half a century ago, its aboriginal population spread in tribes 

 sub-tribes and families over the length and breadth of the 

 island, from Cape Portland to Port Davey, and from 

 Oyster Bay to Macquarie Harbour; and their aggregate 

 number at that time has been variously estimated at from 

 1500 to 5000. 



The early navigators make frequent mention of rencontres 

 with numerous groups of " the natives," and of fires, and 

 of " smokes," seen in the bush, which were considered to 

 indicate then' presence in considerable force in the neigh- 

 boiu'hood. But experience has taught us that such evi- 

 dence is at the best, fallacious and untrust^vorthy ; we all 

 liiiow that busli-fh'es may smoulder and rage in truus for 

 months together at certain seasons, and over a great 

 extent of country, without the actual presence of any 

 human being in the vicinity; we also know very well 

 that a mere handful of aborigines appearing, shifting their 

 ground, and re-appearing on the edge of a thick scrub, or 

 in the recesses of forest ground, variously grouped and 

 under different aspects, may easily be, and have often been, 

 mistaken for a formidable number. We, therefore, 

 receive v/ith some allowances the liigher estimates 

 formed of the aboriginal population of tliis island, at or 

 about the time of its discovery. 



