INHABITANTS OF AUSTRALIA. 377 



earth in quest of a few roots and of a little muddy water. Tribes are even said 

 to exist which, together with their dogs, have adapted themselves to the use of 

 sea-water. 



The finest natives were those of the east coast, where a more beneficent nature 

 supplied food and water in abundance, including, however, certain articles of diet 

 calculated to excite the astonishment and loathing of Europeans. Thus Von 

 Lendenfeld tells us that Mount Bogong takes its name from the grubs which the 

 aborigines here collected in myriads for their daily meals. 



Although numbering but a few thousand souls, the Australian race is divided 

 into hundreds of tribal groups. In certain districts there are as many languages 

 as communities or scattered family circles. In others, again, the native idioms 

 present great uniformity throughout considerable tracts of country. Thus from 

 the banks of the Hawkesbury to Moreton Bay, a distance of about 350 miles, the 

 natives have little difficulty in conversing together; so, also, those of the 

 south-west coast, between Ilamalin Bay and King George Sound, speak closely 

 related dialects. Another extensive linguistic zone comprises the whole region 

 between Cooper's Creek and the Middle Darling, a space of over 40,000 square 

 miles, and this surprising uniformity of speech is attributed to the extreme dryness 

 of the land, which obliges the tribes to gather round the watering-places in sum- 

 mer, suspending all hostilities, and for the time being merging, as it were, in a 

 common nationality. 



On the other hand, the tribes of the Lower Darling, where there is never any 

 lack of water or vegetation, have been able to keep aloof for long ages, and their 

 languages have consequently become greatly diversified. The fact is evident from 

 the very names of the different peoples in this region, all of which have exactly 

 the same meaning, though often differing altogether in form. Such are the Baraba- 

 Barabas, the Wati-Watis, the Waiki-Waikis, the Lichi-Lichis, the Darti-Dartis, 

 the Yari-Yaris — terms meaning " No-No," just as by an analogous mental process 

 mediaeval France was divided into the Langue d'Oui and the Langue d'Oc. The 

 rapid divergence of the local dialects is also partly due to the respect paid to the 

 dead requiring the survivors to taboo for a time, and even for ever, a large num- 

 ber of words which bore or seemed to bear a certain relation to the deceased either 

 in sound or sense. 



But, however they may differ from each other outwardly, all the native idioms 

 present some common points of resemblance. They are polysyllabic and aggluti- 

 nating by means of harmonious suffixes abounding in vowels. Aspirates are 

 slightly developed, the sibilants are completely absent, and the accent falls usually 

 on the penultimate syllable. Onomatopoeic terms are very common, and all objects 

 perceived by the senses are indicated by numerous synonyms, or at least by what 

 pass as such amongst strangers interrogating the natives. But on the other hand, 

 these primitive tongues are extremely poor in abstract expressions, as well as in the 

 names of numerals. Scarcely any appear to have distinct terms for more than 

 one or tivo, while probably none of the tribes can count beyond five. 



In the absence of accurate knowledge attempts have been made to classify the 



