170 Manners and Customs of the Australian Natives, 



part is rounded, both sides being usually notclied, in 

 order to give a firmer hold. To the upper tapering end is 

 attached, with sinews of the kangaroo and a little gum, a hook 

 or a tooth of the kangaroo, which, when throwing, is placed 

 in the opening at the flat or blunt end of the spear. It is 

 generally made out of a piece of the casuarina or she-oak. In 

 using the " middla,^' it is held with three fingers, while the 

 thumb and first finger remain disengaged, for holding the 

 spear, and giving it the proper direction. 



Another weapon, called '^'^wirra,^'' is made of the stem of 

 young trees, about one and a-half feet long, and barely an inch 

 thick. The thin end, which serves for the handle, is gene- 

 rally notched, while towards the thicker end it is a little bent, 

 somewhat in the shape of a sword. The ^^wirra" of the 

 Adelaide and Murray tribes have generally a stout knob at 

 the lower end, which adds considerably to their propelling- 

 power. This weapon the natives use for killing kangaroo 

 rats and other small animals, and also at the commencement 

 of their fights or battles, until they can afterwards employ 

 their spears. 



The '^ katta " is a cudgel or stick, four or five feet long, 

 and one or two inches thick, the lower end of which, when 

 hardened by fire, is sharpened something in the shape of a 

 chisel. This tool is used for digging up roots ; and as this is 

 one of the occupations of the women chiefly, they constantly 

 carry them along with them. The Murray tribes also em- 

 ploy the " katta ^^ for loosening the bark off the eucalypti, 

 which operation they perform remarkably quick. 



This bark serves for the building of their canoes, and for 

 their protection against rain. The Murray tribes generally 

 have in their camps a piece of this bark, drying upon it 

 the skins of the smaller animals, the opossums, wallabies, and 

 others required for their rugs, as described above. 



The ^'^wadna " is a kind of weapon about three feet long, 

 with a knee in the middle. It is never used as a Aveapon for 

 fighting, but only for killing large fish ; on this account they 

 are but seldom seen with the natives, and then only when 

 they happen to be engaged in fishing. 



The most extraordinary tool in use among the Port Lincoln 

 tribes, and (according to Mr. Schurmann^s opinion, as it has 

 never been mentioned among any others) confined to them, is 

 the " yuta," being a piece of bark, about 4 to 5 feet long and 

 8 or 10 inches broad, in the shape of a small trough. It 

 is used for separating a large species of eatable ants. When 



