352 BOOMERANG. 



by three-quarters of an Incli thick. At first sight it looks 

 something like a very rude wooden sword. It was used both 

 in the chase and in war. "It is grasped at one end in the 

 right hand, and is thrown sickle-wise, either upwards into 

 the air, or downwards so as to strike the ground at some 

 distance from the thrower. In the first case it flies with a 

 rotary motion, as its shape would indicate ; after ascending 

 to a great height in the air, it suddenly returns in an 

 elliptical orbit to a spot near its starting point. On 

 throwing it downwards on the ground, it rebounds in a 

 straight line, pursuing a ricochet motion until it strikes the 

 object at which it is thrown. Birds and small animals are 

 killed with it, and it is also used in killing ducks. The 

 most singular curve described by it is when thrown into the 

 air, above the angle of 45 ; its flight is always then back- 

 wards, and the native who throws it stands with his back, 

 instead of his face, to the object he is desirous of hitting." * 

 Mr. Merry, a gentleman who resided for some time in Aus- 

 tralia, informs me that on one occasion, in order to test the 

 skill with which the boomerang could be thrown, he offered a 

 reward of sixpence for every time the boomerang was made 

 to return to the spot from which it was thrown. He drew 

 a circle of five or six feet on the sand, and although the 

 boomerang was thrown with much force, the native suc- 

 ceeded in making it fall within the circle five times out 

 of twelve. Mr. Oldfield,t on the contrary, speaks much less 

 favorably of the boomerang. It is, he says, but little used 

 in war, nor do the natives " ever attempt to kill a solitary 

 bird or beast by means of" it. On the other hand, in 

 swampy localities where waterfowl " congregate largely, the 

 boomerang is of essential use ; for a great number of them 

 being simultaneously hurled into a large flock of waterfowl, 

 ensures the capture of considerable numbers." 



* United States Explor. Exped., I.e. f Trans. Ethn. Soc., K S. vol. iii., p. 264. 



