721 



It was not very long before about thirty men put in an appear- 

 ance in answer to the smoke message. He was very proud to 

 be able to introduce me to his people, and lined them up to 

 be photographed. There were some men well up in years, but 

 not very old men ; men in their prime down to children eight 

 or ten years of age. All these natives were well grown and 

 nourished ; some were exceptionally tall, many being 6 feet 

 or over in height. 



The next day I went out hunting with a party of the 

 natives, which seemed to please them very much, and obtained 

 their confidence to that extent that they sent for some of their 

 women folk, and the following day, under escort of three of 

 the elders of the tribe, was permitted to pay a visit to the 

 women's camp. There were sixteen women of varying ag^es 

 and a few small girls. The women were from the ages of 

 eighteen or twenty to forty-five or fifty, but no aged ones. 

 Some photographs were taken and presents made, the children 

 much enjoying the sweets given them.. The women, like the 

 men, wore no clothing, and there were several children in 

 arms — all females with the exception of one. All those women 

 who had no children carried a live wild dog round their waist. 

 Several evening entertainments or corroborees were given by 

 these natives, some of which were of a very weird nature. The 

 stay at the foot of Mount Carmeena was all too short ; still 

 the country for many miles round was well worked, yielding 

 much in bird and botanical specimens. For the first time 

 specimens of the Crow-Shrike were obtained here; the bird is 

 a large one, with a very strong bill. From all appearances 

 it comes between the western form, Neostrej)cra versicolor 

 plumb ea, and the Eyre Peninsula one, N . v. intermedia. 



Our party being re-united we travelled east, between great 

 parallel masses of granite ; the plain between was covered (in 

 some places very thickly) with mulga, and here and there 

 a few cork trees. In places redgums appeared marking the 

 short course of a creek as it came out of the ranges. We were 

 escorted by a number of the natives. The remainder, with 

 their women folk, had gone off in another direction. We at 

 last left the ranges and plunged into dense scrub. While 

 amongst the ranges the mulga was fresh and healthy, there 

 w^ere many green bushes amongst the rocks, and many com- 

 paratively open spaces; but as soon as we left the ranges the 

 mulga became very dense — a great part of it was dead, and 

 that which still lived only showed life at the extreme top. All 

 the natives, with the exception of three, departed when we 

 left the ranges behind, and these were sent back after two 

 days. It was quite sad saying good-bye to the last of these 

 simple-minded people who had been so very friendly and well 



