727 



all have the septum of the nose pierced, to carry the wing-bone 

 of a bustard or an ornamental stick. This operation is per- 

 formed at a very early age (see pi. Ivii., fig. 1), and seems to be 

 the starting-point at which the initiation rites begin. No very 

 old men or women were seen, nor were there any cripples, and 

 every effort failed to gain information as to what becomes 

 of the aged members of the tribe, for they avoided every 

 question put to them and showed a strong dislike to discuss the 

 question. I am strongly of the opinion that they kill and eat 

 their old people and destroy all deformed children. They are 

 very fond of relating how the Musgrave natives (for which 

 they show great fear and call ''Mamoo," always repeating the 

 word in an awe-inspiring tone) have killed and eaten their 

 men and women, and great pains were taken on one occasion 

 to point out where one of their women and a child were killed 

 by the ''Mamoo," and a short way off the ashes of a fire were 

 shown as the place where the woman and child were cooked 

 and eaten. There were some particles of bones about, but if 

 human or not I could not say. There is no doubt in my mind 

 that they do eat one another. 



Many of the women were of quite graceful form, and the 

 distended abdomen, so common amongst the Australian 

 natives, was almost absent amongst these people, showing that 

 their food supply must be regular and good. 



The men smear their bodies with red ochre, and the 

 young bucks have their chests decorated with the white down 

 from the wedge-tailed eagle in the shape of a crescent, which 

 extends from one armpit, round the chest, to the opposite 

 armpit ; the down is stuck by the agency of human blood. 



The men use the native tobacco (Nicotiana suaveolens,. 

 var. nov. ercehior ), d^ which grows very abundantly in one 

 locality at least. The leaves of this plant (which often attain 

 the length of 8 to 10 inches) are rolled up into a ball and used 

 as a narcotic, allowing it to rest between their lips and turning 

 it over occasionally by means of the tongue, which causes a 

 yellowish green juice to cover the corners of the mouth and 

 lips. The women were not seen using it at any time. 



^\ capons and Utensils. — The principal weapon is the 

 spear, called ''ooruta," which is mostly of a single barbed 

 variety, the head, which is attached to the shaft by means of 

 tendons and sinews, is flat and made from mulga wood, with 

 a curved tooth or barb of the same material, also bound on 

 by means of sinews ; the shaft, which is nearly always in two 

 pieces, is from 9 ft. to 9 ft. 6 in. long. They hunt the 

 kangaroo, wallaby, and rabbit, etc., also fight, with this spear. 



(1^ See Mr. Black's paper on Botany, p. 835. 



