732 



whisper the performers rushed back into the darkness. This 

 was repeated many times, and the last time, when the chanting 

 or singing had died gently out, the men lay flat down Avith 

 their faces to the ground, and this was the final e. 



In conclusion, I must say that the Everard natives are 

 the finest that it has ever been my fortune to meet, but the 

 hundreds of miles of arid country will not protect these fine 

 people much longer, for white men are pushing further out 

 each year, and will very shortly come in contact with this wild 

 race ; then customs, traditions, everything, will be lost beyond 

 recall. All this information should be obtained before it is 

 too late. 



Language of the Everard Range Tribe. 



By J. M. Black. 



A small list of words in the language of the Everard Range 

 natives Vv^as compiled by Capt. White, and has been entrust&d 

 to me for phonetic expression. The difficulty of obtaining 

 the words was considerable, because the tribe is quite un- 

 touched by white influences and knows no English. A black 

 boy from Oodnadatta and another from the Alberga, who 

 accompanied the expedition, w^ere useless as interpreters. 

 The only word which they seemed to have in common with 

 the Everard men was wi:rr/, the wooden bowl for food, and 

 this discovery created surprise on both sides. 



The alphabet used is that of the International Phonetic 

 Association, and the characters wdiich require explanation 

 are as follows : — 



u when long, sounds like oo in "boot"; when short, like 

 GO in "foot." 



is the English o in "not." 



a when long, is the English a in "father" ; when short, 

 it is the Scottish a in "man." 



a is a sound half-way between a in "father" and the 

 English a in "man"; it is the French sound which is heard 

 long in "page" and short in "patte." 



9 is the English sound heard in "butter" ['bata] 



e sounds nearly as in the English "they." 



G is the open English e in "bed." 



i is a close sound very nearly equal to English ee in 

 ^'meet." It may be long or short. 



i is the open sound heard in English "fit," "very" [fit, 

 veri]. It is always short. 



ai — // in "my." 



