259 



about wide enouEiii to admit the end of the wanna. This beinsr a 

 heavy cudgel of about four feet in length and an inch thick, with 

 the one end rounded and sharpened and well hardened in the fire, 

 is held a few inches above the sharpened end and brought down 

 with some force upon the firmly pressed bark. An unsteady hand 

 would never hit tlie small surface with the accuracy necessary to 

 avoid inflicting very nasty wounds upon the other hand. How- 

 ever, the strokes hit the right place unerringly in moderately 

 rapid succession, whicli excited my astonishment the more be- 

 cause the wanna has to be held somewhat slantingly. 



Several herbaceous plants yield them food also, but I will only 

 mention the Nurgu-nurgu ( Thysanotus Patersoni), the tuberous 

 roots of whicli are frequently eaten and generally consumed raw, 

 but sometimes they are roasted. The taste of these tubers is rather 

 insipid and watery (ate them only raw), but T have no doubt 

 that it makes a wholesome diet, and to some extent quenches 

 thirst ; the plant occui's plentifully in places. 



According to information received from some coastal blacks, 

 those of the interior are cannibals, and rather despised by them 

 for this reason. Some of the white settlers corroborate this state- 

 ment, and considering the terrible hardsliips and frequent times 

 of starvation they must have to endure during prolonged droughts 

 it can hardly be a matter of surprise if flesh-hunger leads them 

 to resort to such a practice. Whilst they domesticate the dingo 

 and make a pet of it, they also eat it, about which there can be 

 no doubt, because I found the bones and skulls of this animal 

 near some old camps at Skirmish Hill. An introduced animal, 

 the domesticated cat, has become feral far into the interior, 

 most likely from West Australia, migrating gradually eastward, 

 and is found now occasionally more than a hundred miles to the 

 east of the Barrow Range. Here the tip of the tail of one was 

 presented to Mr. Streich by a native. This animal contributes 

 considerably towards the larder of the aborigines, particularly in 

 the neighborhood of the Fraser Range, where, as T am informed, 

 they occur frequently. 



The blacks will eat as long as there is food, and only when it is 

 impossible for them to demolish all they have in one sitting will 

 they reserve some for the morrow. 



It may surprise many, but it is nevertheless perfectly true, 

 that I have seen a black eat a large emu egg, two iguanas of 

 about eighteen inches in length, and two opossums at one meal. 



Nativk Art. 



PERSONAL DECORATION. 



It must be admitted that the blacks of Australia possess a 

 certain artistic taste, and however crude their attempts at the 



