303 



tlie same color, and a red liaiiclkerchief for a liead cover. These 

 were the remnants of the garments sui^plied by the Government 

 at Rottnest Island, whence he had just returned, after being 

 transported for twelve months for sheepstealing. During tlie 

 sunny hours of the forenoon (it was Sunday, and work was" sus- 

 pended) many were engaged freeing each other of the vermin on 

 their heads. The larger of these ;u-e not despised as a dainty 

 morsel. 



'ird November, 1891. — The blackfellow perceived a small hole 

 in the fork of a large mallee-tree, and from the ants crawling in 

 and out in a continuous string concluded that water liad accumu- 

 lated in the hollow lower down. He quickly brol^e a twig of a 

 quandong-tree, and loosened the bark of it between his teeth, 

 after which he easily stripped it off, thus forming a tube about 

 a foot long. By inserting it into the hole, he managed to get a 

 drink by suction, and his wife likewise. 



'■dtJi, November, 1891, near Hunt's Well. — The black, his 

 woman and the boy left us to-day, going towards some smoke, 

 where, no doubt, they expected to find some of their tribe; they 

 however returned, bringing an old man with them. This indi- 

 vidual lias a front tooth knocked out, is circumcised, and has his 

 urethra completely slit open. He wears his hair tied in a knot, 

 and both his shoulders are well marked witli tatoo scars. 



lOz/t November, 1891. — The old man accompanied us to-day, 

 but the other blacks stayed behind. After dinner, I took him in 

 the bush, for the purpose of sending liim up some trees I had 

 .seen in flower, but I could not induce liim to climlj them 

 when 1 wanted him to come back to camp, he urged me to 

 in the opposite direction, saying " kapi ! kapi ! '' and 

 thought he might really know of some water not far away, I 

 followed him. After travelling over a mile, the black increased 

 his pace considerably, stopping occasionally when [ did not fol- 

 low quick enough, and saying "kapi: kapi!," pointing in the 

 direction he was going. However, after another half-a mile more 

 of this game, he ran away and disappeared in the 1)ush. I had 

 been hoaxed by a blackfellow ! 



The LAXiiUAfUv. 



In dealing with the ^-ery important subject of the lano'uawe 

 and dialects of the tribes encountered on the journey, I much 

 regret that no chance was afforded jne of obtaining a sufficient 

 knowledge to acquire something of their structure? The time 

 of tlieir stay in every case when natives accomi)anied us was as a: 

 rule of such short duration that not much more than a, limited 

 vocabulary could be obtained from them. 



What 1 have been able to procure is herewith presented in its 



ana 

 come 

 as r 



