THE ABOEIGIIfES OF AUSTEALIA. 253 



than on a human being. A short cloak of kangaroo skins, the 

 invariable costume of the natives, as we afterwards found, was his 

 only garment, reaching about halfway down his thighs, and exposing 

 the lower limbs, which were disproportionately small and shapeless. 

 His arms were sinewy though lean, but as is invariably the case with 

 the Australian savage, larger and better developed in proportion to 

 his general figure, than the meagre shapeless lower limbs. He was, 

 as I ascertained, about thirty years of age, but looked much older, 

 of low stature and slight figure. His hair, which was thick and 

 curly, grew far down over a low and poorly developed forehead. His 

 eyes were small, deep-set and lively ; his nose delicate though some- 

 what flattened, and his mouth large and protruding. Such was 

 "Wan-e-war, the first of the Aborigines of Australia it was my for- 

 tune to see, and no unmeet type of his degraded and doomed race. 

 "We soon had further opportunities for observing the aboriginal own- 

 ers of the land in which we proposed to sojourn. 



Towards dark on the day of our landing, we heard a great shout- 

 ing and jabbering amongst the natives, from which we were led to 

 believe that they were preparing for some special festivities. The 

 men were collected round their fires very busy in " getting them- 

 selves up, " — plastering their locks plentifully with a pomatum made 

 of grease and red ochre, and beautifying their persons in a variety 

 of other ways. All this preparation was for a corroberry or native 

 dance, which they intended to have in honor of the arrival of the 

 strangers. Accordingly, soon after dark, they assembled round 

 the large fire kindled for the purpose near our dwelling, and the pro- 

 ceedings of the evening commenced. The cloaks of the dancers, 

 instead of being thrown over the shoulders, as usually worn by them, 

 were fastened round their middles, leaving their bodies completely 

 bare, which, with their faces, were painted in the most grotesque 

 manner with red ochre, and shining with grease. Some had bunches 

 of feathers or flowers stuck in their hair, while others completed 

 their head dress with the tail of the wild dog. One or two had a 

 small bone of the kangaroo passed through a hole in the cartilage of 

 the nose ; all carried their spears and wameras ; and as they thus 

 stood gathered round the fire, which threw a vivid glare on their 

 greasy and shining bodies, the effect was truly picturesque and 

 savage. 



Those who intended to take a part in the dance ranged themselves 

 on one side of the fire ; on the other side sat the old men and the 

 women and children. The corroberry commenced by the dancers 

 breaking out into a sort of mournful chant, in which the old men 



