254 THE ABOBIGIffES OF AUSTRALIA. 



and the women occasionally joined. The whole burden of the song 

 consisted in the words " Yungcr a bia, mati, mati, " which they 

 repeated over and over again, beginning in a loud and shrill tone, the 

 voice gradually dying away as they proceeded, until at last so low 

 and soft was it, as to be hardly distinguishable from the breeze which 

 rustled amongst the bushes. 



Whilst thus chanting the dancers remained in a bending posture, 

 and kept time to their voices by lifting their feet with a sort of jerk- 

 ing step from the ground, and at the same time pulling the two 

 long ends of their beards through their hands. Suddenly they would 

 change their music into a loud " Haugh heigh, haugh heigh, haugh 

 heigh, " whilst they clashed their spears and wameras together, and 

 stamped their feet with full force against the ground ; then drawing 

 themselves up with a sudden jerk, a loud and startling " Garra-wai " 

 was shouted. Then again they would resume their first movement, 

 but in double quick time, the whole rank now moving quickly up 

 and down side-ways, shoulder to shoulder, now going round in a 

 circle, and all to the same music, and with the same stamping steps. 



Tiring of this, the sport was changed to the " Kangaroo dance. " 

 This dance is very similar to that already described, but with the 

 difference — that, in the midst of the uproar, one of the men came 

 bounding and jumping like a kangaroo between the dancers and the 

 fire ; this movement put a sudden stop to the dancing, and one of the 

 party started off as if in pursuit of the game, the two then went 

 through the whole proceeding of hunting down and spearing the 

 kangaroo, which, being at length accomplished, they all once more 

 joined in the dance, and in the midst of the uproar, the stamping of 

 feet, the clashing together of spear and wamera, and their shouting 

 and yelling, the fire died away, darkness covered the scene, and 

 the entertainments of the evening were brought to a close. And 

 thus also closed the first day of my sojourn in Western Australia. 



The country in the immediate vicinity of King George's Sound, an 

 arm of the sea on the western coast of Australia, is inhabited by four 

 tribes of the Aborigines. These are the Murray, the Weal, the Cock- 

 atoo, and the Kincannup. In saying, however, that this part of Aus- 

 tralia is inhabited but by four tribes, it may be necessary to explain 

 that this distinction of people is altogether that of the natives them- 

 selves, and the four divisions here mentioned are applied to the relative 

 position of that portion of the country occupied. Thus, for instance, 

 all those natives inhabiting the country to the westward of Albany 

 are called Murray men ; those to the northward, Weal men, and those 

 to the eastward, Cockatoo men. Each, therefore, although a distinct 



