X. INTRODUCTION. 



suli'cring tVoin i-c|)lcLi((ii. Aftci- an c.xiK'i'ioiicc of in;my years I say witliuut 

 licsilati(_)ii that he is al)S(»lutely luit.anieahle. You may clothe and rare for him 

 for yeai's, when suddenly the (lemou of unrest takes possession ; he thr(.)ws ofF all 

 his clothing and plunges into the trackless depths of his native hush, at once 

 reverting to his old and hideotis customs, and when sated, after months of 

 privation, he will return again to clothing and civilisation, only to repeat the 

 ])erforinance later on. Verily his moods are as ecc(;ntric as the ilight of liis own 

 Ixionjcrang. Thanks to the untiring efforts of the missionary and the stockman, 

 he is being rapidily " ci\ilised " otl' the face of the earth, and in aiujlln-r hundred 

 years tlu^ sole r(anaining evidence of his ^^\'istence will Ije the fragments of Hint 

 which he has fashioned so laulely. It Mas for this reason that I thought it 

 desirahle to get some reliable information, su])plemented by photogra|)hy, of this 

 race while there weie any of them remaining in tlieir primitive condition. 



In order to l)ring the scientific results together and to make tlieni availaljle, 

 in what appeai'ed to be the most convenient way, to those interested in the various 

 Ijraiiches of work, they have been pu))lished in book fcjrm under the editorship of 

 Professor Jjaklwin Spencer. 



To the South Austi'alian Crovernment my thanks are due for tiie ccjrtlial 

 assistance reiulered to the Expedition in various ways, es{)eciaJly in the loa.n 

 of camels ; to the (lovernments of Victoria ami New South Wales for their 

 assistance in the nomination of members of the scientific stall' to rej)resent those 

 colonies ; and to tlie Councils of the Universities of Adelaide and Melbourne 

 for readily granting to Pi'ofessor Tate, Dv. Stirling and Professor Spencer the 

 necessary leave of absence. 



W. A. IIUPN. 



London. JcSOO. 



