73i 



DIE MEN'S ISLAND. 



Van 

 Diemen's 



Island. 



Quadru- 

 peds. 



Inhabi. 

 tants. 



tion of quadrupeds in Van Diemen's land and its adja- 

 cent islands ; but none of the few that are found there are 

 said to exist on the old continents. The kangaroo, which 

 is most numerous, is a quadruped resembling an enor- 

 mous rat, with the fore legs so short that it can scarce- 

 ly, if ever, use them in running ; nevertheless its speed 

 is considerable, and it can leap to a great distance when 

 hunted. Its common progression is on the hind legs 

 only, and it can rest unsupported by them on the root 

 of a strong, broad, and muscular tail. The kangaroo 

 forms paths through the thickest part of the brush- 

 wood, which commonly terminate at a rivulet. The 

 wombat, an animal of equally singular structure, be- 

 longs exclusively to these regions : it is low and squat, 

 the size of a turn-spit dog, weighs between twenty-five 

 and thirty pounds, and has hardly any perceptible tail ; 

 the face of a triangular figure, somewhat resembling 

 that of a cat, and is provided with strong whiskers. It 

 burrows in the earth, perhaps as a retreat in time of 

 danger: it is an extremely mild and docile animal, 

 and now is seen in a domesticated state among the 

 British settlers. We have also indistinct accounts of 

 some other animals, such as that called the porcupine 

 ant-eater by Mr Bass and Captain Flinders, which bur- 

 rowed by sinking backwards among light sand, and 

 always presented its prickly back to their dogs, which 

 were unable to make any impression on it. M. Crozet 

 speaks of a tiger cat, and the print of a carnivorous 

 animal's foot as large as that of a dog. M. Labillardiere 

 and M. Rossel saw the bones of a carnivorous animal ; 

 and a very fierce creature, described as a hyaena, is 

 reported lately to have been discovered in the north 

 parts of the island. Farther information, however, is 

 necessary before naturalists can decide on the genus to 

 which it pertains. 



The inhabitants are also scantily disseminated through- 

 out Van Diemen's Land ; nor, without the benefit of 

 civilization, is the country adapted for a numerous popu- 

 lation. Some slight differences apparently exist be- 

 tween then- structure and that of the inhabitants of 

 ether parts of the world, and even those of the neigh- 

 bouring coast of New Holland. The head is of great 

 size, and of uncommon length from the chin to the sin- 

 ciput ; the upper jaw of children projects, but resumes 

 the ordinary shape in adults ; the shoulders are 

 broad, the thighs fleshy, but the legs and arms are 

 slender, and deficient in that muscular consistence which 

 is proper to the human extremities. The belly also is 

 large, prominent, and exhibits a kind of unnatural in- 

 tumescence. Various speculations have been indulged 

 respecting the cause of these appearances ; the former is 

 thought to result from sparing and unsuitable aliment, 

 added to the difficulty of obtaining it; and the latter, 

 though with little likelihood, is ascribed to the want of 

 compression from apparel. These people have woolly 

 hair, their skin is not of a deep black, and their teeth 

 are rather large and white. They are hardy and robust, 

 going totally destitute of clothing even in the severest 

 weather ; but their personal strength is inferior to that 

 of Europeans. Many of the women, however, have 

 the skin of a kangaroo thrown across their shoulders, 

 principally for the purpose of supporting their chil- 

 dren ; and some of the men are occasionally seen with 

 the same habiliment. The latter allow the hair of 

 the head and beard to grow; it is bedaubed with 

 grease and red ochre, forming into a filthy matted heap. 

 The women crop their hair close, and wear a string 

 around the head. Both sexes blacken the skin with a 

 composition of grease and very fine charcoal, or plain 



Van 



Diemen's 

 Island. 



charcoal rubbed down between their hands, an orna- 

 ment which they are very fond of bestowing on their 

 European visitors. They tattoo themselves with great 

 symmetry, the skin rising in low tubercles, though of ^ r ~" 

 the same colour as the rest, and the women form three 

 semicircular lines of this description across the abdo- 

 men. The natives of Van Diemen's Land are alto- 

 gether unskilled in the arts. In the lowest stages of 

 ignorance and degradation, they have not even learn- 

 ed to secure their persons by clothing from the incle- 

 mency of the elements. Their habitations are only 

 rude barriers against the wind, from which they shel- 

 ter themselves on the opposite side; or they take refuge 

 in the cavities of the enormous trunks of decaying trees, 

 which they contrive to enlarge by fire. These excava- 

 tions, which are of such a size that several men may be 

 stretched at length within their bounds, always open 

 from the east, probably to protect their tenants from 

 the more prevalent storms, or it may be that decay com- 

 mences in that quarter first Seven or eight of their 

 miserable huts, if such they can be called, or even four- 

 teen, stand together ; they are constructed of bark torn, 

 in long stripes, after being cut below, from some neigh- 

 bouring tree, and of such breadth that the strength of 

 their arms enables them to detach it from the wood. 

 This baik is then broken into suitable lengths, and pla- 

 ced in an inclined position against the elbowing part 

 of a dead branch that has fallen from the distorted 

 limbs of the gum tree ; and the pieces are so adapted 

 as to preclude the access of rain. 



These people can scarcely be said to possess tools or Utensils. 

 utensils. By means of a fragment of granite, or a shell 

 sharpened on the edge, they detach the bark for con- 

 structing their dwellings, and also form short clubs and 

 lances, which latter are from 16 to 18 feet in length, 

 besides another implement, a wooden spatula, to remove 

 shell-fish from the rocks. Their baskets are made by 

 tying the two ends of a large bunch of long wiry grass 

 te the two ends of a smaller bunch ; the large bunch 

 spread out constitutes the basket, while the smaller 

 bunches serve for a handle. Notwithstanding this rude 

 and original contrivance, baskets made of reeds, of very 

 elegant and singular construction, have been seen among 

 them. A drinking vessel, or one to carry water, is ob- 

 tained by thrusting two wooden pins through the edges 

 of a large flat leaf of sea-weed, which, being closed to- 

 gether on the pins, forms a sufficient cavity. 



Some of the natives have slight canoes, from seven Canoes. 

 to nine feet long, formed of slips of the bark of trees, 

 woven together with reeds, and tied up at the ends. 

 In these frail embarkations they commit themselves to 

 the waves ; and in case of surprise, remove them from 

 the water, and speedily run into the woods with them 

 on their heads. But it dses not appear that such be- 

 long to all the different tribes on the mainland, and 

 they are more common on the detached islands sur- 

 rounding its shores. 



The inhabitants of Van Diemen's Land constitute Customs. 

 erratic hordes, united by no bond of common interest, 

 except the facility of procuring sustenance. Perhaps 

 they have inland dwellings, as yet unknown to stran- 

 gers; for at certain seasons of the year they resort to- 

 wards the coast, when the smoke of their fires, at first seen 

 at great intervals, which daily diminish, is at length more 

 concentrated towards the south or eastern points of the 

 island. It has been remarked, that they constantly ho- 

 ver over large fires, though without any apparent ne- 

 cessity, and that such are kept burning day and night 

 around them. They subsist almost entirely on shell- 



