DEXTERITY IN THROWING THE SPEAR. 315 



and every kind of abusive epithet were bandied 

 about, and the women and children in the hush kept 

 up a waUing- cr}^ all the while rising and falling- ia 

 cadence. The pantomimic movements were of various 

 descriptions ; besides the singular quivering' motion 

 given to the thighs placed -wide apart (common to all 

 the Australian dances), they frequently invited each 

 other to throw' at them, turning the body half round 

 and exposing the breech, or dropping on one knee or 

 hand as if to offer a fair mark. At length a spear 

 was thrown and returned, followed by many others, 

 and the fighting became general, with an occasional 

 pause. The precision with which the spears were 

 thrown was not less remarkable than the dexte- 

 rity with which they were avoided. In nearly 

 every case the person thrown at would, apparently, 

 have been struck had he stood still, but, his keenness 

 of sight enabled him to escape by springing aside 

 as required, variously inchning the body, or some- 

 times merely hfting up a leg to allow the spear 

 to pass by, and had two been thrown at one per- 

 son at the same moment he could scarcely have 

 escaped, but this I observed was never attempted, 

 as it Avould have been in war,— here each individual 

 appeared to have a particular opponent. I had a 

 capital view of the whole of the proceedings, being 

 seated about fifty yards behind and shghtly on the 

 flank of one of the two contending parties. One spear 

 thrown higher than usual passed within five yards 

 of me, but this I was satisfied was the result of 



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