106 AUSTRALIA, OR NEW HOLLAND. 



wife claims a superiority of attachment, and an exclusive 

 right to the conjugal embraces, while the second, or the one 

 last chosen, was compelled to be the drudge and slave of 

 both. 



Between the ages of ten and twelve, both males and females 

 undergo the operation which they call Inaonoong, viz., that of 

 having the nose perforated to receive a reed or bone, which by 

 them is considered a great ornament. It is a common prac- 

 tice, also, to gash their bodies and to knock out one or two of 

 their front teeth. An English trader once made a large profit 

 by selling in London a quantity of these teeth for the use of 

 the dentists. 



Their habits are unsociable ; they talk very little even 

 among themselves, and never permit any one to joke or laugh 

 with them. Nor is their character more alluring in other 

 respects ; to lie, cheat, and steal are practices almost univer- 

 sal, and owners of sheep, and isolated settlers often suffer from 

 their depredations. This is not because they do not know any 

 better, for their ideas of property are very distinct, and they 

 never steal from one another. They are proud and insolent, 

 and nothing will induce them to acknowledge any human 

 being as their superior, or to show any marks of respect. 

 They address the settlers without the Mr. prefixed to their 

 names ; and on entering a room, they never salute or remain 

 standing, but immediately seat themselves. Jealousy is a 

 prominent feature in the character of the men. The husband 

 who suspects another of seducing his wife, either kills one or 

 both. The affair is taken up by the tribe, if the party belongs 

 to another, and the manner in which it is settled is as fol- 

 lows : — the guilty person is furnished with a shield,* and the 



* The native name for this shield is Nicklemara. It is made of the bark of the 

 {jum-tree, and has an oval shape. 



