VARIETIES OF FOOD AND METHODS OF OBTAINING IT. 115 



was low in a drought, I have seen the aborigines spear five or six 

 cod, whilst the rest of the fish would take no notice until however 

 one by and by, would get away wounded, and strike the bottom 

 making a bumping noise, when every other fish in sight would 

 disappear and hide. The blacks used to say, he sounded or struck 

 his heliman. 23 There are two flat bones in the cod's head which 

 the blacks used to point out to me, and say they were the fishes 

 shields, and they sounded them. In some parts they poisoned the 

 water when nearly dried up, with certain leaves and weeds. In 

 Central Queensland where I now reside, they have many other 

 ways of fishing on the coast, but it is scarcely worth my while 

 mentioning them, as it would take up some space, and others 

 resident here are no doubt better informed than myself. On 

 Keppel Island the blacks used to collect the small blue crabs that 

 travel about in hundreds at low water on the sands, and at night 

 take a torch of ti-tree bark. On the shore under the cliffs there 

 were quantities of large crevices amongst the rocks that the water 

 rushed up and boiled over in on the flood tide ; in these they 

 would go with their torches and throw in handfuls of the blue 

 crabs as "berley." As soon as they saw the fish come to the bait 

 they would plunge into the lower end of the crevice and catch 

 them. By daylight quantities of large fish, dugong, turtle, and 

 others were speared. 2 * The spear head was fitted into a socket 

 and a line attached to the head, so they frequently if a very large 

 fish was struck you would see the black fellow, his gins, and picca- 

 ninnies, all lay hold of the line and so get towed to sea, when it 

 used to be a fair fight which should be the winner, the fish or fishers. 



The emu and bustard I have often seen hunted in the follow- 

 ing manner : — the birds would be feeding on the open, where- 

 upon a number of the men would start off with their spears and 

 making a large detour would get well down to windward of them, 

 when they would climb the trees and wait in ambush, the rest of 

 the tribe would now let the birds see and wind them at a great 

 distance, whereupon the poor birds would walk away, and fall an 

 easy prey to the men in ambush. Another common way of spearing 

 the emu was to find out any place the bird was in the habit of 

 feeding, being fond of fruit and berries, when a black fellow would 

 place himself in a tree over the shrubs that bore the fruit, and 

 wait with the greatest patience day after day, until at last he 

 generally succeeded in killing the emu. 



A common way of hunting all the species of kangaroo 26 was by 

 making a large detour and forming a circle which would gradually 

 lessen until the natives forced the animals into a cul-de-sac. 



Moths, grubs, cockchafers, and their larva? are consumed in 

 great variety by the aborigines. There is a grub that lives in the 

 oak tree which the Ucumble blacks call Billarngun. The name 



