incoraplete. The language possessed great flexibi 

 capalole of a varied expression. Although its stru 

 wanting in art, yet it seemed to be lacking in poetrj 



( Red Indians of America or the inhabitants 

 ; didieult to give the exact pronounciation 

 ent often changed according to the meaning 



words are treated by the elocutionist. It was, like French, a 

 language that could not be mastered without a living teacher's 

 aid and example. By means of the list which I have arranged 

 hereunder, I have made myself understood by those who could 

 not possibly have had any intercourse with the Adelaide tribes; 

 the difference in dialect not being so marked as that between 

 the Cornish and that of East Devon. The language was very 

 sonorous, being rich in vowels, and when two natives were having 

 what might be termed a pleasant chat at the camp tire, their 

 voices were extremely agreeable, and if the listener did not 



not soon tire. There were some sounds tliat the natives could 

 not articulate. It was truly laughable to witness the attempts 

 of an aboriginal to pronounce " split sixpence." I never knew 

 one who could do it no matter how great the reward promised. 

 With regard to the pronounciation of native names, I regret to 

 know that the present generation has, in several instances, 

 departed from the original mode. I will only take one — 

 Booyoolee— for example It was always pronounced as here 

 written, crisply, as a word of three syllables, with the accent on 

 the first. It had real nmsic in it then, but of late years it has 

 been altered to Bowley, and actually printed on the State School 

 maps of the Colony as Boley ! Let any one look at the words 

 thus and say which is best. It looks to my mind like Darwin's 

 scheme inverted. 



Boo-yul-lee (pronunciation). Booyoolee. Bowley. Boley. 

 In the spelling of native words the early settlers, surveyors, and 

 government officials, in nearly all cases, deserve great praise for 

 the success which generally attended their efforts to represent, by- 

 letters, the spoken language of the aboriginal races of Australia. 

 I have done my best to spell the words so as to convey to the 

 minds of others those sounds whicli, after the lapse of many years, 

 my memory recalls with so vivid a distinctness, that for a time I 

 again live over the scenes and circumstances of my early life. As 

 a general rule, the names of places in the warmer parts of the 

 Colony, which have a like ending of say " owie " for example, 

 mean water in the form of creek, spring, or native well ; whereas 

 in the more southern districts the ending syllable rather indicates 



