140 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF MAN. 



yet in proportion to the means of subsistence ; and the European ac- 

 cession has been owing solely to the introduction of sources of supply 

 previously unknown. 



The Australians are strictly in the ' hunter state ;' deriving their 

 subsistence from game and from the spontaneous productions of the 

 country; and they can only be compared with the hunting tribes of 

 America. The parallel, however, is not very obvious : and the Aus- 

 tralians appear almost as anomalous as the inferior animals and plants 

 of the same quarter of the globe. They have commonly been placed 

 at the bottom of the scale of civilization; yet in the few arts in their 

 possession they have displayed singular ingenuity : for instance, in the 

 method of ascending trees by making successive notches ; the ' throw- 

 ing-stick' for the light javelin ; and especially, the boomerang, the 

 curved missile whose devious course remained so long the subject 

 of incredulity. Their manufactures, indeed, are chiefly confined to 

 their peculiar weapons, which serve both for warfare and the chase. 

 They also use defensive armour; the light oblong shield, which is 

 rendered efficient only by the height of skill and activity. 



Coming from among the Pacific islands, I was surprised at the faci- 

 lity with which the Australians acquire the English language; and 

 at the correctness of their pronunciation. The latter circumstance, 

 is doubtless attributable chiefly to the frequent occurrence of terminal 

 consonants in their own languages. " A child educated at a school 

 in Sydney, showed intellectual capacity equal in every respect to 

 that of his European companions." A difficulty, however, had been 

 experienced in undertakings of this sort, in consequence of the 

 mothers "returning to claim and carry away their children." 



Half-breeds must be rare, as I did not meet with an instance ; but 

 some were spoken of; and native women were occasionally seen, ac- 

 companying the wagons from the Interior. 



There are no proper mountains in sight from Peuen Beuen, but 

 only gently rolling hills, perhaps six hundred feet above their base. 

 The ' New England' district, to the northward and nearer the 

 Tropic, was spoken of as being elevated, and as sometimes visited 

 with falls of snow ; which are nearly unknown at Sydney. After 

 remaining some days at Peuen Beuen, without however seeing na- 

 tives, we set out on our return. On the 9th, we stopped at Bau man's 

 estate ; at the only house near the road for a distance of about thirty 

 miles. Great numbers of sheep w^ere here pastured ; the Australian 

 climate having been found peculiarly adapted for the production of 

 the finer qualities of wool. 



