1796.] 



GF NEW SOUTH WALES. 



The bone was now produced, which had been pretended to be 

 taken from the ftomach of the native the preceding evening; this, 

 being made very fharp and fine at one end, was ufed for lancing the 

 gum ; and but for lorn e fuch precaution it would have been impoffible 

 to have extracted the tooth without breaking the jaw-bone. A th row- 

 ing-flick was now to be cut eight or ten inches from the end; and, to 

 effed: this, much ceremony was ufed. The ftick was laid upon a 

 tree, and three attempts to hit it were made before it was (truck. The 

 wood being very hard, and the inftrument a bad tomahawk, it took 

 feveral blows to divide it ; but three feints were conftantly made before 

 each ftroke. When the gum was properly prepared, the operation 

 began : the fmalleft end of the ftick was applied as high upon the 

 tooth as the gum would admit of, while the operator flood ready 

 with a large ftone apparently to drive the tooth down the throat of 

 his patient. Here their attention to the number three was again ma- 

 nifeft ; no ftroke was actually made until the operator had thrice at- 

 tempted to hit the throwing-ftick. They were full ten minutes about 

 this firft operation, the tooth being, unfortunately for the boy, fixed 

 very firm in the gum. It was at laft forced out, and the fufferer was 

 taken to a little diftance, where the gum was clofed by his friends, 

 who now equipped him in the ftyle that he was to appear in for 

 fome da^ :. A girdle was tied round his waift, in which was {luck a 

 wooden fword ; a ligature was put round his head, in which were ftuck 

 flips of the grafs-gum tree ; which, being white, had a curious and not 

 unpleafing effeel:. The left hand was to be placed over the mouth, 

 which was to be kept (hut ; he was on no account to fpeak ; and for 

 that day he was not to eat. In like manner were all the others treated, 

 except one, a pretty boy about eight or nine years of age, who, after 

 fuffering his gum to be lanced, could not endure the pain of more 

 than one blow with the ftone, and breaking from them, made his 

 efcape. During the whole of the operation, the affiftants made the 

 moil hideous noife in the ears of the patients*, fufficient to diltrad: 



* Crying e-wah-e-wah, ga-ga-ga-ga, repeatedly. 



3 b 2 their 



