179&T OF NEW SOUTH WALES. m 



When the body was laid in the grave, the by- (landers were amazed 

 to fee the father himfelf place the living child in it with the mother. 

 Having laid the child down, he threw upon it a large (tone, and the 

 grave was inflantly filled up by the other natives. The whole bufinefs 

 was fo momentary, that the vifi tor's had not time or prefence of mind 

 to prevent it ; and on fpea'king of it to Gole-be, he, fo far from think- 

 ing it inhuman, juftified the extraordinary acl:, by faying, that as no 

 woman could be found to nurfe the child, it muft have died a worfe 

 death than that to which he had put it. From fimilar circumflances 

 afterwards occurring, there is every reafon to fuppofe that thecuilom 

 always prevails among them ; and this may in fome degree account 

 for the thinnefs of population which' has been obferved among the 

 natives of the country. 



The annexed PLATE reprefents the burning of a native who was 

 killed by a tree falling on him ; the fame ceremonies were performed 

 on this occafion as have been before related. 



* Language. 



In giving an account of an unwritten language many difficulties 

 occur. For things cognizable by the external fenfes, names may be 

 eafily procured ; but not fo for thofe which depend on action, or ad- 

 drefs themfelves only to the mind ; for inftance, a fpear was an object- 

 both vifible and tangible, and a name for it was eafily obtained ; but 

 the ufe of it went through a number of variations and inflexions, 

 which it was extremely difficult to afcertain ; indeed the infinitive 

 mood of any one of their verbs could not be fixed with any degree of 

 certainty. 



Their language is extremely grateful to the ear, being in many in- 

 fiances exprellive and fonorous. It certainly has no analogy with any 

 other known language, one or two inflances excepted. The dialect 

 fpoken by the natives at Sydney not only differs entirely from that 

 left by Captain Cook of the people with whom he had intercourfe to 

 the northward (about Endeavour river), but alfo from that fpoken by 



3 E r fypf c 



