SONGS. 
239 
dancing with these for some time, they went for- 
ward towards the Moorunde natives, who sprang 
upon their feet, and seizing their weapons, speared 
two or three of the strangers in the shoulder, and 
all was over. I was anxious to have got hold of the 
rude figure to have a drawing made of it, but it had 
been instantly destroyed. The standards I pro- 
cured. 
This dance took place between nine and ten in the 
morning, and was quite unlike any thing I had seen 
before. A stranger might have supposed it to be a 
religious ceremony, and the image the object of 
worship. Such, however, I am convinced was not 
the case, although I believe it to have had some 
connection with their superstitions, and that it was 
regarded in the light of a charm. 
Before the country was occupied by Europeans, 
the natives say that this dance was frequently cele- 
brated, but that latterly it has not been much in 
use. No other instance of it ever came under my 
own observation in any part of New Holland. 
The songs of the natives are of a very rude and 
unmeaning character, rarely consisting of more than 
one or two ideas, which are continually repeated over 
and over again. They are chiefly made on the spur 
of the moment, and refer to something that has 
struck the attention at the time. The measure of the 
song varies according to circumstances. It is gay 
and lively, for the dance ; slow and solemn for the 
