COASTS OF AUSTRALIA, 
13a 
the hooked point of the meara'" The following l^ai . 
wood-cut shews the method by which this wea- Dec, ai. 
pon is propelled:— 
The hammer, or kaoit, appears to be used only 
for the purpose of breaking open shell-fish, and 
killing seals and other animals by striking them 
on the head ; for it has no sharpened edge to be 
used as a chopping or cutting instrument; the 
handle is from twelve to fifteen inches long, 
having one end scraped to a sharp point, and 
on each side at the other end two pieces of hard 
stone fixed and cemented by a mass of gum, 
which, when dry, is almost as hard as the stone 
itself ; the hammer is about one pound weight. 
The knife, or taap,' is perhaps the rudest 
instrument of the sort that ever was made ; the 
handle is about twelve inches long, scraped to 
