388 
Miscellanea . 
teresting, from the fact that we had ourselves remembered, and 
heard remarked by others, that the smallness of the hands and 
feet was a striking feature in the formation of the Indian of the 
present day/ Mr. Stephens seems to think these impressions 
were made by the builders of the temples in which they were 
usually found, and constituted the mark of the master mason em¬ 
ployed on the work. Our object in making this remark is to 
call the attention of those fond of indulging in these speculations, 
to the striking similarity between the memo Colorado described by 
Mr. Stephens and the impression of the red hand which has been 
occasionally found on the granite rocks, and in the caves of this 
colony, and much more extensively on the N.W. coast, by Cap¬ 
tain Grey, during his explorations on the Glenelg. Although we 
admit that there is not much probability of any affinity between 
the inhabitants of this continent and those of Yucatan, still it is 
possible; and such of our readers as are at all acquainted with 
the nature of the learned and unlearned speculations that have 
been made as to the origin and affinity of nations, will readily 
confess that far greater results have been aimed at, and more im¬ 
portant conclusions come to, on the strength of much weaker 
evidence than is afforded by the mano Colorado . At all events 
we have thought the coincidence worth recording/ 7 — Inquirer , 
Oct. 16, 1844. 
III. Native Tradition of Western Australia. 
“ Mr. Armstrong, interpreter to the natives, has communicated 
to us the following curious tradition :—‘ The natives state that 
they have been told, from age to age, that when man first began 
to exist there were two beings, male and female, named * Wal- 
lyne-yup’ (the father) and 1 Doronnop,’ (the mother); that they 
had a son, named 4 Bin-dir-woor, 7 who received a deadly wound, 
which they carefully endeavoured to heal, but totally without 
success; whereupon it was declared by Wal-lyne-yup that all 
who came after him should also die in like manner as his son 
died. Could the wound but have been healed in this case, being 
the first, the natives think death would have had no power over 
them. The place where the scene occurred, and where Bin-dir- 
woor was buried, the natives imagine to have been on the southern 
plains, between Clarence and the Murray; and the instrument 
used is said to have been a spear, thrown by some unknown being, 
and directed by some supernatural power/ The tradition goes 
on to state, that e Bin-dir-woor, the son, although deprived of 
life, and buried in his grave, did not remain there, but rose and 
went to the west, to the unknown land of spirits, across the sea. 
The parents followed after their son, but (as the natives suppose) 
were unable to prevail upon him to return, and they consequently 
have remained with him ever since/ Mr. Armstrong says of this 
tradition that 1 it is the nearest approach to truth, and the most 
