DUGONG, 107 
of the Australian dugong is, therefore, chiefly restricted to sea-water 
algie, and consists almost exclusively of the zostera-like marine grass 
(Possidonia australis), which is developed in great abundance 
throughout the reef-flats of the inter-tropical coast line, and vast 
areas of which are met with in Princess Charlotte Bay in particular, 
Where found —The habitat of the dugong on the east coast of 
Australia extends from as far south as Moreton Bay to Cape York, 
In some localities, such as Weary Bay, Bathurst Bay, and Princess 
Charlotte Bay, it is met with in great abundance. It is not often 
found south of Brisbane; but in Oct., 1893, a young one was 
captured in a net off Port Stephens and brought to Sydney. It also 
frequents the New Guinea coast. ‘ 
How captured.—The capture of the dugong is conducted on 
distinct principles in different parts of the Queensland coast line. 
In Moreton and Wide Bays nets of great strength, having a mesh a 
yard wide when saeeracetciaecnnlle from knot to knot, or 18in. on 
the square, are stretched at night across the tracks the herds are 
wont to follow to their pasture grounds. A little further north, at 
Repulse Bay, just above Mackay, a systematic dugong fishery is 
prosecuted by a European with the exclusive aid of the mainland 
aborigines. The natives pursue the animals, moonlight nights being 
most favourable, in their bark canoes with heavy dugong harpoons, 
to which long lines are attached. ‘wo men are included in one 
canoe, the business of one being to keep a lookout for the dugong, 
while the other bails the cranky boat with the bailing shell. The 
endeavour in the first instance is to spear the animal through its 
fleshy tail, whereupon it is apt to twist itself up and get entangled 
in the line, A second spear is then thrust through its muzzle, 
which stops its breathing, and thus the animal is speedily suffocated 
and dispatched. The dugong spear used in Torres Strait is a 
formidable weapon, a pole from twelve to fifteen feet or more in 
length, with the butt-end club-shaped and hollowed for the reception 
of a loose-fitting barbed dart, to which a long line is attached. The 
opposite end of the shaft is usually perforated, and Goer raen Hes 
tufts of cassowary feathers, ovula-shells, or rattling ae poe rof, 
Haddon, in his “‘ Ethnography of the Western Tribes of Torres 
Strait,” writes thus of boat-use: ‘* When close enough, the man 
bearing the spear jumps into the water, at the same time barppening 
the dugong as it is in the act of breathing. The sae immes if ely 
dives down, and runs out the rope which is fastene We t on Be , the 
man having to be careful not to get his head entanglec se e oops 
of the rope, as deaths have occurred through this Sane he 
man returns with the spear shaft to the canoe. er men 
immediately dive into the water, and, when the dugong ones nae 
rises to breathe, they tie a second rope round vs i , anc ea: 
-henever it attempts to rise, the men, by diving at the same time, 
ie i Li very short time suffocate the 
ull it down with the rope, and in a very 
ney imal. So far as I know, death always occurs through 
SEER Mowiag tu the thickness of the skin and blubber, and the 
Shri ieed of its point, the dart can never penetrate to a vital organ, 
