could not detect anything, but where his penetrating eye discovered the abode of the maggots. Then was brought into play the little stick which drew the skulking caitiff forth."

Ants they take by the handful from their hills, and sifting the dust through their fingers, accumulate a ball of them in the palm which they bolt without compunction; this device is almost equal to that of the anteater who lays his tongue on the hillock and waits till it is covered. The vegetable kingdom does not afford them edibles so varied; the favourite root is an oxalis resembling a carrot and tasting like a cocoa-nut. It is discovered by its leaf and lies about seven inches under ground. Many Europeans who have been lost in the bush, might have existed had they known where to find this nutritious vegetable.

In cooking they display considerable ingenuity, opossum and roots undergo a curious culinary process. A hole is first dug in the ground in which are deposited heated stones, these are covered with moist leaves and twigs. On them is placed the opossum, over which is strewed another layer of leaves, finally surmounted with turf -the secret of its cooking being a condensation of steam. We have seen opossum thrown unskinned on to a fire, when singed taken off, the steaming entrails abstracted, thrown again on to the cinders and pulled out when imperfectly grilled, limbed to pieces and greedily devoured. Kangaroo is esteemed the choicest meat. is somewhat similar in flavour to venison; the native mode of cooking it is very original. A steak wrapped up in a leaf is placed in the hollow of a stone, the surface of which is covered over with another. These stones submitted to the action of a strong fire become heated, thoroughly cooking the meat without the loss of its juice. There does not exist any indigenous vegetable from which spirit can be extracted, and the colonists are forbidden to supply them with fomented liquors. The natives, however, who are well acquainted with the nature of the sensations attending inebriety, obtain, as a substitute, old sugar bags or molasses casks, which, being steeped in water, produces a fermented liquor, and which, if taken in large quantities, affects the brain.

The denizen of the wilderness, who is solely dependent on his own energies in the chase, is a different being from the indolent race who loiter about the settlements, subsisting on occasional donations.

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Major Mitchell gives an admirable description of an aboriginal in his native state, whom he saw during his expedition into the interior. "I observed," says he, a native on the opposite bank, and, without being seen by him, I stood awhile to watch the habits of a savage man at home. His hands were ready to seize, his teeth to eat any living thing, his step was light and soundless as

that of a shadow, and gave no intimation of his approach; his walk suggested the idea of a prowling beast of prey, every little tract or impression left upon the earth by the lower animals caught his keen eye, but the trees overhead chiefly engaged his attention; deep in the hollow heart of some of the upper branches was still hidden the opossum on which he was to dine; the wind blew cold and keenly through the lofty trees on the river margin, yet that brawny savage was entirely naked. Had I been unarmed I would much rather have met a lion than that sinewy biped; but I was on horseback with pistols in my holsters, and a broad river was flowing between us from a high bank. I ventured to disturb his meditations with a loud holloa; he stood awhile looking at me, and then fled with an easy bounding step, exhibiting that unrestrained facility of movement incompatible with dress of any kind."

The principal native weapons are the spear, club, boomerang, waddy, and shield. The spear is generally about five feet long, pointed with a jagged flint or emu bone; to add greater velocity, the end of the spear is placed in the notch of a short stick called the waramerah, which gives it the impetus of a catapult. The boomerang is a flat curved piece of wood, about thirty inches long, the concave part being about half an inch thick, and the convex edge keen; this weapon, thrown to a distance, will hit its object with unerring precision and return to the hand again. It cleaves the air with great velocity, and then describes a series of curves; but the principle of its projection is a mathematical problem. The shield is circular, constructed of bark or rushes, intended for warding off spears. The waddy is about the size of an Irishman's shillalah; one end is pointed, which is used for climbing trees. As they ascend, they make an incision in the bark for the toe, and another for the hand, and in this manner they will fearlessly ascend with the agility of a monkey, lofty and perpendicular trees, devoid of knots or branches. The waddy is likewise the weapon of honour. The duellists have a peculiar method of reparation. The challenger bows his skull to the other, who instantly inflicts a crack that would floor an ox, but which seldom unsenses the other. challenger then presents his cranium, which receives a similar complement, and blows are mutually bestowed and received till the honour of either is satisfied.

The

The forests of Australia being not very abundant in game, and the native weapons inefficient, they are obliged to use the greatest dexterity in the capture of food, and are frequently subject to considerable privation. Kangaroo, banderoot, wombat, walloby, and opossum, may be considered their staple food. The latter animal is generally found in the hollows of trees, and to capture them the native will climb to a perilous height, trusting to the most fragile

branches as he steps from tree to tree, with a hardihood sufficient to make the spectator's blood curdle.

Kangaroo is either speared, trapped, or run down. The latter mode of capture tests severely the native stamina and skill in tracking; at the first onset the kangaroo leaps far a-head; the persevering hunter follows coolly in the track, allowing the fugitive no time for repose. The chase sometimes continues day and night, till the exhausted animal yields to the superior endurance of the human constitution. To obtain waterfowl, they cover their heads with rushes and wade unperceived in the water, till they come within reach of the unsuspecting birds, whom they suddenly immerse and fasten to the belt; in this manner they will secure a flock in succession ere they emerge from the water.

In catching land-fowl, such as turkeys, they exercise equal ingenuity. Procuring two long poles, to one they fasten an insect, to the other they attach a running noose of bark fibre, or sinew; shrouded in a moveable bush, they slowly approach, and ensnare the unsuspecting fowl when it seizes the bait. The tribes which dwell on the banks of the river Murray subsist mostly on fish, which they catch in nets of bark fibre, or with lines of bark; another favourite method is to stir up the mud, till the impurity of the water causes the fish to rise to the surface, when they are easily seized. Many of the women are without the two first joints of the forefinger of the left hand. This mutilation is attributed to the joints being in the way when handling the lines; others suppose that they are cast into the water as a propitiatory offering, that they may be successful in their piscatorial occupations. Fish nets are made of flax, which grows wild on the river banks.

In crossing rivers, they strip sheets of bark from the nearest trees, usually the bluegum, on which fragile material they will ferry across the widest inland channels in safety. Boats intended to serve for a longer period are made of larger sheets of bark, sown together with the sinews of animals, the ends filled up with clay.

The aborigines are very superstitious, but the substance of their creed is not distinctly understood. In some tribes they have wise men amongst them, who profess to control the wind and rain at pleasure, and likewise foretell events. Dreams are considered ominous. They suppose that death generally proceeds either from magic, or the loss of the kidney fat; and should they dream that the latter event has happened to them, they are apt to give themselves up to a fatal despondency. Their ideas of futurity are very crude; singular notions of resurrection are entertained by them. They say, "Lay down black fellow, jump up white fellow;" thereby implying the Platonic doctrine of transmigration. A friend of ours in an overland expedition had a novel adventure, originating

in this hypothesis. Passing an encampment of natives, he entered a whirley to light his pipe. Seated in a corner was a decrepid, toothless old woman, of unparalleled ugliness. On seeing him her dim eyes sparkled with a strange lustre, and raising herself from her recumbent position, before he could anticipate her intention, with a transport of passion, clasped his neck, uttering the tenderest epithets and caresses. Naturally disgusted, he extricated himself from her loathsome embraces, and then gathered from her that she took him to be her deceased son Rayjaub, who had crossed the water "white fellow," and ere he had time to retreat, he found himself surrounded by a crowd of both sexes, who claimed a relationship with him. As he stoutly denied this affiliation, the old woman proposed that he should take off his shoes and exhibit his feet, for her deceased son had a peculiar mark on his instep. To this mode of adjudication he willingly assented, when, to his astonishment, a scar on the foot was apparent. This was considered circumstantial evidence; and being some distance from the nearest settlement, he had no alternative but to affect acquiescence, and avail himself of the first opportunity for escape. The lex taliones is a chief feature in their criminal code; for any native found guilty of murder dies likewise. Spears are often thrown at him by the warriors of the tribe. The only protection allowed is a small shield, but by dexterity he sometimes avoids the darts intended for his destruction.

Their endurance of pain almost realizes one's notions of Spartan fortitude. During encounters they inflict wounds fatal to any but an aboriginal, but surgical cases they simply bandage with leaves trusting to their constitution for its efficacy.

On the death of relatives, to signify their bereaval, they bedaub themselves with paint, and likewise abstain for a period from washing, which can be no very great hardship, cleanliness being by no means habitual to them. Some tribes bury their dead; others burn them, or else make a wicker covering in which they enshrine the corpse and its worldly effects, suspending it from one tree to another; however much the deceased's property may be coveted, none dare commit sacrilege, lest the shadow of the departed should haunt them ever after. Infanticide is frequent, especially toward deformed children, and mothers, instead of giving their infants the benefit of Christian burial sometimes carry the corpse about with them, thus making their wallet a charnel depository. We saw one of these disgusting mummeries-the shrivelled picaninny might have been taken for a log of mahogany but for the abominable odour it emitted.

The aborigines rarely assemble together in any numbers for deliberative or other purposes, except at "Corroberys." It is con

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jectured that these night fetes, which happen at new and full moon, are dramatic entertainments, commemorative of the deeds of their forefathers. On such occasions large fires are made, and natives decorated with leaves enter the arena and commence a series of gyrations somewhat slow at first but gradually becoming more rapid and eccentric. The squaws, with bull's hides stretched over their knees, are seated in a circle, the beating of these hides produces a sonorous noise, and the guttural accompaniment adds to the clamour. The favourite pas seul of the dancers is placing the legs wide asunder and maintaining gravitation on the toes; as the dance proceeds the music becomes louder and the actors more excited, in springs and kicks eclipsing the Highland fling, while they meantime flourish spears and waddies, as if they proposed to inflict deadly wounds upon each other, till finally worked up apparently frantic, the scene resembles a Satanic revel enacted by imps of Hell.

The extensive tracts of country becoming occupied by settlers is gradually causing the natives to penetrate farther inwards in search of game for subsistence; but many still loiter about their ancient hunting grounds, endeared to them by early reminiscences. It is surmised that the race will ere long be extinct; those who reside near stations grow fat, but mostly cease propagation. The use of tobacco and spirits is very detrimental to their constitutions, but the introduction of the white man's diseases, and an inefficient mode of pharmacy is the chief cause of mortality. Dr. Johnson has said that much "might be done with a Scotchman if caught young." The different colonial governments have endeavoured to ameliorate the condition of the aboriginies, and native schools have been instituted for the education of their children; but the seed of instruction has been sown on a stubborn soil, for when the pupils have attained the age of maturity they have mostly forsaken civilisation. Philanthrophical measures have hitherto failed, and experience shows that it would be as difficult to wash out the dark dye of their skins as eradicate their naturally erratic propensities.