Chapter XLVI: Appendix: Vi--Customs and Manners

During the time of parturition these people suffer none but females to be present. War-re-weer, Bennillong's sister, being taken in labour in the town, an opportunity offered of observing them in that critical juncture, of which some of our women, who were favourites with the girl, were desired to avail themselves; and from them we learned, that during her labour one female, Boo-roong, was employed in pouring cold water from time to time on the abdomen, while another, tying one end of a small line round War-re-weer's neck, with the other end rubbed her own lips until they bled. She derived no actual assistance from those who were about her, the child coming into the world by the sole efforts of nature; neither did any one receive it from her; but, having let it drop, one of our women divided the umbilical cord; after which, she retired to a small hole which had been prepared for her, over which she sat until the after-birth took place. The person who cut the navel-string washed the child, which she readily permitted, though Boo-roong and the other natives objected to it. She appeared much exhausted, and, being faint, fell across a fire that was in the place, but without receiving any injury.

I saw Bennillong's wife a few hours after she had been delivered of a child. To my great surprise she was walking about alone, and picking up sticks to mend her fire. The infant, whose skin appeared to have a reddish cast, was lying in a piece of soft bark on the ground, the umbilical cord depending about three inches from the navel. I remained with her for some time, during which she was endeavouring to get it off, to effect which she made use of the small bone of the leg of the kangaroo, round the point of which Bennillong had rolled some punk, so that it looked not unlike the button of a foil. She held it every now and then to the fire, then applied and pressed it to the navel until it cooled. This was persevered in, till the mother thought the cord sufficiently deadened, and then with a shell she separated it.*

[* I here find in my papers a note, that for some offence Bennillong had severely beaten this woman in the morning, a short time before she was delivered.]

The infant thus produced is by the mother carried about for some days on a piece of soft bark; and, as soon as it acquires strength enough, is removed to her shoulders, where it sits with its little legs across her neck; and, taught by necessity, soon catches hold of her hair to preserve itself from falling.

The reddish cast of the skin soon gives place to the natural hue, a change that is much assisted by the smoke and dirt in which, from the moment of their existence, these children are nurtured. The parents begin early to decorate them after the custom of the country. As soon as the hair of the head can be taken hold of, fish-bones and the teeth of animals are fastened to it with gum. White clay ornaments their little limbs; and the females suffer the extraordinary amputation which they term mal-gun before they have quitted their seat on their mother's shoulders.

In about a month or six weeks the child receives its name. This is generally taken from some of the objects constantly before their eyes, such as a bird, a beast, or a fish, and is given without any ceremony. Thus Bennillong's child Dilboong was so named after a small bird, which we often heard in low wet grounds and in copses. An elderly woman who occasionally visited us was named Mau-ber-ry, the term by which they distinguish the gurnet from other fish. Bennillong told me, his name was that of a large fish, but one that I never saw taken. Bal-loo-der-ry signified the fish named by us the leathern-jacket; and there were two girls in the town named Pat-ye-ga-rang, a corruption of Pat-ta-go-rang, the name of the large grey kangaroo. Other instances might be adduced; but these are sufficient to show the prevalence of the custom.

At an early age the females wear round the waist a small line made of the twisted hair of the opossum, from the centre of which depend a few small uneven lines from two to five inches long, made of the same materials. This they term bar-rin, and wear it until they are grown into women and are attached to men.

The union of the sexes takes place at an earlier period than is usual in colder regions. We have known several instances of very young girls having been much and shamefully abused by the males.

From their earliest infancy the boys are accustomed to throwing the spear, and to the habit of defending themselves from it. They begin by throwing reeds at each other, and are soon very expert. They also, from the time when they can run, until prompted by manhood to realize their sports, amuse themselves with stealing the females, and treat them at this time very little worse than they do then.

Among their juvenile exercises I observed that of throwing up a ball, and passing it from one to another. They also provide themselves with small sticks, and range themselves in a row, when the one at the upper end rolls a ball or any other round substance along the front of his companions, every one of whom endeavours to strike it as it passes. This is a favourite exercise with them, and of course they excel at it.

Between the ages of eight and sixteen, the males and females undergo the operation which they term Gnah-noong, viz that of having the _septum nasi_ bored, to receive a bone or reed, which among them is deemed a great ornament, though I have seen many whose articulation was thereby rendered very imperfect. Between the same years also the males receive the qualifications which are given to them by losing one of the front teeth. This ceremony occurred twice during my residence in New South Wales; and in the second operation I was fortunate enough to attend them during the whole of the time, attended by a person well qualified to make drawings of every particular circumstance that occurred. A remarkable coincidence of time was noticed as to the season in which it took place. It was first performed in the beginning of the month of February 1791; and exactly at the same period in the year 1795 the second operation occurred. As they have not any idea of numbers beyond three, and of course have no regular computation of time, this can only be ascribed to chance, particularly as the season could not have much share in their choice, February being one of the hot months.

On the 25th of January 1795 we found that the natives were assembling in numbers for the purpose of performing this ceremony. Several youths well known among us, never having submitted to the operation, were now to be made men. Pe-mul-wy, a wood native, and many strangers, came in; but the principals in the operation not being arrived from Cam-mer-ray, the intermediate nights were to be passed in dancing. Among them we observed one man painted white to the middle, his beard and eye-brows excepted, and all together a frightful object. Others were distinguished by large white circles round the eyes, which rendered them as terrific as can well be imagined. It was not until the 2nd of February that the party was complete. In the evening of that day the people from Cam-mer-ray arrived, among whom were those who were to perform the operation, all of whom appeared to have been impatiently expected by the other natives. They were painted after the manner of the country, were mostly provided with shields, and all armed with clubs, spears, and throwing sticks. The place selected for this extraordinary exhibition was at the head of Farm Cove, where a space had been for some days prepared by clearing it of grass, stumps, etc.; it was of an oval figure, the dimensions of it 27 feet by 18, and was named Yoo-lahng.

When we arrived at the spot, we found the party from the north shore armed, and standing at one end of it; at the other we saw a party consisting of the boys who were to be given up for the purpose of losing each a tooth, and their several friends who accompanied them.

They then began the ceremony. The armed party advanced from their end of the Yoo-lahng with a song or rather a shout peculiar to this occasion, clattering their shields and spears, and raising a dust with their feet that nearly obscured the objects around them. On reaching the farther end of the Yoo-lahng, where the children were placed, one of the party stepped from the crowd, and seizing his victim returned with him to his party, who received him with a shout louder than usual, placing him in the midst, where he seemed defended by a grove of spears from any attempts that his friends might make to rescue him. In this manner the whole were taken out, to the number of fifteen; among them appeared Ca-ru-ey, a youth of about sixteen or seventeen years of age, and a young man, a stranger to us, of about twenty-three.

The number being collected that were to undergo the operation, they were seated at the upper end of the Yoo-lahng, each holding down the head; his hands clasped, and his legs crossed under him. In this position, awkward and painful as it must have been, we understood they were to remain all night; and, in short, that until the ceremony was concluded, they were neither to look up nor take any refreshment whatsoever.

The carrahdis now began some of their mystical rites. One of them suddenly fell upon the ground, and throwing himself into a variety of attitudes, accompanied with every gesticulation that could be extorted by pain, appeared to be at length delivered of a bone, which was to be used in the ensuing ceremony. He was during this apparently painful process encircled by a crowd of natives, who danced around him, singing vociferously, while one or more beat him on the back until the bone was produced, and he was thereby freed from his pain.

He had no sooner risen from the ground exhausted, drooping, and bathed in sweat, than another threw himself down with similar gesticulations, who went through the same ceremonies, and ended also with the production of a bone, with which he had taken care to provide himself, and to conceal it in a girdle which he wore.

We were told, that by these mummeries (for they were in fact nothing else) the boys were assured that the ensuing operation would be attended with scarcely any pain, and that the more these carrahdis suffered, the less would be felt by them.

It being now perfectly dark, we quitted the place, with an invitation to return early in the morning, and a promise of much entertainment from the ensuing ceremony. We left the boys sitting silent, and in the position before described, in which we were told they were to remain until morning.

On repairing to the place soon after daylight, we found the natives sleeping in small detached parties; and it was not until the sun had shown himself that any of them began to stir. We observed that the people from the north shore slept by themselves, and the boys, though we heard they were not to be moved, were lying also by themselves at some little distance from the Yoo-lahng. Towards this, soon after sunrise, the carrahdis and their party advanced in quick movement, one after the other, shouting as they entered, and running twice or thrice round it. The boys were then brought to the Yoo-lahng, hanging their heads and clasping their hands. On their being seated in this manner, the ceremonies began, the principal performers in which appeared to be about twenty in number, and all of the tribe of Cammeray.

The exhibitions now performed were numerous and various; but all of them in their tendency pointed toward the boys, and had some allusion to the principal act of the day, which was to be the concluding scene of it. The ceremony will be found pretty accurately represented in the annexed Engravings. [The HTML version of this ebook contains the engravings. Ed.]

No. 1 Represents the young men, fifteen in number, seated at the head of the Yoo-lahng, while those who were to be the operators paraded several times round it, running upon their hands and feet, and imitating the dogs of the country. Their dress was adapted to this purpose; the wooden sword, stuck in the hinder part of the girdle which they wore round the waist, did not, when they were crawling on all fours, look much unlike the tail of a dog curled over his back. Every time they passed the place where the boys were seated, they threw up the sand and dust on them with their hands and their feet. During this ceremony the boys sat perfectly still and silent, never once moving themselves from the position in which they were placed, nor seeming in the least to notice the ridiculous appearance of the carrahdis and their associates.

We understood that by this ceremony power over the dog was given to them, and that it endowed them with whatever good or beneficial qualities that animal might possess.

The dogs of this country are of the jackal species; they never bark; are of two colours, the one red with some white about it; the other quite black. They have an invincible predilection for poultry, which the severest beatings could never repress. Some of them are very handsome.

No. 2 Represents the young men seated as before. The first figure in the plate is a stout robust native, carrying on his shoulders a pat-ta-go-rang or kangaroo made of grass; the second is carrying a load of brush-wood. The other figures, seated about, are singing, and beating time to the steps of the two loaded men, who appeared as if they were almost unable to move under the weight of the burthen which they carried on their shoulders. Halting every now and then, and limping, they at last deposited their load at the feet of the young men, and retired from the Yoo-lahng as if they were excessively fatigued by what they had done. It must be noticed, that the man who carried the brush-wood had thrust one or two flowering shrubs through the _septum nasi_. He exhibited an extraordinary appearance in this scene.

By this offering of the dead kangaroo was meant the power that was now given them of killing that animal; the brush-wood might represent its haunt.

No. 3 The boys were left seated at the Yoo-lahng for about half an hour; during which the actors went down into a valley near the place, where they fitted themselves with long tails made of grass, which they fastened to the hinder part of their girdles, instead of the sword, which was laid aside during the scene. Being equipped, they put themselves in motion as a herd of kangaroos, now jumping along, then lying down and scratching themselves, as those animals do when basking in the sun. One man beat time to them with a club on a shield, while two others armed, attended them all the way, pretending to steal upon them unobserved and spear them.

This was emblematical of one of their future exercises, the hunting of the kangaroo.

The scene was altogether whimsical and curious; the valley where they equipped themselves was very romantic, and the occasion extraordinary and perfectly novel.

No. 4 On the arrival of this curious party at the Yoo-lahng, it passed by the boys, as the herd of Kangaroo, and then quickly divesting themselves of their artificial tails, each man caught up a boy, and, placing him on his shoulders, carried him off in triumph toward the last scene of this extraordinary exhibition.

It must be remarked, that the friends and relations of the young people by no means interfered, nor attempted to molest the north shore natives in the execution of their business.

No. 5 After walking a short distance, the boys were let down from the shoulders of the men, and placed in a cluster, standing with their heads inclined on their breasts, and their hands clasped together. Some of the party disappeared for above ten minutes to arrange the figure of the next scene. I was not admitted to witness this business, about which they appeared to observe a greater degree of mystery and preparation than I had noticed in either of the preceding ceremonies. We were at length desired to come forward, when we found the figures as placed in the plate No. 5.

The group on the left are the boys and those who attended them; fronting them were seen two men, one seated on the stump of a tree bearing another man on his shoulders, both with their arms extended: behind these were seen a number of bodies lying with their faces toward the ground, as close to each other as they could lie, and at the foot of another stump of a tree, on which were placed two other figures in the same position as the preceding.

As the boys and their attendants approached the first of these figures, the men who formed it began to move themselves from side to side, lolling out their tongues, and staring as wide and horribly with their eyes as they could open them. After this mummery had continued some minutes, the men separated for them to pass, and the boys were now led over the bodies lying on the ground. These immediately began to move, writhing as if in agony, and uttering a mournful dismal sound, like very distant thunder. Having passed over these bodies, the boys were placed before the second figures, who went through the same series of grimaces as those who were seated on the former stump; after which the whole moved forward.

A particular name, boo-roo-moo-roong, was given to this scene; but of its import I could learn very little. I made much inquiry; but could never obtain any other answer, than that it was very good; that the boys would now become brave men; that they would see well, and fight well.

No. 6 At a little distance from the preceding scene the whole party halted; the boys were seated by each other, while opposite to them were drawn up in a half circle the other party, now armed with the spear and the shield. In the centre of this party, with his face toward them, stood Boo-der-ro, the native who had throughout taken the principal part in the business. He held his shield in one hand, and a club in the other, with which he gave them, as it were, the time for their exercise. Striking the shield with the club, at every third stroke the whole party poised and presented their spears at him, pointing them inwards, and touching the centre of his shield.

This concluded the ceremonies previous to the operation; and it appeared significant of an exercise which was to form the principal business of their lives, the use of the spear.

No. 7 They now commenced their preparations for striking out the tooth. The first subject they took out was a boy of about ten years of age: he was seated on the shoulders of another native who sat on the grass, as appears in this Plate.

The bone was now produced which had been pretended to be taken from the stomach of the native the preceding evening; this, being made very sharp and fine at one end, was used for lancing the gum, and but for some such precaution it would have been impossible to have got out the tooth without breaking the jaw-bone. A throwing-stick was now to be cut about eight or ten inches from the end; and to effect this, much ceremony was used. The stick was laid upon a tree, and three attempts to hit it were made before it was struck. The wood being very hard, and the instrument a bad tomahawk, it took several blows to divide it; but three feints were constantly made before each stroke. When the gum was properly prepared, the operation began; the smallest end of the stick was applied as high up on the tooth as the gum would admit of, while the operator stood ready with a large stone apparently to drive the tooth down the throat of his patient. Here their attention to the number three was again manifest; no stroke was actually made until the operator had thrice attempted to hit the throwing-stick. They were full ten minutes about this first operation, the tooth being, unfortunately for the boy, fixed very firm in the gum. It was at last forced out, and the sufferer was taken away to a little distance, where the gum was closed by his friends, who now equipped him in the style he was to appear in for some days. A girdle was tied round his waist, in which was stuck a wooden sword; a ligature was put round his head, in which were stuck slips of the grass-gum tree, which, being white, had a curious and not unpleasing effect. The left hand was to be placed over the mouth, which was to be kept shut; he was on no account to speak; and for that day he was not to eat.

In like manner were all the others treated, except one, a pretty boy about eight or nine years of age, who, after suffering his gum to be lanced, could not endure the pain of more than one blow with the stone, and breaking from them made his escape.

During the whole of the operation the assistants made the most hideous noise in the ears of the patients*, sufficient to distract their attention, and to drown any cries they could possibly have uttered; but they made it a point of honour to bear the pain without a murmur.

[* Crying e-wah e-wah, ga-ga ga-ga, repeatedly.]

Some other peculiarities, however, were observed. The blood that issued from the lacerated gum was not wiped away, but suffered to run down the breast, and fall upon the head of the man on whose shoulders the patient sat, and whose name was added to his. I saw them several days afterwards, with the blood dried upon the breast. They were also termed Ke-bar-ra, a name which has reference in its construction to the singular instrument used on this occasion, Ke-bah in their language signifying a rock or stone. I heard them several months after address each other by this significant name.

No. 8 This Plate represents the young men arranged and sitting upon the trunk of a tree, as they appeared in the evening after the operation was over. The man is Cole-be, who is applying a broiled fish to his relation Nan-bar-ray's gum, which had suffered from the stroke more than any of the others.

Suddenly, on a signal being given, they all started up, and rushed into the town, driving before them men, women, and children, who were glad to get out of their way. They were now received into the class of men; were privileged to wield the spear and the club, and to oppose their persons in combat. They might now also seize such females as they chose for wives.

All this, however, must be understood to import, that by having submitted to the operation, having endured the pain of it without a murmur, and having lost a front tooth, they received a qualification which they were to exercise whenever their years and their strength should be equal to it.

Bennillong's sister, and Da-ring-ha, Cole-be's wife, hearing me express a great desire to be possessed of some of these teeth, procured three of them for me, one of which was that of Nan-bar-ray, Cole-be's relation.

I found that they had fastened them to pieces of small line, and were wearing them round their necks. They were given to me with much secrecy and great dread of being observed, and with an injunction that I should never let it be known that they had made me such a present, as the Cam-mer-ray tribe, to whom they were to be given, would not fail to punish them for it; and they added that they should tell them the teeth were lost. Nan-bar-ray's tooth Da-ring-ha wished me to give to Mr. White, the principal surgeon of the settlement, with whom the boy had lived from his being brought into it, in the year 1789, to Mr. White's departure; thus with gratitude remembering, after the lapse of some years, the attention which that gentleman had shown to her relative.

Having remained with them while the operation was performed on three or four of the boys, I went into town, and returned after sun-set, when I found the whole equipped and seated on the trunk of the tree, as described in the Plate. It was then that I received the three teeth, and was conjured by the women to leave the place, as they did not know what might ensue. In fact, I observed the natives arming themselves; much confusion and hurry was visible among them; the savage appeared to be predominating; perhaps the blood they had drawn, and which was still wet on the heads and breasts of many of them, began to make them fierce; and, when I was on the point of retiring, the signal was given, which animated the boys to the first exercise of the spirit which the business of the day had infused into them, (for I have no doubt that their young bosoms were warmed by the different ceremonies which they had witnessed, of which they had indeed been something more than mere spectators, and which they knew had been exhibited wholly on their account,) and they rushed into the town in the manner before described, every where as they passed along setting the grass on fire.

On showing the teeth to our medical gentleman there, and to others since my return to England, they all declared that they could not have been better extracted, had the proper instrument been used, instead of the stone and piece of wood.

On a view of all these circumstances, I certainly should not consider this ceremony in any other light than as a tribute, were I not obliged to hesitate, by observing that all the people of Cam-mer-ray, which were those who exacted the tooth, were themselves proofs that they had submitted to the operation. I never saw one among them who had not lost the front tooth. I well recollect Bennillong, in the early period of our acquaintance with him and his language, telling us, as we then thought, that a man of the name of Cam-mer-ra-gal wore all the teeth about his neck. But we afterwards found that this term was only the distinguishing title of the tribe which performed the ceremonies incident to the operation. Bennillong at other times told us, that his own tooth was bour-bil-liey pe-mul, buried in the earth, and that others were thrown into the sea. It is certain, however, that my female friends, who gave me the teeth, were very anxious that the gift should not come to the knowledge of the men of Cam-mer-ray, and repeatedly said that they were intended for them.

In alluding to this ceremony, whether by pointing to the vacancy occasioned by the lost tooth, or by adverting to any of the curious scenes exhibited on the occasion, the words Yoo-lahng erah-ba-diahng were always used; but to denote the loss of any other tooth the word bool-bag-ga was applied. The term Yoo-lahng erah-ba-diahng must therefore be considered as applying solely to this extraordinary occasion; it appears to be compounded of the name given to the spot where the principal scenes take place, and of the most material qualification that is derived from the whole ceremony, that of throwing the spear. I conceive this to be the import of the word erah-ba-diahng, erah being a part of the verb to throw, erah, throw you, erailley, throwing.

Being thus entered on 'the valued file,' they quickly assume the consequence due to the distinction, and as soon as possible bring their faculties into action. The procuring of food really seems to be but a secondary business with them; the management of the spear and the shield, dexterity in throwing the various clubs they have in use among them, agility in either attacking or defending, and a display of the constancy with which they endure pain, appearing to rank first among their concerns in life. The females too are accustomed to bear on their heads the traces of the superiority of the males, with which they dignify them almost as soon as they find strength in the arm to imprint the mark. We have seen some of these unfortunate beings with more scars upon their shorn heads, cut in every direction, than could be well distinguished or counted. The condition of these women is so wretched, that I have often, on seeing a female child borne on its mother's shoulders, anticipated the miseries to which it was born, and thought it would be a mercy to destroy it. Notwithstanding, however, that they are the mere slaves of the men, I have generally found, in tracing the causes of their quarrels, that the women were at the head of them, though in some cases remotely. They mingled in all the contests of the men; and one of these, that was in the beginning attended with some ceremony, was opened by a woman:

We had been told for some days of their making great preparations for a fight, and gladly heard that they had chosen a clear spot near the town for the purpose. The contending parties consisted of most of our Sydney acquaintance, and some natives from the south shore of Botany Bay, among whom was Gome-boak, already mentioned in Chapter XXVIII ["About the latter end of the month . . ."]. We repaired to the spot an hour before sun-set, and found them seated opposite each other on a level piece of ground between two hills. As a prelude to the business, we observed our friends, after having waited some time, stand up, and each man stooping down, take water in the hollow of his hand (the place just before them being wet) which he drank. An elderly woman with a cloak on her shoulders (made of opossum skins very neatly sewn together) and provided with a club, then advanced from the opposite side, and, uttering much abusive language at the time, ran up to Cole-be, who was on the right, and gave him what I should have considered a severe blow on the head, which with seeming contempt he held out to her for the purpose. She went through the same ceremony with the rest, who made no resistance, until she came up to Ye-ra-ni-be, a very fine boy, who stood on the left. He, not admiring the blows that his companions received, which were followed by blood, struggled with her, and had he not been very active, I believe she would have stabbed him with his own spear, which she wrested from him. The men now advanced, and gave us many opportunities of witnessing the strength and dexterity with which they threw their spears, and the quickness of sight which was requisite to guard against them. The contest lasted until dark, when throwing the spear could no longer be accounted fair, and they beat each other with clubs, until they left off by mutual consent. In this part of the contest many severe wounds were given, and much blood was drawn from the heads of each party; but nothing material happened while they had light enough to guard against the spear.

In the exercise of this weapon they are very expert. I have seen them strike with certainty at the distance of seventy measured yards. They are thrown with great force, and where they are barbed are very formidable instruments. The wo-mer-ra, or throwing-stick, is always made use of on such occasions. This is a stick about three feet long, with a hook at one end (and a shell at the other, secured by gum), to receive which there is a small hole at the head of the spear. Both are held in the right hand. the fingers of which are placed, two above the throwing-stick, and two between it and the spear, at about the distance of two feet from the hook. After poising it for some time, and measuring with the eye the distance from the object to be thrown at, the spear is discharged, the throwing-stick remaining in the hand. Of these instruments there are two kinds; the one, named Wo-mer-ra, is armed with the shell of a clam, which they term Kah-dien, and which they use for the same purposes that we employ a knife. The other, which they name Wig-goon, has a hook, but no shell, and is rounded at the end. With this they dig the fern-root and yam out of the earth, and it is formed of heavy wood, while the wo-mer-ra is only part of a wattle split. They have several varieties of spears, every difference in them being distinguished by a name. Some are only pointed; others have one or more barbs, either shaped from the solid piece of wood of which the spear is made, or fastened on with gum; and some are armed with pieces of broken oyster-shell for four or five inches from the point, and secured by gum. All these barbed spears are dangerous, from the difficulty of extracting them. Of shields they have but two sorts. One, named E-lee-mong, is cut from the bark of the gum tree, and is not so capable of resisting the spear as the Ar-rah-gong, which is formed of solid wood, and hardened by fire. This shield is not so much in use as the e-lee-mong, as I imagine from its greater weight, and perhaps also from the superior difficulty they meet with in procuring it. Of clubs they use several sorts, some of which are of very large dimensions. They have one, the head of which is flat, with a sharp point in the centre. The flat part is painted with red and white stripes from the centre, and does not look unlike what they term it, Gnal-lung-ul-la, the name given by them to a mushroom. They have yet another instrument, which they call Ta-war-rang. It is about three feet long, is narrow, but has three sides, in one of which is the handle, hollowed by fire. The other sides are rudely carved with curved and waved lines, and it is made use of in dancing, being struck upon for this purpose with a club. An instrument very common among them must not be omitted in this account of their weapons of hostility, for such, I fear, some of our miserable straggling convicts have found it to their cost, though it generally is applied to more peaceful purposes. This is the Mo-go*, or stone-hatchet. The stone is found in the shallows at the upper part of the Hawkesbury, and a handle being fixed round the head of it with gum, the under part is brought by friction to an edge fine enough to divide the bark of such trees as they take their canoes or hunters huts from, and even the shields which are cut from the body of the tree itself. There is no doubt of their readily applying this as a weapon, when no other offers to their necessities.

[* A representation of this and other instruments is given in plate 11.]

It must be observed, that the principal tribes have their peculiar weapons. Most of us had made collections of their spears, throwing-sticks, etc. as opportunities occurred; and on showing them to our Sydney friends, they have told us that such a one was used by the people who lived to the southward of Botany Bay; that another belonged to the tribe of Cam-mer-ray. The spear of the wood tribes, Be-dia-gal, Tu-ga-gal, and Boo-roo-bir-rong-gal, were known from being armed with bits of stone, instead of broken oyster-shells. The lines worn round the waist by the men belonged to a peculiar tribe, and came into the hands of others either by gift or plunder. The nets used by the people of the coast for carrying their fish, lines, etc differed in the mesh from those used by the wood natives; and they extend this peculiarity even to their dances, their songs, and their dialect.

Among other customs which these people invariably practise, is one that is highly deserving of notice, as it carries with it some idea of retributive justice.

The shedding of blood is always followed by punishment, the party offending being compelled to expose his person to the spears of all who choose to throw at him; for in these punishments the ties of consanguinity or friendship are of no avail. On the death of a person, whether male or female, old or young, the friends of the deceased must be punished, as if the death were occasioned by their neglect. This is sometimes carried farther than there seems occasion for, or than can be reconcilable with humanity.

After the murder of Yel-lo-way by Wat-te-wall his widow Noo-roo-ing being obliged, according to the custom of her country, to avenge her husband's death on some of the relations of the murderer, meeting with a little girl named Go-nang-goo-lie, who was some way related to Wat-te-wal, walked with her and two other girls to a retired place, where with a club and a pointed stone they beat her so cruelly, that she was brought into the town almost dead. In the head were six or seven deep incisions, and one ear was divided to the bone, which, from the nature of the instrument with which they beat her, was much injured. This poor child was in a very dangerous way, and died in a few days afterwards. The natives to whom this circumstance was mentioned expressed little or no concern at it, but seemed to think it right, necessary, and inevitable; and we understood that whenever women have occasion for this sanguinary revenge, they never exercise it but on their own sex, not daring to strike a male. Noo-roo-ing, perceiving that her treatment of Go-nang-goo-lie did not meet our approbation, denied having beaten her, and said it was the other girls; but such men as we conversed with on the subject assured us it was Noo-roo-ing, and added, that she had done no more than what custom obliged her to. The little victim of her revenge was, from her quiet tractable manners, much beloved in the town; and what is a singular trait of the inhumanity of this proceeding, she had every day since Yel-loway's death requested that Noo-roo-ing might be fed at the officer's hut, where she herself resided. Savage indeed must be the custom and the feelings which could arm the hand against this child's life! Her death was not avenged, perhaps because they considered it as an expiatory sacrifice.

Wat-te-wal, who committed the crime for which this little girl suffered so cruelly, escaped unhurt from the spears of Bennillong, Cole-be, and several other natives, and was afterwards received by them as usual, and actually lived with this very woman for some time, till he was killed in the night by Cole-be, as before related.

This Wat-te-wal was in great union with Bennillong, who twice denied his having committed offences which he knew would forfeit our favour. In this last instance Bennillong betrayed more duplicity than we had given him credit for. On asking him with some earnestness if Wat-te-wal had killed Yel-loway, he assured us with much confidence that it was not Wat-te-wal who had killed him, but We-re-mur-rah. Little did we suspect that our friend had availed himself of a circumstance which he knew we were unacquainted with, that Wat-te-wal had more than one name. By giving us the second, he saved his friend, and knew that he could at all times boldly maintain that he had not concealed his name from us, We-re-murrah being as much his name as Wat-te-wal, though we had never known him by it. On apprising him some time afterwards, that we had discovered his artifice, and that it was a meanness we did not expect from him, he only laughed and went away.

The violent death of Yel-lo-way we have seen followed by a cruel proceeding, which terminated in the death of the murderer's relation, Go-nang-goolie. I shall now show what followed where the person died a natural death.

Bone-da, a very fine youth, who lived at my house for several months, died of a cold, which, settling in his face, terminated in a mortification of his upper and lower jaws, and carried him off. We were told that some blood must be spilt on this occasion; but six weeks elapsed before we heard of any thing having happened in consequence of his decease. About that time having passed, however, we heard that a large party of natives belonging to different tribes, being assembled at Pan-ner-rong* (or, as it is named with us, Rose Bay), the spot which they had often chosen for shedding blood, after dancing and feasting over-night, early in the morning, Mo-roo-ber-ra, the brother, and Cole-be, another relation of Bone-da, seized upon a lad named Tar-ra-bil-long, and with a club each gave him a wound in his head, which laid the skull bare. Dar-ring-ha, the sister of Bone-da, had her share in the bloody rite, and pushed at the unoffending boy with a doo-ull or short spear. He was brought into the town and placed at the hospital, and, though the surgeon pronounced from the nature of his wounds that his recovery was rather doubtful, he was seen walking about the day following. On being spoke to about the business, he said he did not weep or cry out like a boy, but like a man cried Ki-yah when they struck him; that the persons who treated him in this unfriendly manner were no longer his enemies, but would eat or drink or sit with him as friends

[* Pan-ner-rong in the language of the country signifies Blood.]

Three or four days after this, Go-roo-bine, a grey-headed man, apparently upwards of sixty years of age, who was related to Bone-da, came in with a severe wound on the back part of his head, given him on account of the boy's decease; neither youth nor old age appearing to be exempted from those sanguinary customs.

When Ba-rang-a-roo, Bennillong's wife, died, several spears were thrown by the men at each other, by which many were wounded; and Bennillong had a severe contest with Wil-le-mer-ring, whom he wounded in the thigh. He had sent for him as a car-rah-dy to attend her when she was ill; but he either could not or would not obey the summons. Bennillong had chosen the time for celebrating these funeral games in honour of his deceased wife when a whale feast had assembled a large number of natives together, among whom were several people from the northward, who spoke a dialect very different to that with which we were acquainted.

Some officers happening once to be present in the lower part of the harbour when a child died, perceived the men immediately retire, and throw their spears at one another with much apparent anger, while the females began their usual lamentations.

When Dil-boong, Bennillong's infant child, died, several spears were thrown, and Bennillong, at the decease of her mother, said repeatedly, that he should not be satisfied until he had sacrificed some one to her _manes_.

Ye-ra-ni-be Go-ru-ey having beaten a young woman, the wife of another man, and she having some time after exchanged a perilous and troublesome life for the repose and quiet of the grave, a contest ensued some days after, on account of her decease, between Bennillong and Go-ru-ey, and between the husband and Go-ru-ey, by both of whom he was wounded. Bennillong drove a spear into his knee, and the husband another into his left buttock. This wound he must have received by failing to catch the spear on his shield, and turning his body to let it pass beside him; other spears were thrown, but he alone appeared to be the victim of the day. Signifying a wish to have his wounds dressed by the surgeon, he was in the evening actually brought up to the hospital by the very man who had wounded him.

The bay named Pan-ner-rong was the scene of this extraordinary transaction.

Not a long time before I left the country, I witnessed another contest among them, which was attended with some degree of ceremony. The circumstance was this. A native of the Botany Bay district, named Collindiun, having taken off by force Go-roo-boo-roo-bal-lo, the former wife of Bennillong, but now the wife of Car-ru-ey, and carried her up the harbour, Car-ru-ey with his relation Cole-be, in revenge, stole upon this Collindiun one night while he lay asleep, and each fixed a spear in him. The wounds, though deep and severe, yet did not prove mortal, and on his recovery he demanded satisfaction. He came accompanied by a large party of natives from the south shore of Botany Bay, and rather reluctantly, for he had wished the business to be decided there, rather than among Car-ru-ey's friends, as many of his associates in arms were entire strangers to us. Thirsting after revenge, however, he was prevailed with to meet him on his own ground, and the Yoo-lahng formerly used for a different purpose was the place of rendezvous.

At night they all danced, that is to say, both parties, but not mixed together; one side waiting until the other had concluded their dance. In the manner of dancing, of announcing themselves as ready to begin, and also in their song, there was an evident difference.

Our friends appeared to have some apprehension of the event not proving favourable to them; for perceiving an officer there with a gun, Car-ru-ey strenuously urged him, if any thing should happen to him, to shoot the Botany Bay black fellows. The women, to induce us to comply with his request, told us that some of the opposite party had said they would kill Car-ru-ey. Some other guns making their appearance, the strangers were alarmed and uneasy, until assured that they were intended merely for our own security.

The time for this business was just after ten in the forenoon. We found Car-ru-ey and Cole-be seated at one end of the Yoo-lahng, each armed with a spear and throwing-stick, and provided with a shield. Here they were obliged to sit until some one of their opponents got up; they also then arose and put themselves _en garde_. Some of the spears which were thrown at them they picked up and threw back; and others they returned with extraordinary violence.

The affair was over before two o'clock; and, what was remarkable, we did not hear of any person being wounded. We understood, however, that this circumstance was to produce another meeting.

In this as in all the contests I ever witnessed among them, the point of honour was rigidly observed. But spears were not the only instruments of warfare on these occasions. They had also to combat with words, in which the women sometimes bore a part. During this latter engagement I have seen them, when any very offensive word met their ears, suddenly place themselves in the attitude of throwing the spear, and at times let it drop on the ground without discharging; and others threw it with all their strength; but always scrupulously observing the situation of the person opposed, and never throwing at him until he covered himself with his shield. The most unaccountable trait in this business was, the party thrown at providing his enemy with weapons; for they have been repeatedly seen, when a spear has flown harmless beyond them, to pick it up and fling it carelessly back to their adversary. This might proceed from contempt, or from there being a scarcity of spears; and I have thought that when, instead of flinging it carelessly back, they have thrown it with much violence, it was because it had been thrown at them with a greater visible degree of malevolence than the others.

This rigid attention to the point of honour, when fairly opposed to each other, is difficult to reconcile with their treacherous and midnight murders.

Their mode of retaliating an insult or injury was extraordinary. Children, if when at play they received a blow or a push, resented it by a blow or a push of equal force to that which they felt. This retaliating spirit appeared also among the men, of a remarkable instance of which several of us were witnesses. A native of the name of Bur-ro-wan-nie had some time before been beaten by two natives of the tribe of Gwe-a, at the head of Botany Bay. One of these being fixed on, he was in return to be beaten by Bur-ro-wan-nie. For this purpose a large party attended over-night at the head of the stream near the settlement to dance; at which exercise they continued from nine till past twelve o'clock. The man who was to be beaten danced with the rest until they ceased, and then laid himself down among them to sleep. Early in the morning, while he was yet on the ground, and apparently asleep at the foot of a tree, Cole-be and Bur-ro-wan-me, armed each with a spear and a club, rushed upon him from among some trees. Cole-be made a push at him with his spear, but did not touch him, while the other, Bur-ro-wan-me, struck him with his club two severe blows on the hinder part of the head. The noise they made, if he was alseep, awaked him; and when he was struck, he was on his legs. He was perfectly unarmed, and hung his head in silence while Cole-be and his companion talked to him. No more blows were given, and Bennillong, who was present, wiped the blood from the wounds with some grass. As a proof that Bur-ro-wan-nie was satisfied with the redress he had taken, we saw him afterwards walking in the town with the object of his resentment, who, on being asked, said Bur-ro-ween-nie was good; and during the whole of the day, wheresoever he was seen, there also was this poor wretch with his breast and back covered with dried blood; for, according to the constant practice of his countrymen, he had not washed it off. In the evening I saw him with a ligature fastened very tight round his head, which certainly required something to alleviate the pain it must have endured.

In some of these contests they have been seen on the field of battle attended by a person who appeared to be the friend of both parties. In a single combat which Mo-roo-ber-ra had with Bennillong, they were attended by Cole-be, who took a position on one side about half-way between them, armed with a spear and throwing-stick, but unprovided with a shield. This I saw he frequently shook, and talked a great deal, but never threw it. While in this situation he was styled Ca-bah-my.

I had long wished to be a witness of a family party, in which I hoped and expected to see them divested of that restraint which perhaps they might put on in our houses. I was one day gratified in this wish when I little expected it. Having strolled down to the Point named Too-bow-gu-lie, I saw the sister and the young wife of Bennillong coming round the Point in the new canoe which the husband had cut in his last excursion to Parramatta. They had been out to procure fish, and were keeping time with their paddles, responsive to the words of a song, in which they joined with much good humour and harmony. They were almost immediately joined by Bennillong, who had his sister's child on his shoulders. The canoe was hauled on shore, and what fish they had caught the women brought up. I observed that the women seated themselves at some little distance from Bennillong, and then the group was thus disposed of--the husband was seated on a rock, preparing to dress and eat the fish he had just received. On the same rock lay his pretty sister War-re-weer asleep in the sun, with a new born infant in her arms; and at some little distance were seated, rather below him, his other sister and his wife, the wife opening and eating some rock-oysters, and the sister suckling her child, Kah-dier-rang, whom she had taken from Bennillong. I cannot omit mentioning the unaffected simplicity of the wife: immediately on her stepping out of her canoe, she gave way to the pressure of a certain necessity, without betraying any of that reserve which would have led another at least behind the adjoining bush. She blushed not, for the cheek of Go-roo-bar-roo-bool-lo was the cheek of rude nature, and not made for blushes. I remained with them till the whole party fell asleep.

They have great difficulty in procuring fire, and are therefore seldom seen without it. Bennillong, or some other native, once showed me the process of procuring it. It is attended with infinite labour, and is performed by fixing the pointed end of a cylindrical piece of wood into a hollow made in a plane: the operator twirling the round piece swiftly between both his hands, sliding them up and down until fatigued, at which time he is relieved by another of his companions, who are all seated for this purpose in a circle, and each one takes his turn until fire is procured.

Most of their instruments are ornamented with rude carved-work, effected with a piece of broken shell, and on the rocks I have seen various figures of fish, clubs, swords, animals, and even branches of trees, not contemptibly represented.