summer is very plentiful. In a wild state, a black did very little more, I think, than attend to the wants of his stomach. In summer his nights would be spent in getting eels or other fish, as at night they can he more easily taken. He would go into the shallow water with a torch and a spear; the fish would be attracted by the light, and they would fall an easy prey to the spear. The natives are very skilful with the spear, seldom missing their stroke, but they use great caution in striking at the fish. The day was spent by the men in idleness, and in sleeping and eating. The women made bags of grass for themselves or their husbands, and sometimes, if a man could rouse himself, he would get up from his rug and employ himself in making a spear or some other instrument of use, and towards evening the torches would have to be made for the night's fishing. In winter the greater part of the time was occupied in hunting native bears, kangaroo, etc. The long nights would be passed, if in good humour, in joking; their great delight would be to hit off the peculiarities of some absent member of the tribe, or of some dead black who was no relation of any black present. If not in a good humour, they would find some grievance to redress; or perhaps some refractory young man would rush into a camp to seize one of the young women, in order to give the parents a hint that that particular female ought to be given to him. This would cause a general fight, and the young man would get a good thrashing, and then, perhaps, the tribe, smitten with remorse for their conduct, would make atonement by giving up the lady to him. In spring their time was devoted to fishing, as the fish then begin to be plentiful. The autumn was spent in visiting other tribes and getting up new corrobborees. Their food during this season was various, chiefly opossums, bears, kangaroo, &c.
"As to their shelter—in summer, in their temporary camps, a few boughs would suffice, as the nights were warm, and indeed, as they occupied themselves at night in fishing, they did not require much shelter. In case of wet they made a grass camp. In winter the camp was more substantial, as they remained longer in one locality at that season. It was thatched with grass or made of sheets of bark. In spring, as well as in summer, they lived much on vegetables and fruits.
"In summer they fished mostly on the coast, or at the mouths of the rivers which run into the sea, as at this season the fish were either going to or returning from the sea. In winter they would more likely procure fish in the rivers with grass nets, and often with hooks of bone with a line made of the bark of the Yowan or lightwood. I believe they found the bone-hook as good for fishing as the hooks supplied by Europeans, though no doubt it would be very troublesome to make it, as it had to be scraped out with flint and shells. The time when they had most wild-fowl was and still is in the spring, when the birds are moulting. At this season they kill swans in large numbers. The wild-fowls they get principally are swans and ducks.[1]
"I believe in their wild state the Aboriginals had more system, or worked more by a plan, than at present. As they had only themselves to rely upon,
- ↑ The vegetable productions eaten by the natives are described in another part of this work.
