a fierce and hostile spirit, still, on the other, it must be observed that they are capable of the more noble feelings of pity and compassion. This is called forth by a dangerous wound. . . . ."
In a pamphlet entitled Remarks on the probable Origin and Antiquity of the Aboriginal Natives of New South Wales, by a Colonial Magistrate, is a paragraph to the following effect:—"The only remarkable custom (differing from other savages) in their fighting expeditions is the adoption of the custom commanded to the Israelites on going out to war. [Deuteronomy, ch. xxiii., v. 12 to 14.] The natives believe that if the enemy discovered it they would burn it in the fire, and thus ensure their collective destruction, or that individually they would pine away and die."
In some parts of Australia the natives sent by a tribe to convey a challenge carry with them spears, decorated with the feathers of the emu;[1] and the warriors, when they prepare for battle, use various colors for painting their bodies. The colors, it is believed, are not selected at will by any of the warriors, but are chosen, according to well-known rules, to suit the occasion. The mode of painting, and the lines and figures depicted, are, however, left to the taste of the men. That they are sufficiently hideous, when arrayed for the fight, is agreed by all who have witnessed an engagement.
It cannot be denied that the natives of Australia exhibit all the worst features of savages on some occasions. They cut off the heads of enemies slain in battle, and otherwise mutilate them; and when a man is killed for having caused, as they believe, the death of a member of their tribe, they take out the kidney-fat and anoint their bodies with it.[2] They rub themselves with the fat, it is said, that they may thereby acquire the strength and courage that formerly belonged to the slain man. They do not always wait for the death of the individual before resorting to this disgusting practice. A man, disabled by the blow of a club, is immediately seized upon, his body cut open, and his kidney-fat abstracted. Sometimes the miserable victim, on recovering consciousness, sees the conqueror anointing himself. A very strong man, of good constitution, will, in case the knife has been used skilfully, survive this operation for a day or two, enduring frightful agonies, and knowing well that a speedy death is certain. Neither doctor nor dreamer can help him, and his only consoling thought is that his death will be amply avenged. This subject is mentioned in another part of this work.—(See "Marmbul.")
- ↑ Mr. Samuel Gason, writing of the Dieyerie tribe (Cooper's Creek), lat. 28° S., says, that when there is a misunderstanding between two tribes, the women of one are sent to the other as ambassadors to arrange the dispute, which they invariably succeed in doing, when women from the other return the visit to testify their approval of the treaty arrived at. The reason women are appointed in this capacity is that they are free from danger, while, should the men go, their lives would be in peril.
- ↑ "They take a man's kidneys out after death, tie them up in something, and carry them round the neck as a sort of protection and valuable charm, for either good or evil."—Life and Adventures of William Buckley, p. 77.
The practice of carrying portions of the bodies of deceased relatives is elsewhere referred to. Buckley was either not acquainted with the revolting practice described in the text or suppressed the facts.
