The Aborigines of Victoria/Volume 1/Chapter 15
Implements and Manufactures.
The bags, the baskets, the wooden vessels for holding water, and the tools used by the natives, are few in number, but they are sufficient for their wants.
They have made good use of the raw materials within their reach; and, whether dealing with wood or bark, or with the bones, skins, or sinews of animals, they have exhibited ingenuity, and produced work as excellent as it possibly could be uuder the circumstances in which they labored.
In the descriptions which follow, the reader will discover much information quite new even to those who have lived amongst the Aborigines for many years, and who are well acquainted with their furniture and utensils. I have not relied on my own observations. I have sought to gain information from settlers in various parts of Australia; and though I have used all means available to me in collecting facts for this very interesting branch of my work, I cannot believe that I have secured everything that is known respecting the implements of the natives.
The tool with which weapons are carved—Leange-walert—was discovered by accident; and I know not how many other tools of the like kind, or dissimilar, may be in use amongst the tribes in the interior.
That the natives were ready at all times to devise sure means for the capture of animals, and for cooking them, and for entrapping their enemies or killing them, may be accepted as proofs that they are not deficient in invention or energy. The skill exhibited in their works is imperfectly shown in the figures and descriptions in this work.
It was not known until lately that the natives were in the habit of communicating with far-distant friends by means of message-sticks, on which are carved figures and marks sufficiently clear to convey information relative to important occurrences. The picture-writing in use amongst this people, rude as it is, is of the highest interest, and all that relates to it will be studied by ethnologists perhaps more carefully than anything else in this work.
I was glad to receive from the Honorable Mr. Barlee, the Colonial Secretary in Western Australia, sticks on which messages are written—thus confirming other statements made respecting this method of transmitting intelligence.
Bags and Baskets.
The native females use a great many kinds of bags and baskets. They carry all their little treasures in the large bags when they are travelling. Fig. 153 shows a large bag or basket, made of the leaves of the common reed (Phragmites communis) which grows abundantly on the banks of the Rivers Yarra and Goulburn. The material is twisted into a rope, and arranged in loops, as shown in Fig. 154.
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| FIG. 153.—(Scale .) |
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| FIG. 154.—(Scale ⅓.) |
The above figure is drawn from a bag presented to the late Mr. A. F. A. Greeves, in 1840, by Mary, the wife of Benbow, at that time the principal man of the Yarra tribe. I have never seen a bag or basket resembling this in use, but it was common amongst the Aborigines of the Yarra and Goulburn prior to the arrival of the whites. Though it is now old, it is yet a strong and useful bag, the material of which it is made being durable; and it is well and neatly put together.
The net-bag—Bel-ang or Pel-ling—(Fig. 155)—is made of the fibre obtained from bark, or of the hair of the native cat or opossum, and it is of all sizes. Some are no larger than a purse, and others almost like fishing-nets. The fancies or necessities of the women determine the size of the bag. When the fur is picked off the opossum or native cat, the woman sits down and works it into twine by rubbing it with her hand on the inside of the thigh. The bags are very strong and durable. Fig. 156 shows the arrangement of the loops.
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| FIG. 155.–(Scale ⅓.) | FIG. 156.–(Size of the original.) |
The Rev. Mr. Bulmer says that the bag (Ba-thung) used by the women of Gippsland for carrying their property is sometimes made of grass, and not seldom of the fibre of the stringybark.
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| FIG. 157. |
A bag—Bee-lang—used by the natives of the Yarra is shown in Fig. 157. It is thirteen inches in length, and four inches in depth, when not extended. It is elastic, and would contain a great quantity of goods if necessary. The twine of which it is composed is made of the fibre of the bark of a eucalypt {Eucalyptus obliqua). It is strong and well twisted. The mode of construction from the top downwards, is shown in the figure. The string for carrying it is very strong. The woman has not only twisted the cord well and stoutly, but has wrapped around it very closely a fine fibre, so as to give additional strength and security.
This bag seems to have been designed for carrying small articles, and must have been attached to some belt at the side, or carried in the hand. The string is too short to allow of its being passed over the head.
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| FIG. 158. |
A flat basket—Fig. 158—formerly in common use amongst the natives of the southern parts of Australia, if not elsewhere, is now rarely seen. It is beautifully woven, very strong, and made in such a form as to be conveniently carried either on the back or on the breast. The size of the basket varies according to the requirements of the maker. Some for young people who have few worldly possessions are small; others in my collection, probably for the use of those who had more wealth in bone-awls and the like, are larger. The flags or grasses of which it is made are variously colored, and advantage is taken of this to give some sort of pattern to the work. Eyre says that in one part of South Australia this basket is called Pool-la-da-noo-ko.
The basket Bin-nuk, Been-ak, or Bo-ut, is of various sizes; and, in selecting the material to make it, due regard is had to the purpose for which it is required. Some are large and strong, in which the women can carry a child; and others quite small, only sufficient to hold their bone-needles, hair, necklaces, and the like. Some are made of a kind of flag—Kur-ra-wan—which is split by the nail and made fit for weaving, and others of Poa Australis and Xerotes longifolia.
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| FIG. 159. |
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| FIG. 160. |
The large baskets are provided with handles, sometimes made of grass or the fibre of the stringybark, so as to admit of their being slung over the back; but the small baskets are not made with handles. Fig. 159 shows a basket made of a kind of flag by a woman of a tribe in Gippsland. The manner in which each row of leaves is fastened to the one above and below is shown in Fig. 160, which represents a portion of three rows of the size of the specimen. The connecting ribbon fastening one row to the other forms a series of loops on the upper surface of each row through which the fastenings of the row above are passed. In addition, there are loops each passing round two of the rows in a pattern up and down the basket, which serve to give greater strength. This basket is nine inches in height, and the diameter at the top is seven inches and a half.
The grass baskets used by the natives of Gippsland are called Minni-gnal-ak. The patterns vary little amongst the natives of Victoria, and that shown in the figure is a fair specimen of their art in basket-weaving. The small baskets are usually carried by the woman in the large Bin-nuk.
It is not easy now to get baskets of the pattern which prevailed before the introduction of European arts. Those made by the women at Coranderrk are of all shapes and sizes, invariably provided with handles, and made for sale, and with a view to meet the wants of the whites who purchase them.
Dr. Gummow has sent me a beautiful basket (Mid-jerr) from the Lower Murray, which is used for carrying the eggs of the Lowan (Mallee hen). Accompanying the basket is a specimen of the fibre (Widging-nee) of which it is made—a sort of carex, Dr. Gummow thinks.
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| (Scale .) FIG. 161. |
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| FIG. 162. |
Mr. John McDonnell, of Brisbane, in Queensland, has forwarded drawings and descriptions of several weapons and implements from Rockingham Bay. Amongst these is a wicker-work bottle or basket (Fig. 162), finely wrought, and ornamented with perpendicular streaks of red and yellow. It is thirteen inches in height, and twenty-five inches in circumference at the widest part. It has a cord handle.
Water Vessels.
The vessels used for holding and carrying water by the Aborigines of Victoria were commonly made of the gnarls of gum-trees, or of the bark covering the gnarls, or of a portion of the limb of some tree. The large tub—Tarnuk bullito or Tarnuk bullarto—was either a hollowed log or a large gnarl hollowed by fire and gouging.
The large tub nearly in the centre of the Fig. 163 is the Tarnuk bullito. It is a large hollowed gnarl. The marks of the fire which was kindled in it to burn out the interior are still clearly perceptible, though it has been hacked and gouged for the purpose of increasing the capacity. It is a very heavy vessel. This is rather an unusual form of the Tarnuk. Such vessels were ordinarily made of the naturally bent limb of a tree, or of an uprooted tree. The limb or tree was placed in a hollow excavated in the ground, and a large cavity was formed in it by burning and gouging. The Tarnuk bullito was not carried from camp to camp. It was too heavy for carriage, and one could always be made at each camping ground, if the old one left by the tribe on the last visit was decayed or damaged.
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| FIG. 163. |
The Tarnuk bullito was used for pounding and macerating the blossoms of the honeysuckle and box, from which a beverage was obtained—sweet—somewhat like sugar and water, but with a flavor of its own. When it was difficult to get a limb of a tree, or a tree suitable for a Tarnuk bullito, the natives cut a thick piece of bark from off the curved limb of a gum-tree, heated it in ashes, and bent it so as nearly to resemble the shape of a canoe, and stopped the ends with clay. This was a temporary expedient most often resorted to on hurried journeys. The bark of the Eucalyptus viminalis was preferred for the purpose.
The two buckets—one with a string for carrying it—on the left-hand side of the figure, and the other on the right—are the Tarnuk proper. This vessel was used for carrying water from place to place when journeying, and for keeping water in when encamped. The women always carry these buckets, and fill them with fresh water when they reach a creek or water-hole. They are indispensable to a tribe that is wandering through forests or over plains where water may not be met with at every place of encampment.
The Tarnuk in all the specimens I have seen is the hollowed gnarl of a gum-tree. Unlike the Tarnuk bullito, however, it is made very thin, and the interior is smooth. It was smoothed, no doubt, by laborious scraping. It is light, and, even when full of water, would not be a very heavy burden. The bark covering the gnarl, but most often the layer of wood next to the bark, was used for these vessels. Those made of such wood are, I believe, the lightest, as they are certainly the best. The twine for carrying the vessel was made of the fibre of the stringybark or some other vegetable fibre, and was passed through holes pierced on each side of the Tarnuk.
The shoe-shaped vessel shown in the figure in the foreground was used as a drinking vessel—the water being taken either out of the Tarnuk or out of a creek. It is called No-been-tarno by the natives of the Yarra.
The specimen in my possession is made of the limb of a tree—the larger part being that which sprang from the parent stem. The pointed part or tongue was evidently used as a handle. It will hold about two pints of water. It is roughly made, and, though very old, is yet serviceable.
The gnarled tree shown in the drawing is not an unfair representation of the mode of growth of some of the eucalypti, and it was from such knobs and gnarls as are there depicted that the natives found materials for the Tarnuks.
On the River Powlett, in Gippslaud, and elsewhere, the gnarled trees are seen stripped of their bark, and the larger excrescences have been cut off with the stone tomahawk for the purpose of making water vessels.
In some parts of Victoria and in central Australia the natives use the skins of animals for carrying water. The skin of the native cat is preferred. It is taken off with the greatest care, the incision and the skin which covered the feet, &c., are carefully sewn up and made water-tight, and the neck is left open. This vessel is carried with a string, formed into a loop and passed over the head, the skin of water hanging at the back.
These vessels resemble the water-skins used by the ancient Egyptians.[1]
"Among many of the tribes may be seen a strange sort of ornament or rather utensil—namely, a drinking cup made of a human skull. It is slung on cords and carried by them, and the owner takes it wherever he or she goes. These ghastly utensils are made from the skulls of the nearest and dearest relatives; and when an Australian mother dies, it is thought right that her daughter should form the skull of her mother into a drinking vessel. The preparation is simple enough. The lower-jaw is removed, the brains are extracted, and the whole of the skull thoroughly cleaned. A rope handle, made of bulrush fibre, is then attached to it, and it is considered fit for use. It is filled with water through the vertebral aperture, into which a wisp of grass is always stuffed, so as to prevent the water from being spilled."[2]
Eyre refers to the use of skulls as drinking cups. The sutures are closed with wax or gum.
The vessel used by the natives of Gippsland for holding water for domestic purposes is made of bark, and the ends are tied exactly in the same way as they tie the ends of a canoe. This vessel is called Gil-ang. The Murray blacks use a vessel of wood like the Tarnuk proper, and the name they give it is Karr-a-ki.
Mr. Nathaniel Munro says that in some parts shells are used for drinking vessels, where they can be procured large enough for the purpose; but vessels for holding water are generally made of green bark. Pieces are cut into various shapes, laid on the fire or in hot ashes until they are soft and the edges begin to contract, and then they are easily wrought into the forms desired by the natives. When the bark is heated, it can be drawn into many shapes without breaking it or causing it to crack.
The Mussel-shell.
The mussel-shell—U-born—is much used by the natives for the purpose of scraping and preparing skins for bags, opossum rugs, &c. It is a valuable tool. It is used ordinarily as it is taken from the living animal; but if a favorite and well-shaped shell becomes a little blunted by use, it is sharpened with a stone. When the whites introduced their manufactures, the natives eagerly seized on the worn-out iron spoons, which they found near their huts, and converted the bowls into tools which served them better for scraping skins than the mussel; but some of the old blacks even now use the mussel.
Leange-walert.
The tool with which the natives used to ornament their wooden shields and other weapons is called Leange-walert. The lower-jaw of the opossum is firmly attached to a piece of wood (which serves as a handle) by twine made of the fibre of the bark of Eucalyptus obliqua and gum. This tool, simple as it is, enables the black to carve patterns in the hard, tough woods of which his weapons are made with ease and rapidity. The front tooth is like a gouge or chisel, and with it he scoops or cuts out the wood with great facility. The old weapons are easily known by the marks made by the tooth; those fabricated since the introduction of knives and other European tools are altogether different in the surfaces which they present, though the patterns may be the same. The instrument shown in Fig. 164 was made by Wonga, the principal man of the Yarra tribe, and was used by him in ornamenting weapons.
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| FIG. 164. |
Min-der-min, etc.
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| FIG. 165. (Actual Size.) |
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| FIG. 166. (Actual Size.) |
The awls or nails (Fig. 165) used by the Aborigines for fastening the skins of animals to bark or wood when they are put out to dry in the sun are of various sizes. Those used for pegging down a large skin are long, and those for the skins of the opossum, native cat, &c., much smaller. They are usually made of the leg-bones of animals. Those made of bone are smoothed, polished, and brought to a fine point. They fashion nails or pegs also of hard wood, the points being made still harder by subjecting them to fire. The native name for nail is Min-der-min or Min-dah-min. The late Mr. Thomas collected a number of the bone-nails. Those used in Victoria are similar to the nails in use in Queensland. The basket lent to me by the late Mr. Matthew Hervey, which was dropped by a woman of the Burdekin tribe, contained amongst other things what appeared to be a hussy. I found in it six bone-awls, one wooden awl or nail, and three pieces of bone shaped like a spatula.—(See Fig. 166.) The bone awls or nails were used to pierce holes in the skins of which, when sewn together, they make rugs, and the spatula-like instrument perhaps for flattening and smoothing the seams. The hussy was a piece of opossum skin tied together with twine spun from the fur of the opossum, and again fastened securely with stronger twine made of some fibre. It contained also two relics—tufts of hair, tied with twine of opossum fur.
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| FIG. 167. (Actual Size.) |
Fig. 167 shows the lancet used by the natives. It is a spine taken from the hinder part of the porcupine (Echidna hystrix). It is strong, tough, and very sharp. I have a number of these spines. They are slightly flexible, and, though many years old, are now quite fit for use. They were used for bleeding and for extracting thorns, pieces of spear-points, and the like. The specimen here figured was at once identified by Professor McCoy, to whom I submitted it for examination.
Kan-nan
The stick used by native women (Fig. 168) is about seven feet in length, from one and a half to two and a half inches in diameter, and seldom less than three or four pounds in weight. It is named Kan-nan or Kon-nung. Saplings of any suitable tree furnishing a tough wood are used for making these instruments.
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| FIG. 168. |
Nerum.
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| FIG. 169. |
The noose used for strangling an enemy—Nerum—(Fig. 169)—consists of a needle about six inches and a half in length, made of the fibula of the kangaroo, and a rope two feet six inches in length. The cord is formed of twine of seven strands, which are five feet in length. The strands are doubled and twisted so as to form a loose rope of fourteen strands. One end of the rope is securely fastened to the head of the fibula by sinews (taken from the tail of the kangaroo), and the other end is made into a loop also securely bound by sinews. The loose rope is elastic and very strong. The fibre of which the rope is composed is similar to that obtained by pounding and washing the roots of the bulrush; but a suitable material may be got also from the bark of theEucalyptus obliqua. It is well and thoroughly twisted. The Aboriginal carrying this noose tracks his enemy to his miam; and having marked the spot where he has gone to sleep, he approaches him stealthily, slides the bone under his neck, puts it through the loop, and quickly draws it tight, so as to prevent him from uttering the slightest sound. He then throws the body with a jerk over his shoulder, and carries it to some secluded spot where he can take securely and at his ease the kidney-fat.
Weet-weet.
The plaything (Fig. 170) called by the natives of the Yarra Wi-tch-wi-tch, We-a-witcht, Weet-weet, or Wa-voit, is one of the most extraordinary instruments used by savages, and in some respects is almost as interesting as the boomerang. The head—in shape like two cones placed base to base—is about four inches and a half in length and one inch in diameter; and the stem, not quite two-tenths of an inch in diameter, is about twenty-one inches in length. The whole length of the instrument varies in different specimens from twenty-three inches to twenty-six inches. Those I have seen are from twenty-four to twenty-six inches. The best—and only the best were used in olden times—resemble that shown in the figure. The knob and handle are of one piece; but not infrequently it is found convenient to fix a knob of hard, heavy wood to a suitable handle by splitting one end of the handle, and fastening it with gum and sinews to the knob. They are often broken when the thrower misses his aim; but it is easy to repair one by joining the handle to the knob with sinews and gum; and an instrument so made behaves nearly as well as one carved out of a solid piece of wood. The handle is very flexible. The weight of the toy is less than two ounces.
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| FIG. 170. |
I had an opportunity of seeing this missile used when I visited the Aboriginal Station at Coranderrk, on the 15th January 1873. I had previously been making enquiries respecting the Weet-weet, and had asked one of the Aborigines to make me one; and as soon as the men saw the toy, the game of Weet-weet became once more popular, and several of them were provided with the instrument when I visited them. The game began in this manner: The throwers, each holding one or more of these toys in their hands, stood in a group near a small rise or hillock in the grassy ground in front of the school-house. They threw in turn, and carefully noted where each instrument fell. The manner of throwing the toy was very curious and interesting. The native, having carefully looked at the hillock, walked about six or eight yards from it, and then turned his back towards it. In the hollow of the palm of his right hand he placed the thin end of the Weet-weet, grasping it lightly with the thumb and first and second fingers, and slightly doubling inwards the third and fourth, and then held it horizontally, nearly level with his forehead, very tenderly holding the tip of the head between the finger and thumb of the left hand. In this attitude he stood a second or two, and suddenly running backwards a few steps, violently wheeled round, and with extraordinry force threw the instrument downwards towards the hillock. The cone, touching the grassy mound, glanced off, and flew to a great distance, hitting the ground and again glancing off until its flight was stopped by some impediment. All the men were greatly excited, and, one after another, threw the Weet-weet. It is not easy to describe the mode in which it is thrown, but from Tommy Farmer, who attempted to teach me the use of the instrument, I learnt that it was by a kind of jerk just at the moment of leaving the hand that the best effect was produced. It is of course thrown underhand. Tommy Farmer was by far the most expert in throwing the Weet-weet, and he sent one so great a distance that I determined to ascertain by measurement how far he had thrown it. Mr. John Green assisted me in doing this, and we found that he had thrown it 220 yards. We were of opinion that if its flight had not been checked by some rank fern and underwood which it struck, it would have gone much further. Many of the other men threw it easily 100, 150, and 190 yards. Its flight is so rapid that the eye cannot always follow it. It is a highly exciting and interesting game, but it is one that is not altogether free from danger. On one occasion, as I was informed, a person sitting carelessly too near the line of flight of the toys was struck by one, which pierced his thigh, and inflicted a dangerous wound. If the missile hit the softer parts of the body, it would penetrate deeply, and undoubtedly cause death. As well as I could ascertain, it is never used in battle.
In olden times this game was frequently played. The players stood in a row, and he who could throw the Weet-weet the greatest distance was accounted the winner.
It is singular that so simple an instrument is not known and used amongst the young persons of civilized nations. It has been a plaything of the natives of Victoria probably for ages, and they may claim to have discovered the best form of projectile long before any knowledge of the principles involved in its construction dawned upon the minds of scientific men in Europe.
The Rev. J. G. Wood thus describes the peculiarities of this missile:—"The 'Kangaroo-rat' is a piece of hard wood shaped like a double cone, and having a long flexible handle projecting from one of the points. The handle is about a yard in length, and as thick as an artist's drawing pencil, and at a little distance the weapon looks like a huge tadpole with a much elongated tail. In Australia the natives make the tail of a flexible twig, but those who have access to the resources of civilization have found out that whalebone is the best substance for the tail that can be found. When the native throws the kangaroo-rat, he takes it by the end of the tail, and swings it backwards and forwards, so that it bends quite double, and at last he gives a sort of underhand jerk and lets it fly. It darts through the air with a sharp and menacing hiss like the sound of a rifle ball, its greatest height being some seven or eight feet from the ground. As soon as it touches the earth, it springs up and makes a succession of leaps, each less than the preceding, until it finally stops. In fact, it skims over the ground exactly as a flat stone skims over the water when boys are playing at 'ducks and drakes.' The distance to which this instrument can be thrown is really astonishing. I have seen an Australian stand at one side of Kennington Oval, and throw the kangaroo-rat completely across it. Much depends upon the angle at which it first takes the ground. If thrown too high, it makes one or two lofty leaps, but traverses no great distance; and if it be thrown too low, it shoots along the ground, and is soon brought up by the excessive friction. When properly thrown, it looks just like a living animal leaping along, and those who have been accustomed to traverse the country say that its movements have a wonderful resemblance to the long leaps of a kangaroo-rat, fleeing in alarm, with its long tail trailing as a balance behind it. A somewhat similarly-shaped missile is used in Fiji; but the Fijian instrument has a stiff shaft, and it is propelled by placing the end of the forefinger against the butt, and throwing it underhanded. It is only used in a game in which the competitors try to send it skimming along the ground as far as possible."[3]
Message-sticks.
Fig. 171 shows four sides of a message-stick, such as is used by the natives of Queensland. It was sent to me by Mr. N. Bartley, who says, in a letter dated 21st June 1870, that it was given to him by the Honorable R. Pring, Q.C., Attorney-General of the colony. An Aboriginal named Jacob was condemned for a serious crime committed by him, and a plot was laid by some members of his tribe to rescue him. The message-stick, which had been conveyed to Jacob by some meaus of which the gaol authorities could get no knowledge, was found in his possession, and a native trooper, belonging to another part of the country, gave an interpretation of the symbols.
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| FIG. 171. |
"Charbig," the native trooper, said that the symbols conveyed the following intelligence:—"Two blackfellows come up in two days; seventeen days ago. One blackfellow come up to where this fellow (Jacob) sit down. The track shown on the stick means that from the place where the blackfellows set out to Brisbane. The message means that the Aboriginals were taking steps to aid Jacob in some attempt at escape."
This is certified by Mr. J. Hooke Rogers as being the translation given by "Charbig," but it is vague enough. The message-stick no doubt conveyed intelligence to Jacob of some sort; but even with the help of Charbig's translation it is hard to guess what that was. The stick itself is valuable, as showing that the natives can convey intelligence to their friends by symbols. The figure is the full size of the original. Long after the receipt of the message-stick from Queensland, the Honorable Fred. P. Barlee, M.P., the Colonial Secretary of West Australia, was good enough to send me two message-sticks.—(Figs. 172 and 173.)
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| FIG. 172. | FIG. 173. |
The stick shown in Fig. 172 is ten inches in length, and a little more than three-tenths of an inch in diameter. That shown in Fig. 173 is nearly seven inches and a half in length, and four-tenths of an inch in diameter.
They are formed of a hard yellowish wood, the name of which I am not able to give. The marks are neatly and clearly drawn, and are filled in with a black pigment, so as to be distinctly seen.
Mr. Barlee says, "The accompanying 'native sticks' used by Aboriginals in the vicinity of Shark's Bay are new to me, and will probably be of interest to you. They are used, I am informed, as messages to distant tribes in cases of hostility and other matters connected with tribal customs."
These message-sticks will be regarded by scientific men as of peculiar interest and value; and no doubt some special enquiries will be instituted in order to discover to what extent this system of conveying intelligence amongst savage tribes prevails, in what manner it originated, and how far it has been perfected.[4]
Koorn-goon.
The Aborigines when dancing in the corrobboree sometimes use two sticks about eighteen inches in length, formed of some wood which, when dry, is sonorous. These they strike together during the dance. The name of the stick (Fig. 174) is, according to Mr. Bulmer, Koorn-goon.
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| FIG. 174. |
- ↑ The Ancient Egyptians. Wilkinson, vol. I., p. 34.
- ↑ The Natural History of Man. J. G. Wood, vol. II., p. 86.
- ↑ The Natural History of Man, by the Rev. J. G. Wood, vol. II., pp. 41-2.
- ↑ Mr. Bulmer states that he has seen a stick [message-stick?] carried about from camp to camp as belonging to a particular corrobboree. It was used by the men—never by the women. He has known of such sticks having been carried for hundreds of miles. He mentions (under date 15th January 1874) that fourteen years ago a stick of this kind came down the Murray to the junction of the Darling. It had been carried the whole length of the river; and, to his astonishment, when he went to Gippsland he found it had penetrated even there, so that it must have been conveyed more than a thousand miles. The stick was of the dimensions of a common walking-stick, and was carved after the Aboriginal manner. It was smeared with red-ochre. It was an object of great curiosity to the blacks.
The late Mr. John Moore Davis stated in a letter to me, in 1874, that when on a visit to Benalla he became acquainted with the fact that the Aborigines have the means of communicating with each other at a distance, and that peculiarly-formed notches on a stick convey their ideas in a manner similar to the knots on a cord used in the days of old by the Mexicans. He adds that a friend of his, having decided on forming a new station, started from the Edward River with a lot of cattle, having with him several blacks. When the settler was about to return home, one of the young natives asked him if he would carry a letter to his—the black's—father, and on expressing his willingness to do so, the young man gave him a piece of stick, about one foot in length, which was covered with notches and lines. On reaching home, the settler went to the black's camp, and delivered the letter to the father, who thereon called together all the blacks that were living with him, and, to the settler's great surprise, read off from the stick a diary of the proceedings of the party day by day from their departure from the Edward River till their arrival at the new station, describing accurately the country through which they had travelled and the places where they had camped each night.Eyre mentions that young men sent with messages of invitation to a distant tribe carry with them, as their credentials, long narrow nets made of string manufactured from the rush. These nets are left with the tribe they are sent to, and brought back again when the invitation is responded to.—Vol.II., pp. 219-20.