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 228 THE PORT LINCOLN TRIBE. observe these injunctions, they should spear him, throw him into the fire, or do other dreadful things to him. In the course of the day during the early part of which the ceremony has been performed, the warrara is covered all over with human blood, and on the following morning he is ceremoniously introduced to the women. For this purpose, every man provides himself with a handful of green grass, enclosing in it a few live coals, so as to cause a thick smoke, and they then march in a long single line (having the warrara in the middle), waving the smoking grass, and continually shouting "Erri, Erri, " to the encampment of the women, who during the preceding night have slept separate from the men. On their arrival in front of the women, after describing a wide circle once or twice, they draw up in a solid body, and throw the smoking grass in a heap. This is carried to one of the women who has been especially appointed to receive the warrara, and the latter is conducted backwards to her by his yumbo or attendant, and made to sit down on the heap of grass. She then dries, and rubs with her cloak the back of the warrara, which has been previously covered again with blood; and in conclusion, one of the little boys chases him through a lane formed by the body of men, running after him, shouting, and beating two waddies together. For three or more months after this ceremony, the warrara must keep his face blackened with charcoal, speak in low whispers, and avoid the presence of women. To illustrate how early, and systematically, the native children are trained to view these ceremonies with feelings of awe, it may be mentioned, that they are never allowed to approach the spot where a warrara has been made; if such a place should happen to fall in the line that the men are travelling, the little boys are directed to take a round, in order to avoid the sacred spot. About the age of sixteen or seventeen, the second degree, that of a Pardnapa, is conferred on every male. On the morning agreed upon by the men (which is studiously kept secret from the women and children), the appointed attendant of the pardnapa, named Yanmurru, gives the first signal, by embracing the lad


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 CUSTOMS AND CEREMONIES. 229 and shouting "Pú, Pú." Instantly, all the women of the class that the pardnapa happens to belong to, whether matteri, or karraru, jump up, and (apparently with reluctance, but in reality gladly and joyfully), each touches the shoulders and necks of the men of the same class, in order to express their entire approval of the men’s intention, to raise a boy of their class to a higher station in life. The women are then directed to move on, while the men tarry behind to procure green boughs; and on their overtaking the women, they trot past them in a line, keeping the pardnapa in the middle, waving their boughs and shouting "Pú, Pú." They then separate again, the women to gather roots or fruits and the men to hunt; which appears to be an essential part of the ceremony. A scrubby district is chosen, and effectually scoured by an extensive line of the hunters; and great numbers of wallaby and rats fall by their well-aimed waddies. The pardnapa, although present, takes no part in the hunt; but goes unarmed. About noon they retire to the nearest watering-place, and after roasting and consuming the game, the pardnapa is ordered to withdraw, accompanied by those lads who last underwent the same ceremony. A circumciser (Yulli) is then appointed; some of the company cover themselves with dust, biting their beards, grunting, and leaping wildly about, suddenly seize on one of the number present, place him on their shoulders, and carry him a little distance; where they lay him down on his back, and with great earnestness endeavour to persuade him to undertake the office. As it appears to be considered an honour by the natives, to be chosen for one of the offices connected with their ceremonies, it is generally conferred on a visitor from a distance should one be present, who, with pretended reluctance, pleads many reasons why he should not have been appointed, such as "want of skill or nerve to perform, the cruel operation," that he "came to see his friends, and by no means expected to have been thus distinguished," &c., all of which is easily overruled by the general voice, as it appears to proceed more from custom than real modesty. A tree of moderate height is then divested of its branches, and one of the men takes his place in the fork of

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 230 THE PORT LINCOLN TRIBE. it, while the rest crowd round it, placing their hands and heads against its stem, so that their backs assume a horizontal position and present a kind of platform. As soon as it is announced that the pardnapa is brought back from his hiding-place, which is always done blindfold, the whole mass utter an unearthly sound which bears some resemblance to a distant moaning, and during the performance of the operation keep grinding their teeth. The pardnapa is placed backwards on the altar or platform formed by.the backs of the men, his arms and legs are stretched out and held fast, and the man sitting in the fork of the tree descends and sits down on his chest, so that he is utterly unable to move one limb of his body. A person well acquainted with the operation, after drawing the foreskin properly forward and causing the circumciser to make only the first incision, completes the business very deliberately with a chip of quartz; while some charm, supposed to have the power of allaying pain, is rapidly pronounced by a few lookers-on. The men then draw up in a line, left foot forward and both hands filled with dust, and gradually move towards the pardnapa, who is now allowed to open his eyes. They do not place one foot before the other in moving, but set their feet alternately only a few inches further, so that the left foot always remains foremost. At each movement, which is performed simultaneously by all, each man throws a little dust into the air, and all of them have, during this parade, their beards in their mouths. In conclusion, every one beats and thumps the poor pardnapa to his heart’s desire, enjoining him secrecy with, regard to his newly-acquired mysterious knowledge, but assuring him all the while that they mean no harm. On the completion of the ceremony, the men conclude the festive day by another wallaby hunt. The pardnapa, whose hair has previously been allowed to grow to a great length, now has it secured on the crown of his head in a cap of net-work manufactured of opossum’s hair; and over the pubes he wears a fringe or tassel made of the same material: these sacred badges are worn for many months after the operation, and when the cap is laid aside, the hair is still preserved, and suffered to fall down in long matted locks.


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 CUSTOMS AND CEREMONIES. 231 Another operation, peculiar to the Aborigines of Port Lincoln, is also performed at this period, though without any particular ceremony. It consists of a cut, with a chip of quartz, from the orifice of the penis, along its lower side down to the scrotum, thus laying the passage open in its whole length. The object of this strange mutilation I have never been able to ascertain. In support of a practice so essentially barbarous, the natives have nothing to say more than that "it was observed by their forefathers, and must therefore be upheld by themselves." The third and most important degree in these superstitious mysteries is taken about the age of eighteen, which allows the youths to take the name of Wilyalkinyis. I have seen this ceremony performed twice, and am therefore enabled to give a more detailed account of it. A day or two previous, Indanyanas, a sort of sponsors, are appointed, whose duty it is to perform the customary rites on the wilyalkinyis. The appointment is made by one person laying the indanyana backwards in his lap, when several others come round and entreat him to assume the office; a distinction that he all the while protests to be very averse to. As the festive ceremonies of the Aborigines always take place in summer, when great numbers of them are collected, and as none have any command over the rest, a great deal of eloquence and mutual urging is required to put the lazy multitude into motion; so that the rites which could be conveniently gone through in one hour, generally occupy the greatest part of the day. The initiation of wilyalkinyis commences with their being taken blindfold and unawares from the camp, to the pretended great sorrow of the women, who immediately set up a feigned lamentation; while the youths are conducted by their sponsors to a short distance. Here the latter station themselves for at least one hour in a circle, shutting the youths’ eyes with both hands, and uttering simultaneously at intervals of about ten minutes a long monotonous wail, which may, perhaps, be represented as near as possible by these characters: Yai-a-ay. The lads are next led still further from and out of sight of the camp, laid flat on the ground and covered up with cloaks; after lying there for another


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 232 THE PORT LINCOLN TRIBE. hour, two men procure a number of green boughs, the boys are again raised on their feet, but still blindfolded, by their indanyanas, and all the rest of the men range themselves in a halfcircle. Placing themselves opposite to the open side of the semicircle, and assuming the attitudes and gestures of violent rage, the two men with the boughs throw them over the heads of the wilyalkinyis, which the rest accompany with beating of waddies and uttering a number of short shouts, dwelling only on the last, every time that a branch falls to the ground, in this mannerYe, ye ye, yay. The lads are now laid on the green boughs and covered up again, when the company very leisurely and deliberately commence preparing chips of quartz for tattooing the wilyalkinyis, and inventing new names by which they are to be called during their future lives. This last-mentioned business is always attended with great difficulty, as the new name must not only be agreeable to their ideas of euphony, but also quite original, or such as has not previously belonged to any other person. In most, cases these names are roots of verbs, augmented by the termination -alta, or -ulta, according to the terminating vowel of the dissyllabic root. Whether these endings affect the meaning of the words in any way, must remain a matter of speculation, as they never occur but in proper names. The natives have no objection to be assisted in the invention of names, but they will be careful to select out of the number mentioned to them, only such as they think are appropriate and new. Everything being prepared, several men open veins in their lower arms, while the young men are raised to swallow the first drops of the blood: they are then directed to kneel on their hands and knees, so as to give a horizontal position to their backs, which are covered all over with blood: as soon as this is sufficiently coagulated, one person marks with his thumb the places in the blood, where the incisions are to be made, namely, one in the middle of the neck, and two rows from the shoulders down to the hips, at intervals of about a third of an inch between each cut. These are named Manka, and are ever after held in such veneration, that it would be deemed a great profanation to allude to them in the presence


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 CUSTOMS AND CEREMONIES. 233 of women. Each incision requires several cuts with, the blunt chips of quartz to make them deep enough, and is then carefully drawn apart; yet the poor fellows do not shrink, or utter a sound; but I have seen their friends so overcome by sympathy with their pain, that they made attempts to stop the cruel proceedings, which was of course not allowed by the other men. During the cutting, which is performed with astonishing expedition, as many of the men as can find room crowd around the youths, repeating in a subdued tone, but very rapidly, the following formula:

This incantation, which is derived from their ancestors, is apparently void of any coherent sense; the object of its repetition, however, is to alleviate the pain of the young men, and to prevent dangerous consequences from the dreadful lacerations. After the incisions are completed on all the youths, they are allowed to stand up and open their eyes, and the first thing they behold is two men coming towards them, stamping, biting their beards, and swinging the witarna with such fury as if they intended to clash it against their heads, but upon approaching, they content themselves with placing the string of that instrument round their necks in succession. Several fires are also made to windward at this time, so that the smoke may be blown upon the young men. In commemoration of the ordeal gone through, the wilyalkinyis are presented with some badges, such as a new girdle round the waist, spun of human hair, a tight bandage round each upper arm, a string of opossum hair round the neck, the end of which descends clown the back, where it is fastened to the girdle, a bunch of green leaves over the pubes, and at last their faces, arms and breasts are painted black. In conclusion, all the men crowd once more round them, each endeavouring to give them some good advice for the proper regulation of their future conduct; the main topics I understood to be these: to abstain from quarrelling and fighting, to forbear talking aloud, and to avoid the women. The


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 234 THE PORT LINCOLN TRIBE. last two injunctions are scrupulously observed till the men release them about four or five months after, during which time they live and sleep separate from the camp, and speak in whispers. The releasing of the wilyalkinyis consists merely in tearing the string, the symbol of silence, from their necks, and covering them over with blood, in the manner that the men adopt at their bleeding ceremonies; and after that they may be looked upon as perfect adepts in all manner of secrets and admissible to all the privileges of grown-up men. The women and children, as has been mentioned already, are by no means allowed to see any of the above ceremonies. They are on those occasions encamped out of sight of the men; but if their business, in fetching water, wood, or anything else, should bring them within sight, they must cover their heads with cloaks and walk in a stooping posture. Any impertinent curiosity on their part is punishable with death, according to the ancient custom; and I have been told that instances have occurred where this dreadful punishment was actually inflicted. As one more proof what mighty importance the Aborigines attach to their absurd mysteries, I may mention that it is deemed very ignominious abuse, if a person of a higher degree upbraids any one with his still occupying a lower station; warrara purra (still a boy of the first degree only), pardnapa purra (only of the second degree), are very offensive expressions. SUPERSTITIONS AND TRADITIONS. The opinions of the natives with regard to supernatural things and agencies, are very peculiar and interesting. They have as clear a perception of the immateriality and immortality of the soul as could have been expected from them. In order to illustrate the former, they describe it as very small, so minute that it could pass through a crack or crevice; and when a man dies, his soul goes to an island, where it lives in a state so ethereal that it requires no food. Some say that this island is situated towards the east, others towards the west; so that they either do not agree about the locality, or believe in the existence of more than one receptacle for departed souls. On its passage to


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 SUPERSTITIONS AND TRADITIONS. 235 its new habitation a species of red-bill, a bird frequenting the seabeach, and noted for its shrill shrieks during the night, accompanies it. It appears to be a modern idea of theirs, adopted since their knowledge of the existence of a white race of men, that their souls will at a future period become white men. However, such is their belief, and all white people are in their opinion no more than the re-incorporated souls of their forefathers. So firmly persuaded are, or at least were they of this, that they even ventured to identify some settlers with natives long since dead, giving the former the names of the latter. The last words of Ngarbi, a Port Lincoln native, who was executed in Adelaide, were, that "by-and-by he should become a white man," although he had been made acquainted with more correct views. These two apparently contradictory opinions, that an island receives the souls of the departed and that they reappear as white men, may perhaps we quite compatible by the natives assuming that the island is only their temporary abode; which is the more likely, as they certainly believe in the pre-existence of the souls of black men, and also assign the island as their previous abode. I do not think that originally they had any idea of retribution in a future life for actions done in this, but they seem to think that the fate of man in this world is in some degree dependent on his good or bad conduct. The following anecdote will best illustrate their views on the subject: It was reported by a native that at or near Streaky Bay a black man had been shot by a whaling party for spearing a dog belonging to them, and which had been furiously attacking the native; some time after, the crew of a whaler wrecked in that neighbourhood came overland to Port Lincoln, and when it was hinted that perhaps one of them had shot the black man, the natives at once assigned that act of cruelty as the cause of the shipwreck. The most prominent in the superstitions of the Port Lincoln Aborigines is their belief in the existence of a fiendish monster, named Márralye, who is described as a man who assumes the shape and power of a bird, so that he can fly through the air. He is most feared during the night-time, when he is supposed to pounce upon his


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 236 THE PORT LINCOLN TRIBE. sleeping victims, either killing them by eating their hearts out of their bodies, or doing them some other grievous injury; he takes care, however, not to leave any marks of his ravages, and it is therefore only from the effects, such as pain and illness, that the sufferers know of his nightly visits. The death of children and the loss of sight are usually ascribed to Márralye, if no other palpable cause can be assigned. The Márralye, it is to be observed, has no individual and permanent existence, but is merely the mask or disguise temporarily assumed by wicked men, particularly the Kukata tribe, to enable them to execute their mischievous intentions. Another kind of fabulous beings are the Puskabidnis, whose number seems to be unlimited; they are represented as black men of an enormous size, quite naked, and armed only with waddies; although always bent on bloodshed and murder, they are not so dangerous as the Márralye, since by vigilance and courage they may be conquered. At night the men never move from the camp without taking a spear to protect themselves, in case any of these lurking assassins should be about. Some of the natives boast of having killed Purkabidnis; but I apprehend that they have mistaken black stumps of trees or real natives for these beings, an error that superstitious timidity will occasionally betray them into. I recollect that two natives once pointed out to me a dark object in a thickly-timbered locality, and at several hundred yards’ distance, that looked exactly like a black man in a crouching posture; they were satisfied that it was a Purkabidni, and not only strongly objected to go with me to examine it, but also endeavoured to prevent my going by myself: however, upon nearer approach, it turned out to be what I expected to find, namely, a burnt stump, and when I laid my hand upon it they burst out laughing, acknowledging themselves for once mistaken, but nowise shaken in their firm persuasion that such monsters really existed, and had been seen by them on other occasions. That natives, wandering too far into the territories of strange tribes, are sometimes slain as Purkabidnis is not unlikely, and rendered probable from the following account: Our Port Lincoln natives, when asked if they


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 SUPERSTITIONS AND TRADITIONS. 237 could give any information of two black men who had gone with Mr. Eyre to the far west, and returned from thence by themselves, recollected having heard that two strange young men, carrying a peculiar kind of nets or netbags, had been killed by the Kukatas, in the belief of their being Purkabidnis. The worst kind of superstition, and one that does comparatively as much mischief among the Aborigines as the belief in witchcraft ever did in Europe, is the idea that one person may, from spite or other motives, kill another party by a peculiar manipulation during the night, described as a poking with the fingers in the side of the obnoxious person, which will cause illness, and ultimately death. The evidence by which the guilty party is discovered is generally the deposition of the dying person, who is supposed to know the man who causes his death. In all cases of death that do not arise from old age, wounds, or other equally palpable causes, the natives suspect that unfair means have been practised; and even where the cause of death is sufficiently plain, they sometimes will not content themselves with it, but have recourse to an imaginary one, as the following case will prove: A woman had been bitten by a black snake, across the thumb, in clearing out a well; she began to swell directly, and was a corpse in twenty-four hours; yet, another woman who had been present when the accident occurred, stated that the deceased had named a certain native as having caused her death. Upon this statement, which was in their opinion corroborated by the circumstance that the snake had drawn no blood from the deceased, her husband and other friends had a fight with the accused party and his friends; a reconciliation, however, took place afterwards, and it was admitted on the part of the aggressors that they had been in error with regard to the guilty individual; but nowise more satisfied as to the bite of the snake being the true cause of the woman’s death, another party was now suddenly discovered to be the real offender, and accordingly war was made upon him and his partisans, till at last the matter was dropped and forgotten. From this case, as well as from frequent occurrences of a similar nature, it appears evident that


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 238 THE PORT LINCOLN TRIBE. thirst for revenge has quite as great a share in these foul accusations as superstition. Ignorant of the Supreme disposer of life and death, too little reflective to ascribe their bereavements to a blind fatality, yet susceptible of intense feeling, and superstitious withal, it is, perhaps, not so very wonderful that they should seek the cause of their sorrows within the compass of human agency. Many other superstitions are entertained by the natives, which though not of an equally dangerous tendency, still ascribe undue and mischievous power to man. Thus it is maintained that remote tribes of blacks, especially the Kukatas to the northwest, have the power of producing excessive rain, as well as insufferable heat and drought, and also of causing plagues that kill other tribes by wholesale. To avert heavy rains they employ sometimes a long string of seemingly extempore imprecations, beginning every sentence with the interjection "Sú," expressive of anger, pronouncing the first words rapidly, and chanting

and many others, the meaning of which is unknown. The appearance of a comet or any natural phenomenon in the heavens is regarded as the sure harbinger of death, and fills them with awe and terror. In 1843, when the great comet appeared, some acknowledged to have been so frightened that they crept into caves among the rocks.

The Aborigines have a great number of fabulous traditions handed down to them by their forefathers, all of which are characterised by a high degree of improbability and monstrosity, as will be sufficiently apparent from a few that I shall mention:—

I.—Pulyállana was in days of yore a great man, who conferred on succeeding generations the benefit of having given names to many localities in the southern and western parts of this district, which they retain to this day. He had, however, the misfortune to lose both his wives, who absconded from him—an


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 SUPERSTITIONS AND TRADITIONS. 239 event that by no means contributed to keep him in good humour. After a great deal of fruitless search, he at last hit upon their track, and, following it; overtook them somewhere about Cape Catastrophe, where they were both killed by him. They were then converted into stone, together with their children, and all may be seen there at the present day in the shape of rocks and islands; and their breathing or groaning be heard in a cave, into which the roaring sea rushes a long way underground. Pulyállana himself was subsequently raised into the sky, at or near Puyundu (the native name for Cape Sir Isaac), where he is sometimes seized with violent fits of rage. On such occasions he raves and storms about among the clouds, and keeps shouting most lustily, like a native when under the influence of violent passion, thus producing what is commonly called thunder. He is armed with waddies, which he used to throw at the natives, particularly the pardnapas, whom he frequently cut through in the middle, hurling the upper and lower parts of the body in opposite directions. Their ancestors, however, entreated him to spare the pardnapas, and hit the sheoaks instead; and this prayer prevailing with him, he now vents his rage on them. The lightning is also his production, being caused by the sudden jerking or opening of his legs in his furious gestures.

II.—The large red species of kangaroo is not to be found at Port Lincoln, although it is said to be plentiful in the north; and, from the following legend, it would appear that one of the species had found its way to the south of this district:—Kupirri was the name of this animal, which is said to have been of a stupendous size, and to have devoured all those who attempted to spear it. Its very appearance inspired the natives of old with overwhelming terror, so that they lost all presence of mind, flinging away the wooden lever (midla) with the spear, which was thereby, of course, prevented from taking effect. At last, however, a match was found for the monster kangaroo in two renowned hunters, named Pilla and Indya, who, falling upon its track near Port Lincoln, on the range stretching to the north,


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 240 THE PORT LINCOLN TRIBE. followed and overtook it on Mount Nilarro, situated about thirty miles from that place. Finding it asleep, they at once attacked it, but before they could quite kill it their spears became blunt; a disappointment that must have soured their tempers a good deal, as it caused a violent quarrel between them, in which Pilla stabbed his antagonist with one of the blunt spears in many places, while he himself received a severe blow over his nose with a midla: becoming reconciled, the friends again attacked and killed the Kupirri, and, on opening it, found to their utter astonishment the dead bodies of their comrades previously devoured by this monster kangaroo. But being no less skilled in the medical art than in hunting, they succeeded in reviving and healing these unfortunate men, and they all immediately betook themselves to roasting and devouring the Kupirri in return. The feast over, and their bodies comfortably greased with the fat of the animal, they proceeded in search of their mourning wives and families, to acquaint them with the happy termination of their disastrous adventures. The two heroes were afterwards metamorphosed into, and gave origin to two species of animals, the opossum and native cat, retaining as such not only their names, but also the scars of the wounds that they had inflicted on each other in the shape of a furrow down the former’s nose, and of a number of white dots sprinkled over the skin of the latter. III. Between Coffin’s and Sleaford Bays there is a line of bare, white sandhills, erroneously laid down in Flinders’ map as white cliffs. These masses of drifting sand have most probably been piled up by the westerly gales, which often now alter their shape and position; but, according to a tradition of the natives, they were raised by Marnpi and Tatta, two of their ancestors. A great fire, coming from the ocean, spread far and wide on the sea-coast, and seemed likely to envelop the whole country in its flames. Deliberating how to prevent such a calamity, it occurred to the abovementioned personages, that the best method of quenching the fire would be to bury it; they accordingly betook themselves to the task, and, in executing it, threw up


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Rh those sandhills which testify to this day the vastness of the undertaking.

IV.—Renowned as a fierce warrior and immoderate lover is Welu, who, being foiled in his amours by the Nauo people, determined to exterminate the whole tribe. He succeeded in spearing all the men except Karatantya and Yangkunu, two young men, who flew for shelter into the top of a tree. Welu climbed after them with the intent to murder them also; but they had the cunning to break the branch on which he was standing, when, tumbling headlong to the ground, a tamed native dog seized and killed him. He has since been changed into the bird that now bears his name, and which in English is called the curlew, while the memory and names of the two young men who escaped his fury are perpetuated by two species of hawk.

V.—A small kind of lizard, the male of which is called Ibirri, and the female Waka, is said to have divided the sexes in the human species; an event that would appear not to be much approved of by the natives, since either sex has a mortal hatred against the opposite sex of these little animals, the men always destroying the waka and the women the ibirri.

The natives have many more similar tales among them; the above, however, which seemed to possess more of an interest than any of the rest, will be sufficient to show their monstrous and in every respect ridiculous character.

AMUSEMENTS.

Singing and dancing are the favourite and almost only amusements of the Aborigines of these parts. They have a variety of songs, all consisting of only two or three verses each, as for instance the following:

In singing these and similar songs, each verse is repeated twice or even three times, and when they have finished the last verse


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 242 THE PORT LINCOLN TRIBE. they begin afresh with the first one. If the proper metre or number of cadences be but observed, they care little or nothing for the meaning of the words of the song. Most songs now in vogue with them are derived from distant tribes, and I believe that they themselves understand very few if any of them; at all events they cannot explain their meaning, and seem to consider it quite unnecessary trouble to inquire into the matter. The tunes of their songs vary also considerably, some being slow and grave, others quick and lively; all of them, however, are rather monotonous, though not unpleasant, requiring only a gradual and regular rise and fall of the voice. They are very exact in keeping time, and to prevent any confusion in this respect they have recourse to their waddies, striking two of them together. The conclusion of a song is indicated by singing the last verse slowly in a subdued voice, suffering it gradually to sink until the last note becomes barely audible. For dancing the mild summer evenings are generally chosen; if the moon be shining all the time so much the better, but if not, the deficiency is made up by blazing fires. Every one engaging in the dance ornaments his person by painting two white lines on each side from the shoulders down the breast to the west, a circle round each eye, a broad streak down the nose, two or three pairs of stripes across each upper arm, and tying a bunch of green boughs inclining downward round each leg a little above the knee. If they have any white down of birds they paste a row of it across the forehead and along the margin of the hair from one ear to the other, which gives them the appearance of women in nightcaps. In their hands the dancers hold a string about four feet long, seemingly for the purpose of balancing their bodies properly. They have various kinds of dances, but the one most approved and practised consists in jumping sideways, elevating the arm on the side to which they are jumping and declining it on the opposite side. The performers drawing up in a somewhat irregular line, and at such distances from each other as will allow sufficient space for the proper display of their antics, very gradually advance to the front of the singers, when they again


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 FIGHTS. 243 fall back to the rear. Each dance does not last above ten minutes, the motions of the body being so violent as to completely exhaust them in a short time. The women, though commonly engaged in singing, do not all join in the dancenever more than two or three at a time; nor are their jumps and motions of the arms so violent and grotesque as those of the men. They also keep their cloaks modestly about their persons, while the men are invariably in a state of nudity. But even this slight participation on the part of the fair sex never fails to heighten the amusement and increase the exertions of the men. At the conclusion of the dancing, the men, after resting some time at about forty yards distance from the singers, advance, dancing one by one, when one of the women meets each halfway, and accompanies him dancing to the singers, where the man sits down. At the point where the two meet, the male dancer makes a short pause stamping with one foot several times on the ground, probably by way of compliment to the lady, after which they both jump away together. These evening amusements are often kept up to a late hour, frequently long after midnight, particularly if a great number are collected, or if two different tribes meet, when they will do their best to entertain each other with the number and variety of their songs and skill in performing. Happiness and joyous pleasure are on such occasions depicted on every face, and one could scarcely believe that those goodhumoured faces could ever be distorted with expressions of violent rage, or that gentle deportment changed into passionate frenzy; yet such is sometimes the case, especially during the hot season, when they evince a degree of irritability that during the dull winter months one would think their natures strangers to. FIGHTS. Their fights may be properly divided into two classes, namely, those that arise suddenly and from trivial causes, and those that are premeditated, having some real or fancied grievance for their foundation. Although the behaviour of the natives towards each other is in general characterised by a good deal of courtesy and


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 244 THE PORT LINCOLN TRIBE. goodnature, yet it will happen that friends disagree. The most common causes of quarrels arewomen not conducting themselves as they should do, or are often unreasonably required to do; children quarrelling and hurting each other, thereby setting their parents at variance; or any of the men being overlooked in the distribution of food. The practice of dividing their provisions with friends is so universal, that it is considered a mark of very great illiberality in any person not to do so. An angry word or offensive action about any of these or similar matters operates like an electric shock, and everyone grasps his weapons, prepared to repel insult and aggression. Abusive language, though commonly made use of by women without any dangerous consequences, is rarely employed by men without ending in a fight; for though the friends of the aggrieved party generally try to appease him, and even to hold him back by main force, they but seldom succeed. First, waddies are flung, and when these are expended the opponents close, seeking to batter each others’ heads with midlas. Dreadful gashes are often inflicted with this instrument, from which the blood flows in streams, and the sufferers are sometimes insensible. Spears are next resorted to, when the women and children run in all directions, the former screaming and abusing the fierce and passionate men. Whether it is to give more effect to their wrathful utterings, or merely to make themselves heard through the uproar, I cannot say, but they always give vent to their feelings in a sort of chant, dwelling upon the last syllable of each word, and dropping the voice towards the end of every sentence. Should any of the combatants be severely wounded, a wail on the part of the women and his relatives soon becomes the prevailing noise, and gradually puts a stop to the fight; after it is over perhaps every person that has been engaged in it is sorry that it has occurred, and the man who has inflicted a severe wound on his opponent will lament it as much and as sincerely as any of the rest. If any serious consequences should result from the fight, they generally cause another battle at a subsequent period, but if slight wounds and bruises be all, it is never more mentioned, and the parties that to-day attacked each other with a fury that nothing but


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 FIGHTS. 245 each opponent’s life would seem to satisfy, will to-morrow be the best friends in the world. The regular premeditated battles of the natives are always known, for weeks or months before to both parties; a convenient place is fixed upon by one party, and messengers are despatched to invite the enemy; these battles are generally caused by abduction, murder, or aggression with intent to take life, which usually originates in the before-mentioned superstitious belief of the aggressor, that the man whom he attacks has, by supernatural means, killed his relative that may lately have died. In such a case he selects several from among his friends, and rambles over the country fully determined to kill the suspected person wherever he meets him. Last summer two battles took place, one for murder committed, and the other for murder attempted. At the former both the murderer and the brother of the murdered were present, backed on either side by a great number of friends; it was agreed that the latter should aim two spears at the murderer, and that if neither took effect nor were returned the quarrel should be dropped. From the demonstrations and violent gestures of the warriors, such as jumping, running, biting of beards and spears, shouting, and grunting, I fully anticipated a general and bloody battle, but this was not the case. From each side the parties concerned ran forward, the one throwing a spear which was dexterously warded off by the other, and with that the fight ended. The other battle, for murder attempted, occurred in the town of Port Lincoln, to which the aggrieved party had been invited by messengers. On their arrival they marched up in a line two or three deep, each of them ornamented with white paint, and shavings resembling plumes in their hair, halting now and then and giving a simultaneous shout. As soon as their evolutions were over, the other party prepared to return the salute, painting themselves hastily, and drawing up in single file. They marched to where the enemy had encamped, keeping step and walking at a quick but short pace, in fact, a sort of trot; going round the camp they drew up in a solid body, and holding their heads downwards


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 246 THE PORT LINCOLN TRIBE. uttered simultaneously one deep tremendous shout; after repeating this several times they marched back to their own camp in the same order as they had arrived. The evening and great part of the night was spent in singing and dancing by both hostile parties alternately. Early the next morning the fight commenced by eight men coming forward on either side with the customary inimical demonstrations of biting their beards and spears, but perfectly silent; forming themselves in opposite lines at a distance of about twenty paces, the combatants stood face to face and man to man, with legs spread out and firmly placed on the ground. Several spears had been thrown by each man, and warded off with great dexterity by merely bending the upper part of the body slightly to one side, and hitting the adversary’s spear with the grubbing stick or reserved spears held in the left hand, when several of the party who had sent the challenge ran over to the other side in order to indicate, as I was told, that they wished the fight to end. One querulous old fellow, however, who had been the originator of the quarrel and who stood opposed to a young man of barely twenty years of age, seemed determined upon bloodshed; he threw several spears when the others had given over, and used the most provoking language, which was tartly returned by his young adversary. At length, however, the old man was interrupted by his own friends, who gave his spear a knock every time he hooked it to the wommara. The skill of the natives in avoiding and parrying spears is really astonishing; I saw this old man, who is reputed by his fellows a famous warrior, take such sure aims at his opponent that I thought he could not miss him, yet every time the spears were diverted from their direction by the sticks in the young man’s hand, and passed over his shoulder within a few inches of his ear. A steady, bold eye alone could insure such a result, and this is also the warlike quality that the natives most applaud and principally pride themselves upon. It has been said, I believe, that the Aborigines of this country are great cowards; it may be that they evince a want of courage when opposed to white men who are provided with superior arms, generally mounted on horseback,


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 FIGHTS. 247 and very probably supposed by them to be possessed of superior skill and courage also; but any one who has had opportunities of seeing the natives’ battles would not come to any such conclusion. They are very sensitive on this point, deeming it a most degrading insult to be called a coward. That their fights seldom terminate fatally must be attributed partly to their skill in warding off the spears, and partly to the fact that they have no thirst for bloodshed. As the natives on the one hand are susceptible of an uncommon degree of hostile feeling, so also are they, on the other hand, possessed of sincere and deep sympathy, as is evinced in cases of severe illness, dangerous wounds, and especially after the death of any of their friends; they will, on such occasions, assemble and weep most bitterly, the females generally taking the lead. The loud lamentations simultaneously poured forth by them at such times may perhaps be looked upon as an hereditary custom, since they always cry together and make use of external means, such as rubbing the eyes or scratching the nose, to produce tears if the mournful disposition of the mind should not be sufficiently affected by the example of others. The cries or sobs are also, at the commencement of a wail, rather formal and apparently forced, leading one strongly to suspect that their desire for a mournful frame of mind is greater than their feelings warrant. Still, I am persuaded that the natives feel keenly and regret sincerely the loss of their friends, for these reasons: They lament their decease for weeks and even months after the event; very frequently in the evening, on arriving at their resting places, when they are tired and may be supposed to be in mood suitable for recollection and reflection, one person will suddenly break out in slow and sorrowful cadences, gradually inducing all the others to follow his example; after a wail, they preserve for a while a demure silence, and exhibit every other symptom of persons in affliction. Never, upon any account, is the name of the deceased mentioned again for many years after, not from any superstition, but for the professed reason that their mournful feelings may not be excited, or, to use their own expression, "that it may not make them cry


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 248 THE PORT LINCOLN TRIBE. too much." If they have occasion to allude to dead persons, it is done by circumlocutions, such as these: I am a widower, fatherless, childless, or brotherless, as the case may be, instead of saying: my wife is dead, my father, child, or brother is dead. If a death occurs among them in the bush, it is with great difficulty that the name of the deceased can be ascertained. In such a case, the natives will remind you of incidents that may have happened in his lifetime, that he did such a thing, was present on such an occasion, &c., but no persuasion on earth will induce them to pronounce his name; and as a last reason for the sincerity of their sorrow, it may perhaps be mentioned that they will venture their own lives in avenging their departed friends if it is suspected that they have come by their deaths unfairly. The mode of burial observed by the Port Lincoln natives is described by themselves as attended with many ceremonies, which are, however, sometimes dispensed with, as was the case with an old man, the only person that I have seen buried. A pit about five feet in depth, and only four feet in length, was dug; on the bottom some dry grass was spread, and on this the body was laid with legs bent upwards. The head was placed towards the west, a custom that I am informed is always observed, and is founded on their belief that the soul goes to an island in the east. The body is covered with a kangaroo skin, and strong sticks are placed lengthways over the mouth of the grave, one end being stuck in the earth a little below the surface, and the other resting on the opposite edge of the grave. On these the earth is put so as to leave a vacuum between them and the body and to form a mound of earth over the grave. A few branches or bushes thrown carelessly round the mound complete the simple ceremony. The Aborigines inhabiting the Peninsula of Port Lincoln are divided into several tribes, with two of whom the European settlers are in daily contact, namely, the Nauo and Parnkalla tribes. Besides these, three other tribes are mentioned by the natives as known to them: the Nukunnus in the north-east, the Kukatas in the north-west, and the Ngannityiddis in the north,


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 LANGUAGE. 249 between the two last-mentioned of whom a few have now and then visited the settlement. All these tribes seem in general to be on tolerably good terms with each other, at least it does not appear that there are any hereditary feuds between them, such as exist in other parts of the colony. It is true that the Kukatas are universally feared and abominated, but apparently more on account of their reputed skill in witchcraft and various other dangerous tricks than for their warlike qualities. Natives belonging to different tribes, and not previously acquainted, are very shy for the first day or two after their meeting, avoiding and not addressing each other unless induced to do so by a third party, the convenient custom of formal introductions being as yet unknown to them. Any attempt at computing the number of the natives must be futile, as I have never heard of a whole tribe being collected together at one time; I should think, however, that in assuming each tribe as containing 200 souls the real number would by no means be exceeded. The principal mark of distinction between the tribes is difference of language or dialect; where the tribes intermix greatly no inconvenience is experienced on this account, as every person understands, in addition to his own dialect, that of the neighbouring tribe; the consequence is that two persons commonly converse in two languages, just as an Englishman and German would hold a conversation, each person speaking his own language, but understanding that of the other, as well as his own. This peculiarity will often occur in one family through intermarriages, neither party ever thinking of changing his or her dialect for that of the other. Children do not always adopt the language of the mother, but that of the tribe among whom they live. The Parnkalla dialect, with which I have made myself principally acquainted, is spoken by the tribe of the same name, inhabiting the eastern coast of this peninsula from Port Lincoln northward probably as far as the head of Spencer’s Gulf. The Nauo is spoken in the southern and western parts of this district, and seems to deviate from the Parnkalla by a broader and harsher pronunciation and different inflexions or terminations of the words, verbs as well as nouns; many words,


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 250 THE PORT LINCOLN TRIBE. however, are totally different. The following examples will explain this more fully:  Parnkalla. Nauo. English. Ninna Niino Thou Idna Tyina Foot Yurno Tyendu Sun Kubmanna Kuma One Kalbelli Kutta Two Karnko Wamo House Karnkuru Wamuyu To the house Ngukata Ngukanna To go Ngukayu Ngukalye In order to go Ngukaka Nguka Go Both dialects terminate every word with a vowel, which makes it difficult for them to pronounce English correctly. Hence arise corruptions like theseknipy for knife, boatoo for boat, bullocky for bullock, Williamy for William, &c. The Parnkalla is a peculiarly soft and even melodious language when carefully and slowly pronounced, which the natives, however, seldom do, but on the contrary they often contract two words into one, or abbreviate long words, thereby completely spoiling the naturally pleasant effect. The women and small children pronounce by far the best. It is not well possible to describe the language within the limits of this report, so as to give to a person wholly unacquainted with it even an approximate idea of its structure, I shall therefore content myself with comprising the most striking peculiarities under the following heads:  1. The letters F, V, H, and all sibilants, do not occur in it. 2. It has no articles, either definite or indefinite. 3. It recognises no distinction of gender beyond that necessarily contained in such words as father, mother, brother, sister, &c.; the pronoun pana answers for the three English pronouns, he, she, and it. 4. It has no relative pronouns, the want of which is obviated by circumlocutions, or the use of demonstrative pronouns instead. 5. Besides the singular and plural it has a dual number, to be used when only two persons or objects are the subject of conversation.


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 LANGUAGE. 251 6. Of the personal pronouns there are three distinct forms, expressing different degrees of relationship between the person or persons spoken to or of, as, for instance, ngadli, we two (viz. brothers); ngarrinye, we two (parent and child); ngadlaga, we two (husband and wife), &c. 7. There are no prepositions in this language, the deficiency being made up by a great variety of inflexions, or rather terminations of the nouns, inseparable from them, as, karnko, house; karnkungu, in the house; karnkuru, to the house; karnkotarri, beyond the house; karnkongunne, from the house; and many other similar terminations. 8. The verb, though without a distinct passive voice, presents the peculiarity of a number of conjugations, indicating secondary relations of the actions expressed by the root of the verbin other words, the conjugation from verbs neutral and active, reciprocal and continuative. This novel feature of the language renders the acquisition of it difficult, as it is only by experience that one learns to distinguish those conjugations really in use from those that might be formed but are not used. 9. Another peculiarity, and poverty at the same time, is the absence of all numerals beyond three. The construction of sentences, and particularly the use of the moods of verbs, appears also very peculiar, but I am not sufficiently acquainted with this part of the language to venture a description.


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RCHIE MOFFAM'S connection with that devastatingly popular ballad, "Mother's Knee," was one to which he always looked back later with a certain pride. "Mother's Knee," it will be remembered, went through the world like a pestilence. Scots elders hummed it on their way to kirk; cannibals crooned it to their offspring in the jungles of Borneo; it was a best-seller among the Bolshevists. In the United States alone three million copies were disposed of. For a man who has not accomplished anything outstandingly great in his life, it is something to have been in a sense responsible for a song like that; and, though there were moments when Archie experienced some of the emotions of a man who has punched a hole in the dam of one of the larger reservoirs, he never really regretted his share in the launching of the thing.

It seems almost bizarre now to think that there was a time when even one person in the world had not heard "Mother's Knee"; but it came fresh to Archie one afternoon some weeks after the episode of Washy, in his suite at the Hotel Cosmopolis, where he was cementing with cigarettes and pleasant conversation his renewed friendship with Wilson Hymack, whom he had first met in the neighbourhood of Armentières during the war.

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256 "What are you doing these days?" enquired Wilson Hymack.

"Me?" said Archie. "Well, as a matter of fact, there is what you might call a sort of species of lull in my activities at the moment. But my jolly old father-in-law is bustling about, running up a new hotel a bit farther down-town, and the scheme is for me to be manager when it's finished. From what I have seen in this place, it's a simple sort of job, and I fancy I shall be somewhat hot stuff. How are you filling in the long hours?"

"I'm in my uncle's office, darn it!"

"Starting at the bottom and learning the business and all that? A noble pursuit, no doubt, but I'm bound to say it would give me the pip in no uncertain manner."

"It gives me," said Wilson Hymack, "a pain in the thorax. I want to be a composer."

"A composer, eh?"

Archie felt that he should have guessed this. The chappie had a distinctly artistic look. He wore a bow-tie and all that sort of thing. His trousers bagged at the knees, and his hair, which during the martial epoch of his career had been pruned to the roots, fell about his ears in luxuriant disarray.

"Say! Do you want to hear the best thing I've ever done?"

"Indubitably," said Archie, politely. "Carry on, old bird!"

"I wrote the lyric as well as the melody," said Wilson Hymack, who had already seated himself at the piano. "It's got the greatest title you ever heard. It's a lallapaloosa! It's called 'It's a Long Way Back to Mother's Knee.' How's that? Poor, eh?"

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