THE AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20703, 29 April 1929, Page 13

THE AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINE.

AEROPLANE TRACKER. Written for the Otago Daily Times. By " Etas.” We are prone to write the Australian blackfellow down as almost completely lacking in intelligence. Yet, vastly superior though we consider ourselves, we are ready to call on his assistance in tracking the lost or the fugitive. And now, he is expected to find aeroplanes—a task lor'which he is well fitted, for to him the air is, like the ground, an open book. The problem of the origin of the Australian blacks is one over which scientists have puzzled for over half a century. It is now generally accepted that this primitive people once had its home in Southern India, a region from which it was compelled to migrate, probably by more powerful peoples. It is easy to understand how the - blackfellow, following the chain of island stepping-stones, reached Northern Australia. This supposition is supported by material evidence. In Southern India has been found the boomerang, the characteristic weapon of the aborigine, while the scmi-domesti-cated dingo is a first cousin of the pariah dog of India. The Australian natives were more or loss’ isolated from their brethren and in the struggle for existence in an inhospitable land, remained in their original state of degradation. Generally speaking, the aborigine is kindly, slothful, and on the whole, a peaceful person, though when interfered with, he becomes brutal and vindictive. He showed little or no hostility when the white man appropriated his country, for he considered there was more than enough room for all. When some of the early settlers began to. spend their Sundays " shooting blacks,” the downtrodden native asserted himself- in no uncertain manner, so that he speedily acquired an evil reputation. The one thing the aborigine well understands is the getting of food, and his skill in this direction is the result of long residence in the arid regions in the north-west of Australia. Owing to the heat and barrenness of that region water is more precious than food, and the blackfellow obtains some of his water supply from the desert vegetation which stores up the precious fluid in its roots' and leaves. In addition, he is aware of the rock holes and springs to be found in an apparently waterless region, and ho can tell by the presence of certain birds when he is near such a spring. To him the Australian pigeon is a reliable indicator. If it is flying fast at sundown it is moving towards water. After it- has drunk its fill, however, its flight is slow and ponderous. The blackfellow reads these signs skilfully and knows in which direction to go, to obtain water for his pwn use. Rats, lizards, kangaroos and .emus provide him with most, of his food. Generally, these are speared, but one of the ways of capturing an emu is to find a waterhole where, the bird is accustomed to drink, and put into it some leaves of the pituri plant, which has the effect of a narcotic. After going to the well, which ha's been thus’doctored, the bird becomes stupefied and is then easily captured by the wily natives. Honey is a favourite article of diet, but difficult to obtain. To discover a hive the aborigines catch a bee, make it conspicuous by fixing a piece of white, fluffy down on it with eucalyptus gum, and then pursue the affrighted insect as it hastens back to its hive., . The scarcity of food has, through many generations, conduced to make the aboriginal a genius in hunting, and consequently the reputation .of the black tracker is world-wide, his ingenuity in this respect far exceeding that of the North American Indian. He can calculate to, a. nicety the time since an animal , has passed by observing the amount of blown, sand on-its tracks or the bend in the grass caused by its hoofs. He can. tell by its tracks whether a kangaroo is travelling towards water or away from it. A thirsty kangaroo moves with long, straight strides, while one lately refreshed .pursues an irregular course, browsing on the way. Clever in following another's footsteps, the aboriginal is equally astute in concealing his own. Devil ” shoes, the soles of which are felted with feathers, are worn by an escapee. The impression left on the grass by. ’ these shoes is very faint, and only the most experienced native eyes can discover it. By making long bounds at right angles to his route and by rearranging the grass behind him, and by treading on rock in preference to sand, he contrives to throw off his pursuers, who are as cunning as himself, going so far as to turn up tufts of grass to look for footprints. While hunting, a blackfellow informs his friends of his activities by drawing pictures of the animals he is hunting, and showing by means of strong foot-' prints the , direction in. which he has gone. The drawings are, wonderfully realistic, and, indeed, one of the pastimes around, the camp fire is depicting these’ animals in the sand with the a piece of - wood. Long distance signalling is carried on in times of war by means of smoke coluronsj and a native has been known to send a message a distance of over 80 miles by means ■ of a smoke column which rose to a height of some 2000 feet. Though the Australian aborigine is of low intelligence, much inferior to the Maori in this respect, bis ingenuity in search of food is exceptional, and it is greatly to be regretted that the. numbers of this race are diminishing in spite of the efforts of the Australian Government to save them from extinction It seems inevitable that they must suffer the. same fate as the Tasmanian blacks, the last of whom died some years ago. *