EIGHT YEARS' TRAVEL IN AUSTRALIA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2240, 4 February 1897, Page 51

EIGHT YEARS' TRAVEL IN AUSTRALIA.

( Wbittbn fob the Witness Little Folks j BY OOMPAQNON, WAIKAWA.) VI. A wife having been obtained, the troubles of the aboriginal may be, apart from war, considered as past. He builds a gunyah of his own to serve as a future home, and a very rude building it is. Two forked sticks are driven into the ground about 10ft apart, on which is placed a ridge pole just as you would pitch a tent, then sheets of bark are laid horizontally against the ridge to keep out the rain and shelter the occupants from the rays of the sun. Some dried " ying " (grasß) is strewn on the floor on which the inmates sleep, rolled in a 'possum or young kangaroo rug. Some tribes, as do those of the Woakwynnefend Tatiara country, use the skins of an animal called the wombat. The males of the tribe do all the hunting ; the females carry wood and water and do what little cooking there is to be done. But neither sex will do any work nnless hanger compels them. Their principal food consists of kangaroo, wallaby, wombat, opossum, igaana (a large species of lizard), tree grubs, emus, birds of all descriptions — and fishes when they can be got — red and white quondongs (a round red fruit having a rough' stone), yams (moona), wild carrots (tcharook), wild potatoes (balm), and various other bulbous roota. These the women collect. The whole of the dietary, both for flesh, fisb, and vegetables,- is roasted in large ovens dug in the ground and paved with stones, on whioh the food is placed and covered closely over with green boughs. In cooking the emu (a large bird of the ostrich species, whioh will be fully described by-and-bye) tbe natives adopt a curious plan. They do not pluck out the feathers before j roasting, but plaster the emu all over with i soft clay, wbioh hardens while the bird is cooking, and then, when removed from the j oven, tbe hard clay is cracked off with a { tomahawk with all the feathers adhering to it, leaving the body of the bird intaot and ready to be eaten. While partaking of their food the aborigines generally sit in a circle, the males in front and the females behind, the males partaking first. They graep the food with both hands and" eat hurriedly. The morsels aie partially devoured and the remainder is tossed over tho left shonlder to the woman or women who sit behind each coalis. Tbe young wives and unmarried girls are best treated and most liberally provided for. - The old lubras are, as a rule, very much neglected. Having gorged themselves with food, tbe blacks pass the evening in singing and teaching boys to use the weapons. I would that my young readers could all be gathered together to hear the natives sing. How they would laugh ! Suppose there are 300 blacks at the camp. Well, the males begin in a low guttural voice to obant : " Owa roni ali ani mooroom ying, mooroom moona mooroom balm, wuira — grumph 1 grumph 1 grumph I " This being interpreted means : " Yes, the piggy eats the grass, eats the yam, eats the potato ; then it grumphß 1 grumphs ! grumphs 1 " But it is the chorus you would laugh at | most. At the first snort all the blacks bend 1 their heads to the right, clapping their bands simultaneously, then at the second snort to I the front, and lastly to tbe left side. When . tbe males are at the end of the first lioe the I women take it up in a pieroing, Bhrill voice, as it were a roundelay, and the music is wild and weird in tbe extreme. ! Tbe time kept is as correct as a trained j ohoir, and the gestures are exact aa a* drilled I regiment. Two old gins, who beat with the ,■ palms of their hands on opossum rags rolled tightly together (tbe fnr side inwards), and an old coalis rattling two boomerangs together, are the accompanists and form the orchestra. But so much remains to be told and my space is so limited that I must hurry on. In hunting the various animals and birds whioh constitute their food, the aboriginals adopt different methods according to the j habits of their prey. The kangaroo's and 1 wallabies are oaptured much in the same 1 way. Both of these animals, which belong ! to the family of marsupials (thafc*3, animals I having a pouch for carrying the immature young), are gramnivoroas — eatiDg grass and herbs. At sundown in summer, or towards the afternoon in winter, the kangaroos and - wallabies leave the timber and come trooping out on the plains or open country to feed. j Tbe natives, who are watching their oppor- { tunity, surround them, and aa the circle narrows tbe animals gradually huddle together in tbe centre. Loud shouts are then raised, which comiDg from all directions con- | fuse the kangaroos and wallabies, when they ! hop closer and closer together, until they jostle each other. Spears are then thrown by the natives, any coming within reach are knocked down with nnllas or boomerangs, while many escape. At other times the natives lie in ambush at the gilguy (water) holes and spear the animals as they come to drink. The white people hunt the marsupials, either for their skins or in order to exterminate (for they consume much pasture and are very destructive to crops), in a more systematic and wholesale way. Packs of dogs specially ' bred and trained for the purpose are used, with rifles, snares, very 6trorg spring traps (something like a rabbit trap, but much larger and stronger), or according to the following plan : — Long, deep trendhes are dug in tbe ground, leaving a bush fence on one edge to conceal it ; then a very long fence. V shaped, constructed of calico, is run from tbe ends of tbe bußh fence out on to tbe plain, widening as it goes. Horsemen then surround the kangaroos and drive them within the calico fenca whioh leads towards tbe pit. Arrived at the bush fence the animals hop over it into the pit and are there destroyed. On one occasion as many aH 4500 kaDgaroos were captured in this way on a station in Queensland. j The objeot of these articles being to com*}lne instruction with amusement, it is in-

; tended in the next letter tc give you some ! information regarding kangaroos which cannot I be obtained in the olass room, but Is acquired . through observation alone, and it may not be | inopportune to inform my young readers that i nothing that has been or may be written is derived from any source other than actual personal experiences and sight. By adopting this method— namely, to couple a description of eaoh animal, bird, or reptile with the method of capturing it — it may tend to prolong your interest in the articles and instruct you as they prooeed.

LETTERS FROM LITTLE FOLKS. Dear Dot, — I live at Inveroargill, and go to the South School. We are having our holiday.*, and I am spending them with my grandma.' We have to go to school on the 25th insfc., and our pionio is to take place on the 27th. Dear Dot, I have a blae cat, and her name is Bluer. We have also a red calf ; will you please give me a name for her. My big brother had a lot of petf . He had three bantams, a hawk, a seagull, 23 white rats, a oat, a ferret, and a lamb. Dear Dot, I am sending you four stamps for the Kindergarten Fund. My mamma and grandmamma are going to Dunedin soon, and would very much like to see tbe little kindergarten children ; do you know if they could, and when P I like reading the little folks' letters. What a nice letter Vida M'Kellar wrote. I would nob like to live there — it is far too cold. Dear Dot, I have four brothers and three sister*. My youngest sister is one year past. She is such a dear little pot, and her name is Annie. I have a nice little garden of my own — a young apple tree in the middle and flowers all round it. My Ruuty and grandma look after it when I am away. I now close with kind love to you. — Yours truly, Ronv Alice (aged 10 years). Woodlands, January 23. [That is a very uico letter indeed, Ruby, and I think Vida will be as much interested in your letter as yon wore in hers. What a fortunate boy your brother is to have so many pets. It must take him all his spare time to look after them. However does bo keep the hawk from the chickens aqd the seagull from eitiug tbe eggs ? There will be no difficulty about feeing the kindergarten children, bnfc it will be necessary to go before 12 o'clock. Call the oalf Bed Rob?. Thank you for tne ntampd. — Dot.] Dear Dot, — I am eight years old, and am in the First -Standard. This is the first letter I have ever written, except one to my mother. I have a blaok atid white kitten only just bora ; will you please give me a name for it. I live close to the \7aiau River. It is a very swift river. When Igo to school I cross it in a punt. I have a doll ; will you please give me a name for it. — Yours truly, Clifden, January 25. Ethel Dcbie. [It must be pleasant crossing the river in a punt, Ethel, and I suppose you enjoy it very much. Call the a oil Violet and the kitten Romp. — Dot.] Dear Dot, — I live at Lee Stream, and it was raining up bore to-day. I have throe brothers and two sisters, and thoir Dames are Alick, Johnny, Peter, Annie, and Mary. We have three cows milking ; their names are Nancy, Rosie, and Cherry, and they have three little heifer calves ; will jou please give me namei for them. I tend four stamps tor the Kindergarten Fund. — Yours truly, Elsie Dkans (nged 12 years). Lee Stream, January 26. [Thank you for the stamps, Elsie. Call the calves Pansy, Blossom, and Daisy. — Dor.] Dear Dot,— l am going to tell you about an excursion trip we had to Queenstewn on Friday last. The train started from Gore thkt morning and arrived at Balfour at 6.15 a.m. It then proceeded to Lumsden, which ib left about a quarter to 7, and continund to Kingston. On the way we passed the Five Rivets estate, tbe Dome station, and then on to Kingston, passing many small stations en the line. Wo reached Kingston at 9 a m. *.nd here there were two boats waiting for us, the Mountaineer and the Ben Lomond. We we.nt in the Mountaineer, and there Vas hardly standing room. The Mountaineer started before the Ben Lomond, but the Ben Lomond reached ! Queenstown 10 minutes before us. We were two boars and a-half going up the lake, the distance from Kingston to Queeimtowu being 25 miles. We saw the Hector Mountains, the Staircase, 'Ben Nevis, and tbo Hemarkablea on the rigbt going np the lake, and on the left we saw the Eyre Mountains and Half-way Bay. We reaohed Queenstown at half-past 11. We then went and boiled our billy at tbe foot of Ben Lomond Mountain and had a good lunob, which we enjoyed, as we were very hungry. After lunch we went into the cemetery and saw some beautiful monuments. We then climbed a part ot the mountain. We came down in lees time than we went up. We then went to see the convent, and the nuns wera very kind to us. They live in such a ! pretty place ou the slope of a hill looking down into the lake, and we had nome lunch with them. We then went round the park and i back again. We met some of onr Balfour ; mates, and had a game of tiro's and three's, i but tbe ground was so uneven that a lot of us got j falls, though we were none the worse for them. All at once we were surprised to hear the • whistle of tho boats, so we oroke up our games and hurried back. We got on board the game I boat?, and reached Kingston at half-past 6. | We then got on board the train, and reached I Balfour at 9 p.m., after hswi^g spent a very en- ! joyable day. We all liked tbe voyage ou the water very much. The Waimea Plains is tho ! best agi icultural district on tho line. — Yours truly, Margaret Mary Mulqdeen. Green Lawn, Balfour, January 28. [It was a. really good trip, Margaret, and I do not wonder at your enjoying it. Queenstown is a delightful place for such a trip, and I am sure you will think all the year about the happy day you «pent. I suppose 70U wero all very tired and ready for bed by the time you got homß. Thank you for the stamps for the kindergarten. — Dot.] Dear Dot, — I am staying with my cousins at the seaside. There is a team of bullocks down here which draw wood to the sawmill. Thera is a steamer passing just now, and I have been looking at it through the glasses. We had tea in the bush twice this week with some friends. It is just lovely among the ferns and trees. Sometimes the boys go out netting and bring home flounders. It has been very wet to-day, and so we could not go out, and we have log fires. I suppose we shall be going home next week. I must stop now as the girls want to play " Khanhoo." Do you know the game. Dot ? It seenn very interesting, as they play it for hours. We just love our dip in the ■ Rea every morning, and sometimes we go twice. ; I will say good-night, Dot. — Yours truly, Kathy Febrar (aged 12 years). The Bungalow, Fort Molyneux. [No, Kathy, T never heard of it before. How 'is it played ? You will bo quite sorry when ! your holiday is over. — Dot.] ] Dear Dot, — I have junfc been reading the j little folks' letters, and I like them very much. I am soending my holidays at Fort Moljniux.

We had a pionio to Roaring Bay, We boiled the billy there, and then went on to the lighthouse. It was so nice. We go for bathes every day, and have grand fun. Sometimes steamers pass here. Have you ever been ao Port Molyneux, Dot? There are suoh numbers of visitors here this season. — Yours truly, Molly Hutchins (aged 10 years). The Bungalow, Port Molyneni. [Yes, Molly, and I do not wonder at your enjoying yourself; for it it indeed a delightful spot in summer time. Roaring Bay has a very rough sound, hasn't it ?— Dot.] KINDERGARTEN FUND. Stamps received : Elsie Deans, Lee Stream, 4 ; Ruby Alice, Woodlands, 4 ; Margaret Mary Mul* queen, Balfour, 5.