n
the form of a crescent: it is thrown against the wind, and describes a
circle in its course. The spear is of cane, hardened by fire at the
end, and is thrown with great force and dexterity. No black who can by
any means obtain a tomahawk, is ever without one, generally of English
make: with this, they are very expert at felling trees, and, with its
aid, will climb a tree which it would take two pair of arms to encircle.
The "black-fellow" cuts a small notch about three feet from the ground;
in this, he inserts the toe of one foot, holding on by one hand while he
cuts another hole three feet further up to receive the other foot; and
thus he proceeds till he reaches the top. The dead trees of Australia,
which are all hollow, are a favourite resort of the opossum. In search
of them, the black-fellow will ascend a tree in the manner just
described; and there he will sit while his companions below dig under
the roots, and light a fire, the smoke from which ascending the trunk of
the tree, as a chimney, speedily dislodges the game. This is dexterously
pounced upon by "blacky," the moment its head appears peeping from the
aperture at the top of some of the branches. I have never known the
tomahawk thrown by them, as it is by the Indian of America.

My family was once thrown into considerable alarm by an ill-looking
tribe of blacks who formed their camp immediately in front of our
cottage: they were strangers, and had no business there. On making
inquiries about them, I found that they came from a neighbouring
district, and were endeavouring to evade the police, who were in search
of them for the murder of an unfortunate shepherd. Not at all liking
such neighbours, I took advantage of their absence, one day, when they
were gone kangaroo-hunting, and set fire to their bee-hive huts. On
their return at sun-set, they took the hint, and we saw no more of them.

Among these tribes, it is a rule, that blood must be had for blood; and
this leads them, when one of their number falls by the hand of a white
man, to kill the first European they happen to meet, in retaliation. It
would scarcely be reasonable to expect these ignorant savages to see the
injustice of this proceeding; yet, it is hard, that an unoffending
person like the shepherd above referred to should be slaughtered in
revenge of the murder of a man he had never seen.

The number of dialects, or apparently different languages, spoken by the
aborigines of Australia, is ve