y is made to pass; the skins are
turned inside out, and the ends of the legs tied up, and are then ready
for holding water, and always form part of the baggage of natives who
travel much about, or go into badly watered districts. I have seen these
skins (lukomb) capable of holding from two to three gallons of water: the
fur is always inside. The karko is a small spade of wood, used by the
natives north of Adelaide for digging up grubs from the ground. The canoe
or "mun" is a large sheet of bark cut from the gum-tree, carefully
lowered to the ground, and then heated with fire until it becomes soft
and pliable, and can be moulded into form, it is then supported by wooden
props, to keep it in shape, until it becomes hard and set, which is in
about twenty-four hours, though it is frequently used sooner. On its
being launched, sticks or stretchers are placed across each end and in
the middle, to prevent the bark from contracting or curling up with
exposure to the air. A large canoe will hold seven or eight people
easily; it is often twenty feet long. The following is a description of
an ordinary one for fishing:--length fifteen feet, width three feet,
depth eight inches, formed out of a single sheet of bark, with one end a
little narrower than the other and pointing upwards. This end is paddled
first; the bottom is nearly flat, and the canoe is so firm, that a person
can take hold of one side, and climb into it from the water without
upsetting it. It is paddled along with the long pine-spear moo-aroo,
described as being used in fishing at night by firelight. In propelling
it the native stands near the centre, pushing his moo-aroo against the
water, first on one side and then on the other; in shallow water one end
of the moo-aroo is placed on the bottom, and the canoe so pushed along.
The natives are well acquainted with the use of fire, for hardening the
points of their weapons or softening the wood to enable them to bend
them. In the former case, the point is charred in the fire, and scraped
with a shell or flint to the precise shape required; in the latter, their
spears, and other similar weapons, are placed upon hot ashes, and bent
into form by pressure. It is a common practice among many of the tribes
to grease their weapons and implements with human fat, taken from the
omentum, either of enemies who have been killed, or of relations who have
died. Spears, and other offensive arms, are supposed to possess
additional powers