The natives of Australia have generally been thought to occupy the lowest place in the social scale. But from Col. Grey's valuable work it may be inferred that in their devices for catching game and other arts belonging to their rude state, they give proofs of the same intelligence and acuteness as are evinced by other races of men. They have also Songs of War and Love which they sing in tunes most barbarous and discordant. The more refined lays of the European excite mimicry and laughter. But, adds Col. Grey, “Some of the natives are not insensible to the charms of our music. Warrup, a native youth, who lived with me for several months as a servant, once accompanied me to an amateur theatre at Perth, and when the actors came forward and sang ‘God save the Queen,’ he burst into tears. He certainly could not have comprehended the words of the song, and, therefore, must have been affected by the Music alone.”
“Nothing can awaken in the breast more melancholy feelings than the funeral chants of these people. They are sung by a whole chorus of females of all ages, and the effect [pg xlv] produced upon the bystanders by this wild music is indescribable.”
Many of the Australian words given by Colonel Grey will readily be recognized among the terms collected from the languages of the other Four Continents in [Appendix A]; as for example: Nganga, Ngon-ge, Tin-dee, Tiendee, “The Sun” and “The Stars.” (See App. A, p. [26].) Yanna, “To go,” and Tjênna, Tinna, “The Foot.” ([74].) Tullun, Tdallung, Tadlanga, “The Tongue.” ([72].) Nago, “To see.” ([42], [43].) Mena, “The Eye.” ([14].) Poou, Puiyu, Poito, Booyoo, “Smoke,” and Bobun, “To blow.” ([21].)
In the construction of their canoes, the inhabitants of some of the most barbarous islands of the Pacific, exhibit an originality and a variety of conception of precisely the same nature as is displayed in those mechanical inventions by which the sum of European civilization is progressively extended!
But in relation to the subject more immediately under examination, far the most valuable and instructive information occurs in Mr. Catlin's account of his residence among the North American Indian Tribes, a work, admirable alike as a living picture of Indian manners and sentiments, and also as an earnest and simple minded, and for that reason an eminently touching and eloquent appeal, on behalf of one of the noblest, though one of the most unfortunate families of the Human Race!
“I have roamed about from time to time during seven or eight years,” says the writer, “visiting and associating with some three or four hundred thousand of these people, under an almost infinite variety of circumstances; and from the very many and decidedly voluntary acts of their hospitality and kindness, I feel bound to pronounce them, by nature, a kind and hospitable people. I have been welcomed generally in their country, and treated to the [pg xlvi] best that they could give me, without any charges made for my board; they have often escorted me through their enemies' country at some hazard to their own lives, and aided me in passing mountains and rivers with my awkward baggage; and under all these circumstances of exposure, no Indian ever betrayed me, struck me a blow, or stole from me a shilling's worth of my property that I am aware of.
“This is saying a great deal (and proving it too, if the reader will believe me,) in favour of the virtues of these people; when it is borne in mind, as it should be, that there is no law in the land to punish for theft, that locks and keys are not known in their country, that the commandments have never been divulged amongst them, nor can any human retribution fall upon the head of a thief, save the disgrace which attaches as a stigma to his character in the eyes of the people around him.
“And thus in these little communities, strange as it may seem, in the absence of all systems of jurisprudence, I have often beheld peace and happiness, and quiet, reigning supreme, for which even kings and emperors might envy them. I have seen rights and virtue protected, and wrongs redressed; and I have seen conjugal, filial and paternal affection, in the simplicity and contentedness of nature. I have unavoidably formed warm and enduring attachments to some of these men, which I do not wish to forget, who have brought me near to their hearts, and in our final separation have embraced me in their arms, and commended me and my affairs to the keeping of the Great Spirit.”