In August of the same year the English naturalist Mr. Caldwell established the fact that the spiny ant-eater actually lays eggs, and he has shown that the same is the case with the ornithorhynchus. The egg, which was found at the same time by Mr. Haacke in Adelaide, was ¾ of an inch in diameter, and had a shell like parchment, which was broken by a slight pressure of the finger. As is well known, turtles and other reptiles have eggs of this kind. By this important discovery it is therefore established that the ant-eater and the ornithorhynchus nurse their young with milk as do other mammals, but that they lay eggs like birds and reptiles.
The natives occasionally came to Gracemere either to fish in the lagoon or to gather the roots of the blue water-lily, which they use as food. It is claimed that the blacks of this part of Australia are familiar with the use of stimulants. If the leaves of Erythroxylon australis, which is common in the scrubs near Rockhampton, possess stimulating qualities similar to those of South America’s Erythroxylon coca (“cocaine”), then we may presume that the blacks are aware of it.
At the lower part of Fitzroy river the natives used to catch mullets with their hand-nets in the winter season; they knew by the appearance of a certain star, which they called “Nia,” that the mullet was coming down the river to spawn, and they always caught a great number of this fish that were full of roe.
BROW-BAND FROM CENTRAL QUEENSLAND (⅓ size).
The Australian natives are very skilful in various kinds of handiwork, but their talent manifests itself in different ways. One may excel in making baskets, another in producing the best fishing-nets, a third the best weapons, etc. I purchased a number of articles from the natives of Central Queensland. Near the coast I secured several bands for the forehead, remarkable for their solidity and beauty. The little bags, which they plait with great skill, are also very strong and pretty. Some of these things are made from cotton thread, but the most common material is the so-called opossum yarn—that is, hairs pulled out of the opossum skin (Irichosurus vulpecula) and twisted into threads between the flat hand and the thigh. From this yarn the blacks make a little apron, worn about the waist in this part of Australia. Opossum yarn is also worn in bunches on various parts of the body, for instance round the loins or over one shoulder. Sometimes a “band” of this sort is thrown over each shoulder, in such a way that they form a cross on the breast and on the back. I have even seen civilised blacks wearing these bands under their clothes, but their purpose I do not know. The natives are very willing to part with them. Frequently five or six threads of opossum yarn are twisted together to form a plain ornament about the wrist or neck. Opossum skins are also sewed together and used partly as articles of clothing, partly as mats.
OPOSSUM THREAD (¹⁄₁ size).
Their shields are small, and as a rule are made of the light cork-tree (Erythrina vespertilio). The front side is rather curved, while the reverse is flat and furnished with a little handle cut out of the shield itself. Like most of the weapons of the natives, the shield is carved and then usually painted with white and red.
