A most remarkable law is that which obliges families connected by blood upon the female side to join for the purpose of avenging crimes, and as the father marries several wives, and very often all of different families, his children are all repeatedly divided among themselves, no common bond of union exists between them, and this custom alone would suffice to perpetuate their savage state.
Though they in no instance cultivate the soil, but subsist entirely by hunting and fishing, and on the wild roots they find in certain localities, with occasionally a little wild honey, every tribe has its own district, beyond whose well-defined limits it seldom passes except for purposes of war or festivity; and within that district all the wild animals are considered the property of the tribe inhabiting or rather ranging on its whole extent. Should any other tribe venture to intrude upon that district this is at once resisted as a violation of the rights of property, and is, indeed, a frequent cause of the wars which decimate the population, for the Australian aboriginal is as jealous of his rights and as pugnacious in their defence as any European can be.
But particular districts are not merely the property of particular tribes, particular sections or portions of these districts are universally recognised by the natives as belonging to individual members of these tribes; and as in England a man disposes of his property by will, thus among these savages a ‘lord of the manor’ divides his land during his lifetime, fairly apportioning it among his several sons, and at as early an age as fourteen or fifteen they can point out the portion which they are eventually to inherit. The punishment of ‘trespass for the purpose of hunting’ is invariably death if taken in the fact, and at the very least an obstinate contest ensues. If the trespasser is not taken in the fact, but is recognised from his footmarks, or from any other circumstance, and is ever caught in a defenceless state, he is probably killed; but frequently he appears, attended by his friends, and atones for his trespass by quietly holding out his leg for the injured party to thrust his spear through the thigh. Sometimes he undergoes the ordeal of having spears thrown at him.
At the appointed time, young and old repair to the place appointed for the trial, and the wild beauty of the scenery, the fantastically-painted forms of the natives, the savage yells and shouts of exultation which are raised as the culprit dexterously parries or by rapid leaps and contortions of his body avoids the clouds of spears which are hurled at him, all combine to form a scene full of dramatic interest. If the criminal is wounded in a degree judged sufficient for the crime he has committed, his guilt is wiped away, or if none of the spears thrown at him (only a limited number being allowed to each) take effect, he is equally pardoned.
There are other laws intended for the preservation and distribution of food, such as that which forbids all vegetable productions used as such by the natives, to be plucked or gathered when bearing seed, and the restriction of youth to certain articles of diet. They are not allowed to eat fish or eggs, or the emu, or any of the finer kinds of opossum or kangaroo. In short, their fare is required to be of the coarsest and most meagre description. As they grow older the restrictions are removed one after another; but it is not till they have passed the period of middle age that they are entirely unrestrained in the choice of food. The result of this regulation is to prevent the young men from possessing themselves by their superior strength and agility of all the more desirable articles of food, and leaving only the refuse to the elders, to whom another rule requires them to pay implicit obedience.
Thus, while among most other savage nations old age is a period of privation and neglect, aged men are always treated by the Australians with great respect, and as they rarely take part in any fray, and seldom appear to suffer much from the infirmities and diseases to which the aged are generally subject amongst us, it is probably the happiest time of their life.
It is commonly supposed that the natives of Australia are about as badly off for food as the African Bushmen or the Fuegoans, but according to Captain Grey, this is a great mistake, for every native knows exactly what his district produces, the proper time at which the several articles are in season, and the readiest means of procuring them. Besides, he is pre-eminently omnivorous, including frogs, mice, grubs, and lizards in his bill of fare, and making the roots of the earth, the fishes of the water, the birds of the air, and the animals of the bush contribute to his support. In order to obtain all the different articles of food, he displays a wonderful ingenuity, and never appears to greater advantage than while busily engaged in the pursuits of the chase. When hunting the kangaroo, he rivals in energy and perseverance, in skill and keenness of eye, the Red Indian tracking the wild animals of the Brazilian forest. The moment he commences his day’s hunting, his whole manner and appearance undergo a remarkable change; his eyes, before heavy and listless, are now full of animation; his movements are rapid but noiseless, all his soul is intent upon detecting signs of game. His glance roves from side to side in a vigilant, uneasy manner; no circumstance, however insignificant, escapes his attention—suddenly, he checks his pace, and stands immovable, like one transfixed, whilst all his faculties are concentrated in the sense of sight and hearing. His wives, who are at some distance behind him, the moment they see him assume this attitude, know that a kangaroo is near, and fall to the ground as if they had been shot, their children cowering by them and their little faces expressing an earnestness and anxiousness far beyond their years.
‘Looking about a hundred yards to the right of the native, you will see a kangaroo erect upon its hind legs and supported by its tail; it is reared to its utmost height, so that its head is between five and six feet above the ground; its short fore-paws hang by its side, its ears are pointed: it is listening as carefully as the native, and you see a little head peering out from its pouch, to inquire what has alarmed its mother; but the native moves not, you cannot tell whether it is a human being or the charred trunk of a burnt tree which is before you, and for several minutes the whole group preserve their relative position; at length the kangaroo becomes reassured, drops upon its fore paws, gives an awkward leap or two, and goes on feeding. Meantime the native moves not until the kangaroo having two or three times resumed the attitude of listening, at length once more abandons itself in perfect security to its feed, and playfully smells and rubs its little one. Now the watchful savage, keeping his body unmoved, fixes the spear first in the throwing-stick and then raises his arms in the attitude of throwing, from which they are never again moved until the kangaroo dies or runs away; his spear being properly secured he advances slowly and stealthily towards his prey, no part moving but his legs; whenever the kangaroo looks round, he stands motionless, in the position he is in when it first raises its head, until the animal, again assured of its safety, gives a skip or two and goes on feeding again; the native advances, and this scene is repeated many times, until the whistling spear penetrates the devoted animal; then the wood rings with shouts, women and children all join pell-mell in the chase; the kangaroo, weak from the loss of blood, and embarrassed by the long spear, which catches in the brush wood as it flies, at length turns on its pursuers, and to secure its rear, places its back against a tree, preparing at the same time to rend open the breast and entrails of its pursuer, by seizing him in its fore-paws and kicking with its hind legs and claws; but the wily native keeps clear of so murderous an embrace, and from the distance of a few yards throws spears into its breast, until the exhausted animal drops down.’
There are several other modes of taking kangaroos, such as catching them in nets or pit-falls, or lying in wait near their watering places until they come to drink; or else a party surrounds and incloses them in a narrowing circle; but the mode of tracking a kangaroo until it is wearied out is the one which pre-eminently requires every qualification prized by savages,—skill in tracking, endurance of hunger and thirst, unwearied bodily exertion, and lasting perseverance. To perform this feat, a native starts upon the track of a kangaroo, which he follows until he sights it, when it flies timidly before him; again he pursues the track, and again the animal bounds from him, and this is repeated until nightfall, when the native lights his fire, and sleeps upon the track; with the first light of day the hunt is resumed, and towards the close of the second day, or in the course of the third, the kangaroo falls a victim to its pursuer. None but a skilful huntsman, in the pride of youth and vigour, can execute this feat, which beyond all others excites the admiration of the natives.
Unfortunately, my limits do not allow me to describe their dexterity in fishing, or in entrapping the various kinds of wild fowl with which the rivers and lagoons of Australia abound, but the skill and acuteness of perception they display in hunting the opossum are too interesting to be passed over in silence. The savage carelessly walks up to some narrow trunk which he thinks bears a suspicious appearance; his hands are placed thoughtlessly behind his back, whilst his dark eye glances over the bark; suddenly it is for one moment stationary, and he looks eagerly at the tree, for he has detected the holes made by the nails of the opossum in its ascent; he now seeks for one of these footmarks which has a little sand attached to it, and gently blows the sand. If this is still damp, and holds together, it is a sign that the animal has climbed the tree the same morning, for otherwise the sand, dried by the heat of the sun, would have been readily swept away before his breath. Having, by this examination of signs which an unskilled European would vainly strive to detect, convinced himself that the opossum is in some hole of the tree, the native pulls his hatchet from his girdle, and cutting a small notch in the bark about four feet from the ground, he places the great toe of his right foot in it, throws his right arm round the tree, and with his left hand sticks the point handle of the hatchet into the bark, as high up as he can reach, and thus forms a stay to drag himself up with; having made good this step, he cuts another for his left foot, and thus proceeds until he has ascended to the hole where the opossum is hid, which is then compelled by smoke, or by being poked out, to quit its hiding-place, when the native catching hold of its tail, dashes it down on the ground, and quietly descends to pick it up.