The Australian aboriginal

by Herbert Basedow

There are, however, a number of species which are hunted in a peculiar way; and these will now be described.

In the northern coastal districts, where hawks are very plentiful, the natives build small stone covers resembling a surveyor’s cairn. A hunter conceals himself in one of these and holds a dove or other small bird, which he has speared or captured, in his hand above a small loop-hole left at the top of the structure. He moves it about to attract the attention of the birds of prey soaring on high. Presently one of the hawks swoops down upon the dove and grabs it with its claws. But at the same moment, the hunter drops the dove and with lightning quickness seizes the legs of the hawk and pulls the bird under, to quickly kill it. This method is largely practised in the Victoria River district, there being an abundance of stones available for the construction of the covers. The occurrence of many cairns of the type here described has hitherto puzzled travellers who observed them.

The northern desert tribes of Western Australia adopt a similar principle, but in place of the stones they use the tussocks of porcupine grass to cover themselves. In order to attract the hawks they are hunting, they set fire to one or two plants of porcupine grass growing close by.

In the same district, and more especially on the Daly and other rivers in the Northern Territory, wild geese are captured much after the same principle. Large flocks of these semi-palmated geese (Anseranus melanoleuca) are in the habit of visiting one and the same place year after year. The natives know these places well, and during the absence of the geese make an excavation in the ground, which they cover with twigs, pieces of paper-bark, grass, and soil, leaving only one or two look-out holes. When the birds have returned, a couple of natives sit in the excavation and watch for the geese to draw near. As soon as a head or a leg of a goose comes near to an observation hole, one of the natives seizes the bird, draws it below, and wrings its neck. In this way many birds may be bagged without disturbing the flock.

On other occasions the natives climb trees, in which they build platforms to seat themselves upon and await the arrival of geese at dusk. The birds come in such large numbers that dozens are caught at a time; they are simply seized by hand and killed on the spot. By cleverly imitating the call of the birds: “nga ngang, ngang-ngang-ngang,” the hunters entice as many birds as they like to the platform. But even at daytime, a native often hides in a tussock of grass and imitates the cry of the bird, which, when it unsuspectingly draws near, is either grasped with the hand or hit on the head with a stick.

At times the hunter plucks a large water-lily leaf, into which he cuts two holes for his eyes to look through. Holding this leaf over his face, he swims out to some geese he has observed on a lagoon, and, when within grasping length of the prey, he simply pulls a bird under by its legs and strangles it.

The note of the whistling duck (Dendrocygna eytoni) is also accurately reproduced, by which flocks of them are attracted and killed with a throwing stick while hovering around the spot which conceals the native. Cockatoos, plovers, and many other birds are secured in a similar manner.

The flesh of an emu is valued, if for no other reason than for the size of the carcase and the large amount of grease which lies beneath the skin. The northern tribes of Western Australia have discovered a simple means of capturing the big struthious bird in that they poison a water known to be frequented by the game. When the bird has quenched its thirst, it is stupefied to such a degree that it is an easy matter for the natives, lying in ambush, to overtake it and crack it on the head. The poison used is supplied by the leaf of Tephrosia purpurea, which the natives call “moru”; the active principle is a saponine. In central Australia the pitjuri leaf is largely used for the same purpose.

The natives also take advantage of the inquisitive nature of the bird by enticing it into a cul-de-sac or other trap by waving a conspicuous object, as for instance a corrobboree plume, from behind a boulder or bush. When the bird is near enough, it is either rushed with waddies or speared by a number of chosen, astute men.

The Larrekiya and Wogait tribes conceal themselves in the branches of a tree, the seeds of which are known to attract the emu. The hunters ascend the tree in the early hours of the morning and remain there perfectly quiet until the prey arrives. At an opportune moment, the bird is speared with a specially heavy spear known as “nimmerima.”