“Wonder at nought:—the only rule I know
To make man happy, and to keep him so.”
“They are never awkward,” says Major Mitchell, who was well qualified to speak from experience; “on the contrary, in manners, and general intelligence, they appear superior to any class of white rustics that I have seen. Their powers of mimicry seem extraordinary, and their shrewdness shines even through the medium of imperfect language, and renders them, in general, very agreeable companions.” We may, therefore, if our inquiry be accompanied by humility and justice, be able to form a fair and impartial opinion respecting these people; and the result of an inquiry of this sort must be, in every well-regulated soul, not merely a feeling of thankfulness (still less of self-sufficiency,) that we are far removed from the savage state, but, likewise, a sense of shame, that, with many of our fellow-countrymen, their superior advantages have been productive of little or no fruit.
One very remarkable distinction of the natives of the Bush is, the entire absence of clothing, unless the cloak, made of opossum-skin, worn by some tribes, can deserve to be thought an exception. Their climate being, generally speaking, a dry one, and exposure to the air, even at night, being much less hurtful than in most other countries, this habit of going without clothing, after the fashion of a brute beast, is by no means so dangerous in Australia as it would be elsewhere. But, while they can dispense with clothes, like most other savages, they are extremely fond of ornaments,—at least, of what they esteem to be such: these are teeth of kangaroos, or men, jaw-bones of a fish, feathers, tails of dogs, pieces of wood, &c., fastened on different parts of the head, by a sort of gum; while scars, and marks of various kinds, are made upon the breast, arms, and back; or, upon certain occasions, as going to war, or mourning for a friend, the body is streaked over with white and yellow paint, according to the taste of the party concerned. In two very distant parts of Australia, namely, the gulf of Carpentaria, and the eastern coast of St. Vincent’s Gulf, the natives practise the rite of circumcision—a remarkable agreement, when we consider that they are about 1200 miles apart, and have no means of communication with each other. It is no uncommon custom, either, for the natives to pierce their noses, and to place a bone or reed through the opening, which is reckoned a great ornament. But there is another custom, almost peculiar to Australia, which, from its singularity, may deserve to be noticed at some length. Among many of the native tribes,[38] it is usual for the males to have a front tooth, or sometimes two, struck out at the time of their arriving at manhood, and this ceremony is performed in a most solemn and impressive manner. The following account of it, from the pen of an eye-witness, may be not unacceptable to the reader: Lieutenant Collins, the historian of the infant colony of New South Wales, was present during the whole of this curious operation, and thus describes the accompanying ceremonies practised by the natives of that part of Australia:—For seven days previous to the commencement of the solemnity, the people continued to assemble, and the evenings were spent in dancing, for which they adorned themselves in their best manner, namely, by painting themselves white, and especially by drawing white circles round their eyes. When the field was prepared, and the youths who were to be enrolled among men were all placed together upon one side of it, the business began with a loud shout, and a clattering of shields and spears, from the armed party, whose office it was to seize the patients about to undergo the extraordinary operation. This was done one by one, until the whole number, fifteen, were brought forward, and placed in the midst of the armed body of men; then each youth was made to sit down, holding his head downwards, with his hands clasped, and his legs crossed under him, in which painful posture it was said they were to remain all night, without looking up or taking any refreshment whatever.[39] The Carrahdis, or persons who were to perform the operation, now began some of their strange mummeries. Each one of these, in his turn, appeared to suffer most extreme agony, and put himself into every posture that pain could occasion, until, at length, a bone was brought forward, which was intended to be used in the ensuing ceremony; and the poor youths were led to believe that the more pain these Carrahdis suffered in obtaining the bone, the less would be theirs in losing a tooth. The following day began with the ceremony of the fifteen operators running round upon their hands and feet, in imitation of the dogs of that country, and throwing upon the boys, as they passed, sand and dirt with their hands and feet. The youths were perfectly still and silent, and it was understood that this ceremony gave them power over the dog, and endowed them with whatever good qualities that animal might possess.
The next part that was performed, was the offering of a sham kangaroo, made of grass, to the fifteen lads, who were still seated as before. One man brought the kangaroo, and a second carried some brushwood, besides having one or two flowering shrubs stuck through his nose, and both seemed to stagger under the weight of their burdens. Stalking and limping, they at last reached the feet of the youthful hunters, and placed before them the prize of the chase, after which they went away, as though entirely wearied out. By this rite was given the power of killing the kangaroo, and the brushwood, most likely, was meant to represent its common haunt. In about an hour’s space, the chief actors returned from a valley to which they had retired, bringing with them long tails of grass, which were fitted to the girdle. By the help of this addition, they imitated a herd of kangaroos, one man beating time to them with a club on a shield, and two others, armed, followed them and affected to steal unnoticed upon them to spear them. As soon as these pretended kangaroos had passed the objects of their visit, they instantly got rid of their artificial tails, each man caught up a lad, and, placing him upon his shoulders, carried him off in triumph to the last scene of this strange exhibition.
After walking a short distance, the men put down their burdens, placing them in a cluster, each boy with his head upon his breast, and his hands clasped together. In a few minutes, after a greater degree of mystery and preparation than had been before observed, the youthful band was brought forward to a place where a number of human beings were seen lying with their faces to the ground, as if they were dead, and in front of these was a man seated on a stump of a tree, bearing another man upon his shoulders, both having their arms extended, while two men, in a like attitude, were seen also behind the group of prostrate figures. These first two men made most hideous faces for a few minutes, and then the lads were led over the bodies lying on the ground, which moved and writhed, as though in great agony; after which the same strange grimaces were repeated by the two men who were placed on the further side of the apparently dead bodies. All the information that could be gained of the meaning of this, was, that it would make them brave men; that they would see well and fight well. Then followed a sort of martial exercise with spear and shield, in the presence of the future warriors, to signify to them what was to be one great business of their lives—the use of the spear; and, when this was finished, the preparations for striking out the tooth commenced. The first subject of this barbarous operation was chosen, and seated upon the shoulders of a native, who himself sat down upon the grass; and then the bone was produced, which had cost so much apparent pain to procure the evening before, and which was made very sharp and fine at one end, for the purpose of lancing the gum. But for some such precaution, it would have been impossible to have knocked out the tooth, without breaking the jaw-bone. A stick was then cut with much ceremony out of some hard wood, and when the gum of the patient was properly prepared, the smallest end of the stick was applied to the top of the tooth, while the operator stood ready with a large stone, as though about to drive the tooth down the throat of the youth. Here a certain attention to the number three, which had been before shown, was again noticed, for no stroke was actually made, until three attempts to hit the stick had taken place; and, notwithstanding repeated blows, so firmly was the tooth of the first boy fixed in his gum, that it was full ten minutes before it was forced out. The sufferer was then removed, his gum was closed, and he was dressed out in a new style, with a girdle, in which was stuck a wooden sword, and with a bandage round his head, while his left hand was placed over his mouth, and he was not allowed to speak, nor, during that day, to eat. In this manner were all the others treated, except one only, who could not endure the pain of more than one blow with the stone, and, breaking away from his tormentors, he managed to make his escape. During the whole operation a hideous noise was kept up around the patients, with whom, generally, it seemed to be a point of honour to endure this pain without a single murmur. Having once gone through this strange ceremony, they were henceforth admitted into the company and privileges of the class of men.
And as the commencement of manhood in this way, requires no small exercise of courage and endurance of pain, so the remainder of the life of an Australian savage is usually abundant in trials calling for the like qualities, and demanding both bravery and patience. Whatever may be the particular evils of civilized society, and however some wild imaginations may be tempted by these to regard with regret or envy the enjoyments of savage life, after all it must be confessed, these enjoyments are, at best, very scanty and very uncertain, whilst the miseries attendant upon such a state are of a nature continually to try the patience and weary the spirit of him who has to endure them. Without dwelling just at present upon the natural wants and sufferings to which savage men are perpetually exposed in the wilderness of Australia, it is deplorable to think of how many evils these thinly-scattered tribes are the cause to each other; enormous and sad is the amount of suffering, which, even in those lonely and unfrequented regions, human beings are constantly bringing upon their brethren or neighbours. War, which seems almost a necessary evil, an unavoidable scourge to man’s fallen race, in all ages and in every country, wears its most deadly aspect, and shows its fiercest spirit among the petty tribes, and in the personal encounters of savages like those of whom we are treating. Various causes of misunderstanding will, of course, arise among them from time to time, and every trifling quarrel is continued and inflamed by their amazing and persevering efforts to revenge themselves, which appears to be with them considered a matter of duty. The shedding of blood is always followed by punishment, and only those who are jee-dyte, or unconnected with the family of the guilty person, can consider themselves in safety from this evil spirit of revenge. Little children of seven or eight years old, if, while playing, they hear that some murder has taken place, can in a moment tell whether or not they are jee-dyte, and even at this tender age, take their measures accordingly. An example of this unsparing visitation of offences occurred not long after the settlement of New South Wales had commenced. A native had been murdered, and his widow, being obliged to revenge his death, chanced to meet with a little girl distantly related to the murderer, upon whom she instantly poured forth her fury, beating her cruelly about the head with a club and pointed stone, until at length she caused the child’s death. When this was mentioned before the other natives, they appeared to look upon it as a right and necessary act, nor was the woman punished by the child’s relatives, possibly because it was looked upon as a just requital.
When a native has received any injury, whether real or fancied, he is very apt to work himself up into a tremendous passion, and for this purpose certain war-songs, especially if they are chanted by women, seem amazingly powerful. Indeed, it is stated, on good authority, that four or five mischievously-inclined old women can soon stir up forty or fifty men to any deed of blood, by means of their chants, which are accompanied by tears and groans, until the men are excited into a perfect state of frenzy. The men also have their war-songs, which they sing as they walk rapidly backwards and forwards, quivering their spears, in order to work themselves up into a passion. The following very common one may serve for a specimen, both of the manner and matter of this rude, yet, to them, soul-stirring poetry:—
| Yu-do dauna, | Spear his forehead, | |
| Nan-do dauna, | Spear his breast, | |
| Myeree dauna, | Spear his liver, | |
| Goor-doo dauna, | Spear his heart, | |
| Boon-gal-la dauna, | Spear his loins, | |
| Gonog-o dauna, | Spear his shoulder, | |
| Dow-al dauna, | Spear his thigh, | |
| Nar-ra dauna, | Spear his ribs, | |
| &c. &c. &c. | &c. &c. &c. |
And thus it is that a native, when he feels afraid, sings himself into courage, or, if he is already in a bold mood, he heaps fuel upon the flame of his anger, and adds strength to his fury. The deadly feeling of hatred and revenge extends itself to their public, as well as to their private, quarrels, and sometimes shows itself in a very fierce and unexpected manner. In the valley of the Wollombi, between Sydney and Hunter’s River, some years ago, three boys of a certain tribe had been persuaded to reside in the families of three of the British settlers there. These were marked out for vengeance by the natives belonging to a tribe in a state of warfare with them, about 100 of whom travelled between 20 and 30 miles during one night—a thing almost unheard of among the natives—and reached the neighbourhood of the settlers on the Wollombi very early on the ensuing morning. Two or three of them were sent to each of the houses to entice the boys out, but these, it appeared, somewhat suspected the intentions of their enemies. However, they were at length persuaded to join the native dance, when suddenly a circle was formed round them, and they were speedily beaten to death with waddies or clubs. Immediately after which deed, the troop of natives returned back again to their own neighbourhood. A European happened to pass by, just as the boys were dying, but being alone and unarmed, his interference might have been dangerous to himself, without proving of any the slightest advantage to the unfortunate sufferers.
Another instance of that cowardly cruelty, which will take every possible advantage of a helpless age and sex occurred many years before this, when the colony of New South Wales was quite in its infancy. The father and mother of a little native girl, aged about seven years, had belonged to a party by whom many robberies had been committed on the banks of the river Hawkesbury, but an armed troop of Europeans was sent in pursuit of these robbers, and when a meeting took place, the child’s parents were among those that fell, while she accompanied the victorious party to the British settlement. Here she behaved herself with propriety, being a well-disposed child, she was a favourite at Government-house, where she resided under the protection of the governor. This circumstance, and the fact of her belonging to a different tribe from their own, awakened the jealousy of some of the natives, who belonged to the neighbourhood of Sydney, and she was consequently put to death in the most cruel manner. Her body was found in the woods, speared in several places, and with both the arms cut off. The murderers of the poor child escaped.