UNKNOWN AUSTRALIA.

Shannon News, 31 December 1925, Page 3

UNKNOWN AUSTRALIA.

VAST FORTUNES AMASSED MILLION IN THREE WEEKS NOTABLE CASES IN AMERICA The Terry expedition which has 1 cen exploring the inland areas of al. most unknown Australia, has had many interesting experiences among tho blacks. Writing from Billlluna Station, Western Australia, the leader of the expedition, Lionel Terry, says:-- ; Our clays at this station were full of interest. Tho blacks with their weird customs and curious habits, were a never-ending source of amusement and novelty.. We saw them at their dances, they made hair rope tor us. they chipped spear heads, a doctor performed some disappearing tricks with a stone which his confreres considered very special, they showed how to hunt with boomerangs and a host of otlivr items well worth recording. While the preparations for the corroborao were going on a black was persuaded to demonstarte the art of fire making. Having collected a small heap ot twigs and a handful of tinder grass, he squatted on the ground. He used two sticks for the job. one of which was laid on the tinder and held in place by his feet at either end, the other being supported vertically between his hands. With a swift tubbing movement of the hands the vertical stick was made to rotate in alternate directions, so .that its point bored into the wood on which it was testing. This soon grinds out a tiny stream of black, smoking powder, which trickles down among the tinder.

Directly the smallest amount has been obtained the sticks are dropped on on.i'sid'e, and -the powder carefullyburied in the dry grass. With little delay it is held up to the . breeze, which the black supplements with gentle puffs of his own according to his fancy. t Watching- him at this' part of the business reminded one strongly of some collector -viewing a choice piece of china or glass. As his head moved this way and that, directing the puffs, the memory came of a connoisseur searching for a flaw in a crystal held liigh to the light in a dingy curio shop. Thoughts were quickly brought to the present, for the "curio" im. mediately began to emit trickles of smoke, shortly followed by a flicker of flame as the whole caught fire. The burning grass was dropped on tho ground, with the twigs piled up on it, it soon became a merry little fire. Wc got the boy to repeat the whole operation several times but it never took longer than three or rour minutos to complete the process from start to finish. - As we stood watching the firemaker, other blacks collected around among whom wore one or two with markedly Semitic features. In fact, one was .photographed, but let it not* lie thought that J am an aspirant to the honour of finding the Lost Tribe in still another curious locality. A Strange Assembly.

Meanwhile the audience had col. .looted. A heterogeneous assembly of lubras, piccaninnies and non-per-former? were seated in the usual fashion, but as closely packed as possible. The men were complacently squatting in the \ front, while the women -were severely relegated to the back stalls, children being allowed a ffce run.of the house and a choice 0? anybody's knee. This audience is the orchestra as 1 well, for their task Is to carry 011 the suitable chant and supply th<- time for the dancers. This latter is done by clapping boomer. angs together with monotonous regularity, and by the lubras slapping their thighs, with hollowed hands.

The dancers were fourteen in num. ber, and 1 were partly hidden behind some bushes, wh-nce they issued on to the stage —a clear piece of ground directly in'front of the audience. The signal for the perforance to commence was given by the audience (would that civilisation's conventions were the same!). They set up a chant which seemed as good as an order to get a move on. Stamping hard and stepping high the dancers came out from the shelter of the bushes. With set faces they kept in a regular formation, doing a series of iigures not unlike a movement of the Lancers. This was continued for two or three minutes Then the orchestra ceased, and the stag ft emptied. Afltr a short spell the singing was again begun, the new chant apparently diffeffring from the previous one only in the words, chant apparently differing from the dancing as a new series of formations were gone through. Also other symbols'were carried by the performers. Leaned FlOll Another Tribe. t

Previously each one had held a length of hair string, about three feet long, with an end in each hand. As they danced one end was held high, and the other about the level of the hip. Every few steps the high end was lowered to the hip. the lower one being at the samt time raised to about the height of the forehead. 1 was unable to loam the significance of this feature of the corroboree; all I could gather was that it had "been learnt from a tribe far away to the audience had allowed them a respite east.

During- the second dance each boy in front of him, and during the subcarried two boomerangs held crossed organs, and other articles of "trade" sequent ones other symbols wer<3 used. It was soon sundown, 1 so the day's corroboree drew to a close. Hot and perspiring, the dancers seemed only too glad that the exacting till the morrow. To recompense them for the display the 14 performers were told to com<; to the cars, where each received some token. A selection of tobacco, beads, cloth, mouth, brought smiles. One of the most successful of the novelties, were some pairs of coloured spectacles, after the

pattern worn by the popular screen comedian Harold Lloyd.