The Blacks in Cental Australia.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 217, 27 August 1887, Page 3

The Blacks in Cental Australia.

A tall aboriginal was recently brought to Adelaide from Central Australia by Mi* D. Lindsay, the explorer. Some references are mado to the blacks by Mr Lindsay in a paper read by him at a meeting of the Geographical Society in Adelaide, on Juno 29 :— The natives, he says, have recognised tribal messengers, who barter their repective commodities, such aspitchuri, weapons, red and white ochre, &c. , and who convey many items of information. One native proved very skilful as a guide through the sandhill country, while they were trying to make their way to a lake they had heard of fiom the blacks. Following the dii ections of their guide, the party travelled on one occasion for GO miles over a perfect sea of sandhills, which all lay at very regular distances apait, with a north north-west and south south easteily direction, very sparsely clothed with a fewjmulga and other bushes, but a great deal of spinifex. Many ofthese hills Avere 70ft. high. All elope up on the south-western bide, and are very bteep, nearly perpendicular on the eastern side, and as the foot of one couches the foot of the next, the travelling, with the sun at 114deg. to 12odeg. in the .shade, was both wearisome and difficult. The guide was once in doubt about the direction, and on being asked said, " Me been lose him ; you straight walk." On we went for a few miles, wher Paddy's joyous voice was hcaid crying out, "All light; me been find him. Long time me been bleep long this one bush long my mother when me picaninny." Looking carefully at this bush and the simoundiugs we weie forced to admit that to us there was no diflerence between it <md any one of the many we had parsed ; but he was right, fcr he changed his direction slightly and led on with the gicate.st confidence. Jusc before daik on the .second day we ascended a big sandhill, and there beneath us lay a plain some two or three miles wide, stretching away on cither hand as far as we could "see, looking beautiful as the lays of the setting sun bhonc on the ditterent-colouied foliage of the bluebush, cottonbiibh, saltbush, and acacias which clothed this plain. Just at our feet, too, was " Murrabiut,'' indeed a disappointment, for it was but a native well, dillieult to get at, the hole being pcrpendieulai 12 ieet, and then adri\e of 8 ioet,&o small that I had to undies before I could enter. The water "was bubbling up, and slightly biacki^h. I belie\e it to be a spting, and thatalai^c .supply of water could be obtained. There wan no special object to guide a white man, not a bush big enough to cut one's initials on. Our guide led us to eight other native wells, o\or handbills and many fine plains. All these wells had good water, ami some, apparently, a large supply. Of com so it is impowble to judge of the supply in a blaekfellow's well, for so long 1 as there is enough vatu 1 for thorn to put their mouth to, they are tontcnt. Numerous natives li\e in this region, as ■jfroun by a number of mia-mias at the wellb', One lnjft-mia was seen large enough to accommodate 30 o»* 40 native 5 . At Kilpetha, a few mile- boforO we enter Queensland, tlide weie 40 natives speaking a diflcieut language to the Macumba and and Finke tiibe. (Jieatly astonished at seeing us coming from the west, they were much afraid of us at m-bt. However, on finding that v, c were budgaree whitefellows they were very communicative, and as inquisitive as is usual with the natives From the Macumba across the Finke through the McDonnell Ranges and on the Marshall, the language, manners, customs, and tribal division" arc the same or neaily so, Four classes or divisions lcgulatc the intersexnal relations. These classes are Piltara, Gomoira, Panunya and Pavrla. A Piltara man can only marry a Gomorra, a Panunya man can only marry a Pairla. Bigamy, and in some cases polygamy, is practised. Physically the natives are small but well built. The coiroborees are interesting studies — some are cruel and painful, while others are very vile and calculated to arouse the base passions.. As in other part& of Australia, the great remedy practised by the Ungelara or doctor is sucking, whereby he produces from the bad eyes or rheumatic leg a bit of stone charcoal or other hard substance, when the patient is expected to recover. If the sick one does not recover then some enemy has burnt a bone, and he must die unless he manages to kill his enemy.