Page:Dawson - Australian aborigines (1900).djvu/10

 as of the languages of the neighbouring tribes; and so proud and jealous were they of the honour, that, by agreement among themselves,each was allotted a fair proportion of questions to answer and of words to translate; and if levity was shown by any individual present who could not always resist a pun on the word in question, the sedate old chief, Kaawirn Kuunawarn, at once reproved the wag, and restored order and attention to the business on hand.

During this tedious process, occupying several years in its accomplishment, I found my previous good opinion of the natives fell far short of their merits. Their general information and knowledge of several distinct dialects—in some instances four, besides fair English—gratified as well as surprised me, and naturally suggested a comparison between them and the lower classes of white men. Indeed, it is very questionable if even those who belong to what is called the middle class, notwithstanding their advantages of education, know as much of their own laws, of natural history, and of the nomenclature of the heavenly bodies, as the aborigines do of their laws and of natural objects.

In recording my admiration of the general character of the aborigines, no attempt is made to palliate what may appear to us to be objectionable customs common to savages in nearly every part of the globe; but it may be truly said of them, that, with the exception of the low estimate they naturally place on life, their moral character and modesty—all things considered—compare favourably with those of the most highly cultivated communities of Europe. People seeing only the miserable remnants to be met with about the white man's grog-shop may be inclined to doubt this; but if these doubters were to be brought into close communication with the aborigines away from the means of intoxication, and were to listen to their guileless conversation, their humour and wit, and their expressions of honour and affection for one another, those who are disposed to look upon them as scarcely human would be compelled to admit that in general intelligence, common sense, integrity, and the absence of anything repulsive in their conduct, they are at least equal, if not superior, to the general run of white men. It must be borne in mind, also, that many of their present vices were introduced by the white man, whose contact with them has increased their degradation, and will no doubt ultimately lead to their extinction.

And even, in censuring customs and practices which we may regard as repugnant to our notions and usages, we should bear in mind that these may appear right and virtuous from the stand-point of the aborigines, and that they have received the sanction of use and wont for many ages. If our habits,