Page:Madras Journal of Literature and Science, series 1, volume 6 (1837).djvu/343

1837.] obtained in the Swan river in some quantities, the natives roast them in the ashes and eat them. Frogs ("cooyah"), of two or three species, are eaten, chiefly at the season of their spawning. Grubs of different kinds are eaten raw or slightly roasted; the eggs of the ant also form an article of food. Of the vegetables on which they feed a few kinds only are known; the following, however, are more used than any other, and may be said to form the staple article of diet: boom, wyeing, matta and sudening bean boovulerang, a species of yam which they are very fond of; the boom are scarlet roots, not unlike in shape and size to tulip roots. They roast them in the ashes, and then pound them between two flat stones, rubbing the latter with a ball of earth to prevent the root adhering to it; when thus prepared they are mucilaginous and of a glossy black colour; they may be considered the bread of the natives who live near the coast. The wyang is of the tribe orchideæ; it is very pleasant eating when roasted. The mutta is the small bulbous root of a rush; it is very fibrous, and only edible at one season; the roots of fern, sedge, and other plants, are also used as articles of food; also mushrooms of two species, and another kind of fungus. When the different species of banksia first come into bloom, they collect from the flowers a considerable quantity of honey, of which the natives are particularly fond, and gather large quantities of the flowers "monca" to suck; it is not, however, always to be procured: the best time is in the morning, when much dew is deposited on the ground; also in cloudy but not wet weather.

The natives at Swan river live upon the productions of nature, unassisted by art, varying at different seasons and in different districts; poor in quality, often scanty, and therefore compelling the natives to a vagrant life. The population consequently is far from numerous—they have no general chief, and associate and disperse as season or inclination leads them. Their wars appear to be more between individuals or families, than between tribes or districts. There are numerous subdivisions into tribes and classes, who appear to have little bond of union between them; the men go two or three together, unless they have some particular object in view; they are extremely jealous of their food, concealing and eating it silently and secretly; yet if others are present they usually give a small portion. When they are successful in hunting or fishing, they instantly make a fire, and eat a portion of their fish or game; the married men generally reserve a share for their wives. Of the children they appear to be very fond, and rarely chastise them; but their treatment of the women is not always so gentle, and