Page:Madras Journal of Literature and Science, series 1, volume 6 (1837).djvu/344

322 many of then have spear wounds in the legs or thighs, inflicted by their husbands. The women are very useful to them, not only in preparing food, but also in preparing their cloaks, building their huts and other menial offices. They possess few utensils, and these are of the rudest construction; a piece of soft bark, tied at each end, serves for a drinking cup; the claw of a kangaroo they use for a needle, and through a hollow rush, or the wing bone of a bird (neveel), they suck the water, when it cannot be conveniently reached with their mouth. Polygamy is a general practice amongst them; one man sometimes having many wives. The girls appear to be at the disposal of the father, and are generally bespoke in their infancy; even before they are born we are told they were betrothed, if they prove to be females. The persons to whom the girls are betrothed are not infrequently men of middle or advanced age, and possessing already several wives; they are, however, often more equally matched. Like those of other savage tribes, the women suffer little from child-bearing, and even the next day walk out to seek their food as usual. For the first few weeks the child is carried on the left arm in a fold of the cloak, but subsequently is suspended on the shoulders; until they can ran alone, they are not clothed. In cases of twins one of the children is killed (of different sexes, the female being preserved), the reasons assigned for which measure are that a woman has not sufficient milk for two children, and cannot carry them and seek her food.

When individuals quarrel, it is taken up by their respective families; when a man is killed, his tribe instantly sets about revenging his death, but they are not particular whether they kill the principal offender or any other of his tribe. This mating of retaliation is, however, extended much farther; for if a man be killed by accident, the friends of the deceased will impute his death to some bulgal (or doctor) of an adverse tribe, and kill an individual belonging to it in retaliation. Also when a man is seriously ill, and fancies he shall not recover, he will attempt to kill some body, in hopes thereby of recovering. In their personal conflicts, they use their hammers, throwing sticks, and towks, to strike with, and the blows therewith inflicted would doubtless frequently be fatal, but they seem incapable of giving a heavy blow, and strike more like women. For depredations in each others grounds, or any slight cause, they are contented with spearing through the legs or thighs, and do not attempt to kill each other, and the moment one of the party is wounded the engagement ceases.