Page:Two Representative Tribes of Queensland.djvu/96

86 ovens, prepared by scooping a hole in the ground. The operation was nothing like so elaborate as the mode followed in Victoria.

There are two varieties of native bee, both very small. They had no sting and made only a faint hum. One kind, called kīlla in Kabi, was very dark in colour; the other kind, known as kavai in Kabi, was a light, greyish colour and its honey was the less esteemed. Their nests were in hollow trees. The natives made a spongy mat out of the inner bark or bast tissue of a tree, by beating and chewing it. This they would dip into honey, which it would absorb like a sponge. The method of use was very sociable and economical. Members of the household would take a suck in turn, and after the substance of the honey was exhausted, the flavour would cling to the bark rag and reward the sucker for his exertions.

The man's chief home duties consisted in cooking and eating. He would also spend much time in fashioning his weapons, using a stone knife or chisel and a shell. The ends of the spears were hardened by fire. Cords were manufactured of fur and of hair, human hair