These Are The Most Interesting Specimens Of Native Art I Had Seen; Thousands Of Yards Had Been Accomplished; The Mountain Streams Were Made To Pass Through Them.

In fishing, the natives use the arabine or eel-pot of platted grass, from nine to twelve feet in length.

On the elevated ground were some of the largest ash-hills I had seen, and must have been the work of generations; one measured 31 yards in length, 29 in width, and two in height, with hollow cavities for the natives' bivouacs and camping places." - "Extract from Mr. Robinson's Letter, copied from papers relative to Australian Aborigines, printed for the House of Commons, August 1844, p. 240."]

Sometimes each married man will have a hut for himself, his wives, and family, including perhaps occasionally his mother, or some other near relative. At other times, large long huts are constructed, in which, from five to ten families reside, each having their own separate fire. Young unmarried men frequently unite in parties of six or eight, and make a hut for themselves. The materials of which the huts are composed, are generally small branches or boughs of trees, covered in wet weather with grass, or other similar material. At other times, and especially if large, or made in wet weather, they are formed of thick solid logs of wood, piled and arranged much in the same way as the lighter material, but presenting an appearance of durability that the others do not possess. In this case they are generally well covered over with grass, creeping plants, or whatever else may appear likely to render them waterproof. In travelling through the country, I have found that where bushes or shrubs abounded, I could at any time in an hour or two, by working hard, make myself a hut in which I could lie down, perfectly secure from any rain. The natives, of course, have much less difficulty in doing this, from their great skill and constant practice. In many parts of New Holland that I have been in, bark is almost exclusively used by the natives, for their huts; where it can be procured good it is better than any thing else. I have frequently seen sheets of bark twelve feet long, and eight or ten feet wide, without a single crack or flaw, in such cases one sheet would form a large and good hut; but even where it is of a far inferior description, it answers, by a little system in the arrangement, better than almost any thing else. Projecting, or overhanging rocks, caverns, hollows of trees, etc. etc., are also frequently made use of by the natives for lodging houses in cold or wet weather. When hostile parties are supposed to be in the neighbourhood, the natives are very cautious in selecting secret and retired places to sleep. They go up on the high grounds, back among scrubs, or encamp in the hollows of watercourses, or where there are dense bushes of polygonum, or close belts of reeds; the fires are very small on these occasions, and sometimes none are made; you may thus have a large body of natives encamped very near you without being conscious of it. I have been taken by a native to a camp of about twenty people in a dense belt of reeds, which I had gone close by without being aware of their presence, although I could not have been more than three or four yards from some of them when I passed.

It has already been remarked, that where many natives meet together, the arrangements of their respective huts depends upon the direction they have come from. In their natural state many customs and restrictions exist, which are often broken through, when they congregate in the neighbourhood of European settlements.

Such is the custom requiring all boys and uninitiated young men to sleep at some distance from the huts of the adults, and to remove altogether away in the morning as soon as daylight dawns, and the natives begin to move about. This is to prevent their seeing the women, some of whom may be menstruating; and if looked upon by the young males, it is supposed that dire results will follow. Strangers are by another similar rule always required to get to their own proper place at the camp, by going behind and not in front of the huts. In the same way, if young males meet a party of women going out to look for food, they are obliged to take a circuit to avoid going near them. It is often amusing to witness the dilemma in which a young native finds himself when living with Europeans, and brought by them into a position at variance with his prejudices on this point. All the buildings of the natives are necessarily from their habits of a very temporary character, seldom being intended for more than a few weeks' occupation, and frequently only for a few days. By this time food is likely to become scarce, or the immediate neighbourhood unclean, and a change of locality is absolutely unavoidable. When the huts are constructed, the ground is made level within, any little stumps of bushes, or plants, stones, or other things being removed, and grass, reeds, or leaves of trees frequently gathered and spread over the bottom, to form a dry and soft bed; this and their opossum cloak constitute the greatest degree of luxury to which they aspire. Occasionally native men, in very cold weather, are both without huts and clothing of any kind. In this case, many small fires are made (for the natives never make a large one), by which they keep themselves warm. I have often seen single natives sleep with a fire at their head, another at their feet, and one on either side, and as close as ever they could make them without burning themselves; indeed, sometimes within a very few inches of their bodies.

The weapons of the natives are simple and rudimental in character, but varied in their kind and make, according to the purposes for which they may be required, or the local circumstances of the district in which they are used.

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