Journals Of Expeditions Of Discovery Into Central Australia And Overland From Adelaide To King George's Sound In The Years 1840-1: Sent By The Colonists Of South Australia By Eyre, Edward John
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They
Are Of A Dark Green Colour And The Shell Is Very Thick.
They are
deposited by the bird almost upon the ground, in the vicinity of a few
bushes, or tufts
Of grass, and usually in a country that is tolerably
open; a great many eggs are found in one nest, so that it is generally
looked upon by the natives as a great prize.
Eggs are eaten in all stages. I have even seen rotten ones roasted, and
devoured with great relish.
Kangaroos are speared, netted, or caught in pit falls. Four methods of
spearing them are practised. 1st. A native travelling with his family
through the woods, when he sees a kangaroo feeding or sleeping, will
steal silently and cautiously upon it, keeping, as he advances, a tree or
shrub between himself and the animal, or holding up before him, if he be
in an open place, a large branch of a tree, until sufficiently near to
throw the fatal weapon. 2ndly. Two natives get upon the track of a
kangaroo, which they follow up perseveringly even for two or three days,
sleeping upon it at night, and renewing their pursuit in the morning,
until, at last, the wearied animal, fairly tired out by its relentless
pursuers, is no longer able to fly before them, and at last becomes a
prize to the perseverance of the hunters. 3rdly. A small hut of reeds is
made near the springs, or water holes, in those districts, where water is
scarce; and in this, or in the top of a tree, if there be one near, the
native carefully conceals himself, and patiently waits until his game
comes to drink, when he is almost sure to strike it with his spear,
seldom quitting his lurking place without an ample remuneration for his
confinement. 4thly. A large party of men go out early in the morning,
generally armed with barbed spears, and take their stations upon ground
that has been previously fixed upon in a large semicircle. The women and
children, with a few men, then beat up, and fire the country for a
considerable extent, driving the game before them in the direction of the
persons who are lying in wait, and who gradually contract the space they
had been spread over, until they meet the other party, and then closing
their ranks in a ring upon the devoted animals, with wild cries and
shouts they drive them back to the centre as they attempt to escape,
until, at last, in the conflict, many of them are slaughtered. At other
times, the ground is so selected as to enable them to drive the game over
a precipice, or into a river, where it is easily taken. Netting the
kangaroo does not require so large a party; it is done by simply setting
a strong net (mugn-ko) across the path, which the animal is
accustomed to frequent, and keeping it in its place by long sticks, with
a fork upon the top.
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