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.

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