The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1875-11-05
WONDERFUL DExTERITY.
The Boomerang and its Mysterious Pc
Culiarities.
from the Chicago Tribune.l

from the Chicago Tribune.
A traveller tells us something of the
singular weapon used by the natives
of Australia, the boomerang. He
saw them used by the natives. -
! They ranged from two feet to thirty
eight inches in length, and were of
various shapes, all carved little,
and looking, as he describes them,
like a wooden new moon. They
we're made of dark, heavy wood,
and weighed from one to three
pounds. Ia thickness they vary
from half an inch, aud taper to a
point at each end.
One of the natives picked up the
piece of wood, and posing it an in
slant, threw it, giving it a rotary
motion. For the first one hundred
feet or more it went straight ahead.
Then it tackled to the left and rose
slightly, still rotating rapidly. 1t
kept this latter course for hundred
feet more, perhaps, but soon veered
to the left again, describing broad
err curve, and moment later tell to
the earth six or eight feet in front of
the thrower, having described near
ly a circle in the air.
Another native then took the same
boomerang and cast it, holding it
with the same grip. 1t took the
same course, but made broader
curves, and as it came round the
black caught it handsomely in his
right hand.
Another native next threw it, and
lodged it on the ground about TWEEN
ty feet behind him, after it had de-
scribed a circle of two hundred yards
or upward. After him they all tried
it, and but one of them failed to
bring the weapon back to the spot
where they stood.
Carnboo, a native, then selected
from the heap of boomerangs anoth
err one, and cast it with sort of
jerk. 1t flew very quickly forty or
fifty yards, whirling like top
Then it darted into the air, mount
ing fully one hundred feet, and came
over our heads, where it seemed to
hang stationery 70: moment, then
settle slowly, still whirling, till he
caught it. Two others of the blacks
then did the same thing.
Meanwhile had with my knife
shaved little of the wood from the
convex side of one of the boome>
rangs. This is now offered to one of
them to throw. He took it without
what l had done, poised it, but stop
ped short, and with a contemptuous
glance at my Improvement threw it
down and exclaimed:
"Bale bndgery 2" (no good).
The others then looked at it eau
tiously, but it was a bale budgery
also to them. No one could be in
duced to throw it.
Myers asked them why they did
not use it, but they could not give a
definite answer. 1t was plain that
they did not like the way it poised,
when held in the hand, yet | could
not distinguish any difference what
ever betw en- this and the other
weapon.
Burleigb then walked to distance
of two hundred feet or more from the
blacks, and bid Carnboo throw to
him. The native looked at him a
momeut rather curiously, then, ccm-
pretending what was wanted, he Sc,
iected one of the heaviest of the
missiles, and, turning half round,
threw it with great force in direc-
ton almost opposite from that where
Burleigh stood.
The weapon sped smartly for six
ty or seventy feet, then tackled IN an
instant and flew directly at Burleigh,
and, had he not most expeditiously
ducked, he would have received a
hard thump, if nothing worse. 1t
struck the ground twenty or thirty
PAGES beyond. This feat broug hit
ont broad grin and something like
a chuckle from the whole of them
The last feat was throwing the
boomerang around house and com
ing back to the thrower.