Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1875-11-18

The BooMERANo.-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 rarged from two feet
to thirty-eight inches in langth, and
were of various shapes, all curved lit
tie, and locking, as he describes them,
something like a wooden new moon
They were made of q dark, heavy wood,
and weigh from one to three pounds
In thickness they vary from half-an-
inch to an inch, and taper to . point at
each end.
One of the natives picked up the piece
Of wood, poised it an instant, and threw
|it-giving it rotary motion. For the
first hundred feet or more it went
straight ahead. Then it tackled to the left
and rose slightly, still rotating rapidly.
It kept this latter course for a hundred
feet more, perhaps, but soon veered to
the left again, describing a broader
curve, and moment later fell to the
earth six or eight feet in front of the
thrower, having described nearly q cir
Gle 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 twenty
+ fsst behind him, after il .le. had described
After him they 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 another one,
and cast it with sort of jerk. It few
very swiftly for forty or fifty yards
whirling like top. Then it darted
into the air, mounting fully one hum
dred feet, and came over our heads
where it seemed to hang stationary for
moment, then settled slowly, still
whirliug, till he caught it.
Meanwhile Ihad with my knife shaved
little of the wood from the convex
side of one Of the boomerangs. This
now offered to one of them to throw.
He took it without noticing what I had
done, poised it, stopped short, and
with contemptuous glance at my i'm
provemeut, threw it down and exclaim-
ed:
'Bale budgery" CNo good)
The others then looked at it cautious
| ", but it was "bale budgery" also to
them. No one could be induced to
throw it.
A friend asked them whv they did
not use it; but they could not give q
defiuite answer. 1t was plain that they
did not like the way it poised when
held in the hand; vet could not dis.
tinguish any difference whatever be.
tween this and the other weapons.
A gentleman then walked to a dis.
tance of two hundred feet or more
from the blacks, and bid Carnboo throw
to him. The native looked at him g
moment rather curiously; then, compre
bending what was wanted, he selected
one of the heaviest of the missiles, and
turning half round, threw it with great
force in a direction almost opposit.
from that where the gentleman stood
The weapon sped smartly for sixty o1
seventy feet, tackled in an instant, and
few directly at the gentleman; and, hat
he not most expeditiously ducIed, h
would have received a hard thump, i
nothing worse. 1t struck the grount
twenty or thirty PAGES beyond. Thii
feat brought outa broad grin and some
thing like a chuckle from the whole oi
them. The native even intimated that
he would like to try another cast; bu
the gentleman expressed himself full,
satisfied.
Another of our party, however, of
fered to stake short" but not at to-
short a range. We were standing il
front Of one Of the storehouses. Tn
native placed our friend in front Of th
door, and stood with his back to him
. with our friends hand on his shoulder
! None of us knew what sort of maneu
vre he had in mind. Standing in thi
,, position, the black threw the boomeran
straight ahead. Immediately it curve
! : in the air Then it disappeared aroun
! the corner Of The building, aud, befor
he had time to guess what was mean
came round the other end, (havin
passed completely around the stors
house, and gave our friend q soundin
rap on the back which made his eye