The Washington critic., 1889-03-29
MATTER WORTH READING.


stick of wood bent into shape which sug-
gests a combination OF "V' and 'U,n
although with the extremities spread apart
until they are at right angles with each
other In point Of fact, boomerangs are al
most every shape from semi-clrcular to
nearly straight and seem to depend for ef-
flciency not so much upon the evident form
as upon the curves which are shown upon
their fiat sides.
II one takes O boomerang and looks along
its sharp outer edge II is seen that this
edge presents wavy appearance-a deli
cately adjusted sinuosity like the line Of
long screw. This curve is not elaborately
fashioned or smoothed into evenness, the
hard wood Of which the boomerang Is
usually made, being picked out with short
blows from a sharpened flint held In the
hand, almost always shows, indeed, infinite
Irregularities.
What rule Of construction the savage ar
tificer follows even he himself would prob
ably be unable TO say. Yet he has some
definite plan in mind, no doubt, for while
he chips and picks away at the wood he
takes frequent squints along its edge to see
hON hib tui Nto hiO BioNiOootuks hhNt
never seen two boomerangs that were just
alike, but all are similar in their relations
of curves along the fiat side. The boom
erang maker knows instinctively just where
his boomerang will go when he throws II,
altough he never seems to aim any two In
the same way. f.
More lies have been told about the boom
erang than can well be enumerated, and
nearly every Australian traveller comes back
with o fresh assortment. One hears OF men
who can SO throw o boomerang that II kills
an enemy behind tree and then comes
checrfully fluttering back to its owner,
who thereupon hurls 1t on a fresh mission
of carnage. A flock Of frightened cocla-
toos, speeding In intricate gyratlons
through the air to escape the attack Of
natives who want bird for dinner, are pur-
sued at every turn by these erratic weap-
ons, which strike them down dozen each,
and so return to the hand that cast them.
Old wives fables, these, at which Austria
lians laugh, knowing in the nature Of things
their falsity.
In the first place, the war boomerang is
not made for return, and is only slightly
bent, so that It may go hopping aud bound
ing along the earth like hoop, and make
capacious holes In the body of the adver-
sary. These are of hard, heavy wood, aud
ugly things to be hit withal; but the return
boomerang is aplaything, or to be used
in light hunting, and although 1t might
give a man painful rap, could not Sc
iiously injure him. As for the cockatoo
story, 1t has this much OF truth-that a
native boomerang hurler, IL he saw flock
flying by him In straight course, could so
cast his weapon as to come upon them
nnawares at given point, and perhaps
knock one down; but his boomerang would
drop, too, having no power to fly after 1t
has struck anything.
The boomerang is sufficiently remarkable
without being regarded in the light Of q
long bow, and drawn by every tourist In
the colonies 1t is held perpendieularly
and taken firmly In the hand by one of its
extremities, with the other pointed for
ward, and is hurled with full arm aud as-
sisted by run and swing Of the whole
body. A slight turn of the wrist at the
moment Of discharge causes 1t to assume
various erratic courses. Sometimes It will
fly straight forward for 100 or even 200
yards, then rise sharply to great height,
lose it's force and hutter down to the feet Of
the tbrower
Again, It will rise in the air, swoop down
with immense rapidity, and skim around In
great semicircle few inches from the
ground, rise once more and return TO the
spot whence 1t started. It will also start
of in great swoop to the right, reverse it
and turn to the left, skim around the
| thrower in series Of eyer-narrowing cir