The Wahpeton times., 1889-08-15


Tf1 Aiss'! 7ssSS.'
Faots About the Weapon and What
u Can Actually Accomplish,
A letter from Hobart Town, Tasma-
mia, to the Springfield (Mass.) Repub-
lican says: More has been written and
less is understood Of the boomerang
than of almost any other weapon. 1t
is generally known to be fiat stick OF
wood bent into shape which suggests
the combination OF v and U, al
though with the extremities spread
apart until they are at right angles
with each other. In point of fact,
boomerangs are of almost every shape
from semi-circular to nearly straight,
and seem to depend for their efficiency
not so much upon the evident form as
upon the curves which are shown upon
their fiat sides. II one takes boom
crang and looks along its sharp outer
edge it is seen that this edge presents
a wavy appearances delicately ad-
justed 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 sharpened flint held
in the hand, almost always shows, in
deed, infinite Irregularities. What
rule of construction the savage arti-
fcer follows even he himself would
probably be unable to say. Yet he
has some definite plan in mind. no
doubt for while he chips and pecks
away at the wood he takes frequent
squints along its edge to SEQ how his
curves are progressing. have never
seen two boomerangs that were just
alike, but all are similar in their rela-
tions of curves along the fiat side. The
boomerang-maker knows instinctively
just where his boomerang will 60 when
he throws it, although he never seems
to aim any two in the same way.
More lies have been told about the
boomerang than can be we'll enumerat-
ed, and nearly every Australian travel
er comes back with a fresh assortment.
One hears of men who can so throw a
boomerang that it kills an enemy
behind tree and then comes cheer
fully futtering back to It's owner, who
thereupon hurls it on fresh mission
OF carnage. A flock of frightened
cockotoos. speeding In intricate gyra-
tions through air to escape the attack OF
natives who want a bird for dinner, are
at every turn by these erratic
weapons. which strike them down
dozen each, and so return to the hand
that cast them. Old wives fables
these, at which Australians laugh.
knowing in the nature of things their
falstty. In the first place the war
boomerang Is not made for return. and
is only slightly bent, so it can 60 hop
ping and bounding along the earth like
a hoop. and make capacious holes in
the bodies Of the adversary. These
are OF hard, heavy wood, and ugly
things to be hit withal; but the return
boomerang is simply plaything. or to
be used in light hunting, and although
it might give man painful rap.
could not seriously injure him. As for
the cockatoo story, 1t has this much of
truth, that native boomerang hurlcr,
IT he saw a flock flying by him in
straight course, could so cast his
weapon as TO come upon them
unawares at a given point in their
fight, and, perpaps. knock one down
but his boomerang would drop too,
having no power Of fight after it has
struck anything.
The boomerang is sufficiently re-
without being regarded in
the light of a long bow, and drawn by
every tourist in the colonies. 1t is
held perpendicularly and taken firmly
in the hand by one OF its extremities,
with the other pointed forward. and is
hurled with u full arm and assisted by
a run and swing Of the whole body. A
slight turn OF the wrist at the moment
Of discharge causes it to assume vari-
GUS erratic courses. Sometimes it will
fly straight forward for 100 or even. 200
yards, and then rise sharply to great
height, lose its force, and tutter down
to the feet of the thrower. Again, it
will rise in the air. swoop down with
immense rapidity, and skim around in
q great semi-circle few inches from
The ground, rise once more. and return
to the spot whence it started. 1t will
also start off in a great swoop to the
right, reverse and turn to the left,
skim around the thrower in series of
over-narrowing circles. and. finding
their center. fall into it like an ex-
bird. There is something un.
canny about the thing; its move-
ments are SO unexpected and out of
reason that it seems to be alive, and
TO take savage delight in strange
shoots and dashes. which make the
new chum" australian equivalent
for "tenderfoot'O dodge every time it
turns. lest il should knock him on the
head.
The yarn about the Australian blacks
always throwing the boomerang with
heir backs to the object they desire to
Lit is a piece OF the same ..whole