The record-union., 1891-07-04
:
WEAPONS OF SAVAGE TRIBES.
The Deadly Work of Primitive Arms
The BoIas and Boomerang

Inc Deadly Work OF Primitive Arms
The Bolas and Boomerang.
Different wild tribes OF the world. have
weapons peculiarly their own. These
have a national distinction. and, Tor. the
most part, are not TO be found beyond the
| limits of the tribe, though other savage
( nations may Kill game and even people
With weapons constructed on plan
! somewhat similar.
| The Malay has his kris, or curiously
shaped dagger; the lasso belongs to the
/ gaucho OF the panipaS; the Eijian carries
the beautifully carved war club, and the
Andaman claims the long bow as his
| favorite weapon.
Probably the most wonderful of all
savage weapons is the boomerang of the
australian. 1t is the national weapon of
the island, and, though curious ones are
i found among the uncivilized tribes Of the
! globe, there is none exactly like ire
/ Some years ago an antiquary diScov-
! cred on an Egyptian monument the fig
| ure of a, birdrcatcher III q canoe. The
| hunter is hurting ut his prey 4 curved
missile which bears q Slight resemblance
to the boomerang, but it is not likely that
TIE EEgyptijafls kl1eY about or, inyepted
| savage.
The pec9lisSFcity. Of the Boomerang is
that, when thrown, ifWiI1 return, to the
feet Of the thrower. = TO bring about this
result the savage strikes ansattitude which
IS singularly graceful. He, always car
| rless several Weapons in his left hand.
| When he wants to make a. throw he
draws one out. at random, and fixes his
eye on the object he desires to hit
Then balancing the weapon for mo-
ment in his dark hand he springs a pace
/ or two forward and launches it ia the air
! with an angY stroke. Away flies the
! boomerang like g thing Of life, bounding
hither and thither after its prey, and,
| Whether 1t stalks it or not, comes sailing
back TO the feet of the thrower.
The boomerang rarely measures over
! two feet five inches along the curve. 1t is
two feet from tip to tip, three inches wide
| in the middle and diminishes gradually
toward the tips. 1t is composed of the
wood of the native gum tree, which is
heavy, hard and tough enough to sustain
a powerful shock without breaking, for
| the boomerang sometimes encounters
some hard substances.
In throwing the weapon is grasped at
the handle, where there are usually a
| number of knife cuts, which give the ma
! tive firm hold, and the flat side is al
ways kept downward. AS the boom
erang is thrown the hand is drawn
sharply back, so as to give the weapon
| those rapid. revolutions upon which so
much depends.
Any one with a mechanics eve can
I L
have known boys to become adopts at
throwing the weapon short distances, but
| the best result can be obtained only with
the genuine Australian boomerang.
| When the savage hunter sees a kangaroo
| which is partly sheltered by the trunk of
a tree, he does not despair of hitting the
animal. lie will steal forward to a GER
tain spot and throw his curious weapon
in such manner that it actually circles
round the tree and brings down the
game.
Day after day the boomerang maker
may be seen fashioning his weapon. 1t
requires good deal of fine work, for the
curve must be perfect and the weight ex-
act, Besides this, it must be of certain
thickness, and he never makes but one
or two cuts without balancing it on his
/ hands and viewing it from all points.
Some boomerangs are beautifully carved,
and all are polished until they reflect the
image of their owner.
The boomerang is generally thrown
against the wind, for ifthrown with it, it is
not apt to come back to the thrower, but
will sail on and on and reach great dis
tance before it stops. Boomerangs are
powerful weapons and fly with great
! force. One traveller relates that he once
saw dog cut nearly in two by a BOOM
erang as it fell, and that brass spur was
cut Oft the heel of a horseman by one of
/ these curious weapons in its flight.
The very largest game of Australia is
! killed with the boomerang. Cormorants
are brought down from the trees along
| the rivers, and boomerang plays hay oc
] in flock of water fowl. Australian boys
learn to use the national weapon early in
life. They have little ones for their sports,
| and q favorite amusement among the ma
! tive villages is hurting it at pigs and geese.
| AS the boys grow older they exchange
their toy boomerangs for ones of regull
! ton size, and become experts with them
/ in a short time. In short, there is no
stranger weapon the world over than the
| boomerang of the Australian savage.
Next to the boomerang in point of
! singularity as a savage weapon is the
| Patagonian bolas. To look at it one
would have to smile, as its appearance is
against it, but its destructiveness is be-
yond question.
! Described in a sentence the bolas con-
| sists of two, sometimes three, balls at the
end of hide thongs. The Patagonians
call the two-ball bolas somai, and the
/ three-ball weapon achico. The balls are
made of stone and are about as large as
/ cricket-balls.s The stones are ground
until they are rounded. This work is
performed by the native women, who are
! experts at the trade, and who may be seen
at work at all hours. Some bolaS-balIS are
of iron, but those valued most are of cop
per. The latter are smaller than the stone
! balls, and are more to be desired, as they
| experience less resistance from the air..
The thong is about feet in length and
| is made of two pieces of rawhide, which
are dampened and then twisted together
! There are generally three of these thongs
and at the end of each is a ball done up in
a cover of guanaco hide not unlike our
! basehalls. Usually one of the thongs is
shorter than the others, so that when the
three lines are grasped at their point of
! juncCllre one ball hanoS less far down
than its mates.
| Such is the native weapon of the tall
Patagonians. Now, how do they use it :?
| Generally the hunter carries it twisted
round his waist like the sash of an officer,
the balls dangling at his side like the
tassel of a sash. The Patagonian is usu-
ally mounted, like our Comanche Indian,
and seeks his game from the saddle.
| When he sees his game and gives his
horse the rein he unwinds the boias by a
single motion OF his left hand and grasps
| the thongs at the point Of union. Away
go the hunter and his game, sometimes
| the fleet ostrich, at other times the equally
! swift guanaco.
Not a movement of the game does the
| Patagonian miss. He bears down upon
! 1t like Whirlwind, the ever-ready b0las
| in his hand. When he comes within
! hurling distance, he whirls the novel
weapon over his head till it has gathered
/ enough centrifugal force to separate the
! balls, when he launches it at the animal
| The balls whirling madly in their flight,
reach and twist around the unfortunate
victim and speedily bring it down. The
/ choking powers OF the bolaS render it
most dangerous of all weapons used by
savage nations. The balls draw the
| thongs tighter all the time, and once
struck there is no escape for the victim.
The skill of Patagonian bolas throwers