Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1893-02-05

thrown, and as q result the population
of the cannibals has been somewhat d.
minished.
The boomerang ordinarily Is thrown
GOO or 500 feet. 1t is convex on the up.
per side and fat below and made oil
! Australian wood. II has bend or angle
of about As degrees. All Austrian wood
| is hard, almost as solid as iron. The
ends are as pointed as dagger, and the
inner side Is as sharp as Il razor olade.
These savages cannot explain how
they came into possession OF an ar'
which civilization has not yet discover
ed. They have q tradition that while
one Of their lazy kings lay dreaming,
half awake, under the outrageous
shade Of an eucalyptus tree his atten'
ton was attracted by leaf falling. Ii
was curvelike and In its descent was
borne hither and thither upon the
breeze, and finally after many curves
and rebounds the leaf fell upon the lazy
dreamer. He examined it and tossed II
to the breeze. Again and again he ex'
perimented, and finally he made this In
strument Of native wood as toy for
amusement. But later il became an In
strument of warfare as well.
Ordinarily the boomerang is taken
/ from the forks of limbs aud roughly
dressed with crude instruments. 1t is
then charred in the fire and the burned
coating removed, after which 1t is sub
iected to the smoke of eucalyptus
leaves 10 make IT pliable and 10 give II
the proper lateral shape. Expert throw
ers send IL 200 feet on a straight line,
when IL bounds into the air, turns lend
over end" then flattens out like plate
spinning, and after making circuit OF
ZOO or 500 feet returns TO the feet OF
the thrower. Many OF the throwers
are lett-handed.
These sborigines are distinct race
OF people, black as the negro, but the
forehead does not recede; neither does
the Jaw project. Their hair Is OF line
texture, inclined to curl and always
black, but not "kinky" like that OF the
negro.
A cannibal feast is celebrated with
their corroborree, or patti, native
dance. A huge fire is built. around
which the dancers circle, without any
clothing save coat OF paint on their
breast and limbs. They are painted In
white to represent skeletons. Each
rib is painted over with stripe OF
white, white stripe OF paint runs
down the breast, each leg ana each
arm, and the face is painted with white
slashes. Their black bodies, In stripes
OF white, circling around the campfire,
gives a rather startling and sepulchral
! effect. with the deep darkness OF the
soughing trees for background.
They dance with a vlbratory move
ment from the knee upward, when
standing, or rather IL is more Of con-
tortlon exercise. A funeral /dirge is
chanted, each chanter accom- panying
himself on their only instrumental piece
for musc-the double boomerang. a
boomerang is held by the left hand, an
other is taken in the right, one Is
| beaten against the other, and they call
il music. Their feet are firmly planted
upon the ground-the dancing" Is
done with the body.
Their bodies are dIs0gured with the
trademark Of their tribe, each tribe hay-
ing a different brand. They also deco
rate" their bodies with scars, after the
manner OF Indians. They slash their
bodies with sharp stone and I'LL the
wound with clay, which forms ridge"
or meet, encirciing the arm, leg, or
body. The cannibal dude cuts hole
through his wide nose, In which he
wears a polished white bone . or
inches n length, and slashes his body
in various designs. Endurance Of pain
is held 10 bo evidence Of bravery.
In addition to throwing the boomer
| ang they can throw" their voices, and
some are excellent ventriloquists. Their
vocabulary is confined to about 200
words aud rs many grunts and gestures.
Having no language OF their own, only
a gibberish, they are quick TO learn
other languages-from pronunciation
only. They are the most illiterate OF
all peoples, have no conception OF time
or dates, cannot enumerate as high as
10 units, yet have wonderful faculty
for learning languages Of other peoples.