Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-02-10
OOMERANGS

Pearscn's Magazine: Boomerangs are
of two kinds: returning, "Marndwullum
Wunkun" in the native lingo, and nOn-re-
turning, ~"Tootgundy wunkun." TIL first
is called invariably the Australian BOOM
erang, because it originated among the
natives of Australia, and is used almost
exclusively by them at the present day.
Travellers assert that a native will leave
his home in the morning, armed only
with a couple of returning hoomerangs,
and will come back at night carrying a
large number of birds killed with these
strange | have no concern here
with the boomerang that comes not back.
This differs little from an ordinary club,
and is Of no special interest. 1t is, how
ever, preferred to the other by the Aus
tralian aboriginal of today. "Marnd-
wullum no good for fight" he will say,
"if he no hit Inn man, might come back,
and hit you or friend beside yOu'-tru1y
an undesirable quality in the weapon OF
offence! In further reference, however,
to the "boomerang,' it Will be under
stood that the returning kind is meant.
In case some of the natives may care to
try a little boomerang throwing on their
own account, l give a few hints as to the
manufacture of these implements. The
! tyro would do well to make them him
! self, as they are dear to buy, and many
are broken before proficiency is attained.
Besides the making Of them is a valuable
lesson in their peculiarties.
The boomerang is formed of a bent
stick, one side rounded, the other fiat.
The Australians make it from boughs of
the Acacia pendula, or from some tree of
similar growth, giving to the green wood
the desired curvature in the fire. 1t is
necessary to choose a very hard, strong
and heavy wood, and the best plan is to
cut a piece from a natural bend or root
of a tree and to let the curve of the BOOM
erang follow the grain of the wood. One
Ill o,,, c,nc tyrn hnnr1arq n orc IF fhn
same shape, for they vary from a slight
curve to nearly a right angle. They differ
also in length from Is inches to 3h feet,
and in breadth from two inches to three
inches. They should be about three
eighths of an inch thick. tapering toward
the ends, which may be either round or
pointed, while the edge must be sharp
ened all round. One side must be convex,
the other fiat, the sharpness of the edge
! along the conveXity of the curve varying
in different boomerangs. When thrown
the boomerang travels forward for some
distance, and then generally returns in
an elipse to within a few PAGES of the
thrower. If the boomerang strikes it's
mark it falls to the ground. In throwing,
it must be grasped at one end, stretched
back behind the shoulder, and then
brought rapidly Onward above the head,
the inside of the curve facing the direc-
ton in which it is thrown. 1t may either
be hurled upward in the air, or down
ward, so as to strike the ground at some
distance from the thrower. In the first
case it flies with a rotary motion, as its
shape would indicate, and, after ascend
ing to a great height, it suddenly returns
in an %elliptical orbit to a spot near Its
starting point. When thrown downward
to the ground it rebounds in a straight
line, pursuing a richOchet motion until 1t
strikes the object at which it is cast.
To throw the Australian boomerang in
such a way as to make sure of it's doing
exactly what one wants is one of the
most difficult feats in the world. Alfred
w. Hewitt, who has seen the natives OF
Vivtoria practising with the boomerang
mentioned that he questioned SOM
blacks as to whether they thought it was
possible to throw it so as to insure its
returning to the hand of the thrower
Seven said mo and characterized the
statement as "jet bolan,' j.. e., a false
hood: the eighth said he once made &
boomerang that when thrown on a calu