Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-03-04
MARVELLOUS FLIGHTS OF BOOMER
ANGS

The boomerang is an instrument both
of amusement and Of death, according to
the purpose of the man who throws 1t.
1t is an instrument with which every
body is in a way familiar, something is
known by everybody of its shape and of
the peculiarities of it's flight. but perhaps
nobody can explain 1t satisfactorily. AS
no other people than the aboriginal Aus
tralians and their like on some of the
South Sea islands ever use the
anS-it was an invention of the Austral-
ians-very few people in the United
States have ever seen it, and fewer still
have seen it in its flight. Some ten years
ago some four South Sea Islanders trav-
eled through parts of this country giving
exhibitions with the boomerang, and
they took in Chicago in their travels.
Here they gave their exhibition on the
Chicago baseball grounds, which then
comprised the block lying between
Throop and LOOMS and Congress and
Harrison streets. 1t was in winter, there
was a foot of snow all over the grounds,
and perhaps for that reason the attend
ance was small. But the exhibition was
as interesting as 1t was novel. The eX-
hibitors had four boomerangs, all of diff
ferent shapes, in a rack box, from which
each of the throwers took one and then
" Il lIlllule StDOu SIlOulutI " SlloulutI.
with the boomerangs held out before
them in a present arms attitude. Then
one went by himself to a selected station
and made his throw; then the others
each in succession followed him, until all
had made their throws. The
MADE UNEQUAL FLIGHTS,
According to their different shapes. 1t is
remembered that one of them went as
high as a good batter can send a ball
and there seemed to stop for q few sec
onds, then with a wabbly motion turned
and descended with almost lightning
speed until it was some 80 feet from the
ground, and then again turned at a
sharp angle and flew, still descending,
to back to where the thrower stood, and
then fell into the snow. 1t was the
come back variety of boomerang eX-
clusively that our South Sea Island WISH
tors used, as it is as amusing as a toy
as effective in it's flight.
OF all the missiles used by primitive
man the "come back boomerang, as it is
very correctly termed, is universally re-
garded as the most remarkable, and for
q number of reasons. First, there is the
wonderful skill exhibited in its invention
and constructions; secondly, the origin of
its shape and diversity Of distribution;
thirdly, its remarkable power of return
ing to the thrower when it has achieved
it's course after performing extraordinary
evolutions, and, lastly, it's ultimate per-
lection by the aborigines in Australia and
it's survival to the present day. Of
course, many theories have been ad-
vanced to account for it's origin, one of
the most interesting being that it was
suggested by the peculiar shape and
flight Of the, white gum leaf as it falls
to the ground.
When it is not employed as an imple-
ment of war it is only a mans toy, but
a toy which is frequently used for bring
ing down birds on the wing. This BOOM
erang is seldom ornamented and it is
not used as an article of trade among the
blacks. In form it varies from a right
angle to a crescent, the under surface be-
ing flattened and the upper moderately
conyay