The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-02-01
Legend OF the
BooMerang's Origin


is so manifest even to men of today
that their evolution is a simple matter
of observation and brief mental CAL
culation. The hammer, the aWl the ak
and the saw were potentially invented
when first a prehistoric man cracked
a nut with a stone, bored a shell with
a broken bone, Clipped a log with a
sharp edged flint of cut a groove in a
spear haft with a serrated flake of
slate. AS with tools, so also with the
weapons. A pointed stick proved it's
utility the first time it was hurled at
an object and SO led the human mind
to recognize the value of the spear and
the arrow; the hammer which cracked
nut naturally suggested the club
wherewith heads could be treated in a
similar way, while the desire for shell
ter from attack would, in due course,
lead to the invention of the shield, and
the sword would grow out of the crude
armory Immediately men came to
hand-to hand conflicts. But what was
the origin of the boomerang?
Had an Obscure Origin.
From the fact that it was found In
the hands of the Australian aboriginal,
when first the white man landed en- the
shores of the great southern continent
there has grown a belief that 1t is
purely and particularly a weapon Of
the black fellow and that it had its orr
gin with him, an origin as much OBJ
scured by the mists of an unrecorded
past as is his own for whence the
black fellow came is conundrum
which none dare to answer. But boom
erangs are not the peculiar property of
the Australian aboriginal, as they were
known to and used by the Egyptians
in days before the pyramids were built
and are still to be found among some
of the isolated aboriginal tribes Of In
dia. The peculiar property of the
Australian black fellow, curiously
enough, is not a possession, but the
absence of possession. 1t is not he
possesses the boomerang but that he
does not possess the bow and arrow.
In this he is alone of all races and
tribes of men upon the face of the
earth, not even excluding those of the
lowest human types, and in spite of
the fact that the inhabitants of ISL
ands within a, comparatively speaking,
short distance of his coast line are
among the finest and most powerful
archerS humanity has ever produced.
Throughout the Pacific islands thu bow
and arrow will everywhere be found;
IN New Guinea it is the staple weapon,
and at the Prince of Wales island, Just
off the northern coast of Australia, the
natives shoot siX-foot arrow with
ease from bow that q. muscular white
man can barely draw to his elbow.
Adheres to the Old Weapon.
But on the mainland of the continent
BOWS and arrows are unknown, while
the warriors WELD the boomerang as
1t was welded by the men who lived on
the Nile centuries before Thesbes or
Memphis was built. Wherefore is it
difficult to trace the origin Of this Gu
;c
man. The black fellow knows whence
it came and treasures the knowledge
in legend which is not altogether
without trace of poetry, whatever
may be it's character as to veracity.
z S'Plenty long ago." was the begin
ming of the story as the white heard
it. Plenty long ago" the moon was a
beautiful young gin Cor girI) and the
sun fierce, restless warrior Of an
other tribe. The warrior, desiring the
young girl as wife, followed the or
thodox aboriginal method of courtship
ana sought to pounce upon her una
wares with the kindly intention Of
knocking her on the head and carrying
her off to his gunyah Cor hut). But
the young girl was opposed to his at
tentions and in order to protect herself
she wrapped herself in a rug Of black
poSsum skins and only peeped around
the end Of 1T little at q time lest her
admirer should see her and carry her
OFF. Sometimes he did see her and
bounced upon her, but ever was she
able to dodge behind the shelter Of the
black 'possum skin rug and so eIude
him, for when she vanished behind the
rug he was cOnfounded and could only
wander about wondering how she had
escaped. At last the constant disap-
pointment made him grow angry and
sulky, yet when next he had a glimpse
or her face peering around the shelter
he sprang forward. AS was usual, the
face vanished, but he, being sulky.
swore he would try for her no more
and lay down to sleep then and there.
A Girls Curiosity.
The young girl, crouching under the
cover of her rug, listened for his ra-
glng footsteps to pass on. For q long
time she listened, but heard nothing,
and then,Alike all other girls, more GU
rious than crafty, she must needs peep
around the end Of the rug again to
see what the silence meant. The war
rior, lying still, saw the CLEAN of the
face and and gathered himself silently
for a spring. With her curiosity un-
satisfied the girl peeped further, and
the warrior, impatient in his anger,
leaped at her. His hands caught the
edge of her face with mighty grip.
but she, terrified at the sight of him,
flung herself back with SO much vigor
that a fragment of her face broke off
in the warriors hands. Then did his
rage burst all bounds and with a yell
he flung the thing he held down upon
the earth. There later men found it.
Idly they picked it up, and, marveling
what it could be, threw it from them.
At once it Whirled through the air up
toward the clouds, travelling round and
round like the black cockatoos fly be-
fore they start on a long journey, but
going farther and faster than even
anything thrown by man went before.
until it suddenly plunged downward
and stuck in the earth at the feet of
the black fellow who had thrown it.
Again he picked it up and again he
threw 1t, and then his comrades tried
1T, always with the same result, and at
last the men, fearing plenty debbfl
debbiP' was in it, called a great gather
Ing OF the tribes to discuss it. To
solve the problem each man who at
tended the orro-borree set to work to
fashion out an imitation Of the
strangely whirling thing, and when
they had all succeeded they laughted at
the fears of the discoveries. They did
not know that what they had found
was a part of the moons face and
that Its long flights were the result of
its efforts to get back to it's proper
place. nor did they know that the war
rior, in revenge on the beautiful young
girl, made all the limitations travel the
same way, so that when the moon
looked down and saw them all whirl-
ing round and round in the aid she
would not know which was the missing
part of her face and which was not,
and so would be forever disfgured, in
punishment for having rejected the
~ I1nY
proof of the truth of this tale the black
fellow would point to the moon-Mhen