The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-11-04

islanders had ever seen a white man, and l the use of clothing, however scanty, was unknown to both sexes alike. The visi tors, together with some tame" blacks that is. natives who have been educated at the mission station in Northern Queens land and elsewhere-remained on the isl and three days, employing the tame" blacks as guides and scouts. and it was speedily discovered that the latter could converse in a fashion with the islanders, whose language was dialetical versior of that of the gulf natives. Great caution
 had to be observed by the visitors, who
 were always armed the islanders having spears and a few boomerangs, but always
 running away as the white men advanced. At last, however, a couple of the islanders
 were induced to make friends with tn two explorers whom they regarded with a
 stolid gaze, as if their unexpected appear ance was an everyday occurrence. This seeming indifference is an aboriginal
 characteristic. Their assumed apathy vanguished the moment that pr. Roth ano
 Mir. Hedley lighted their pipes. They stared in bewilderment and according to the tame boys, declared that the whit men were burning their mouths.
 Fire Making Surprised Them. They were equally astonished when a
 match was used for lighting fire and a billy" employed for boiling water. MT Hedley distributed among them a number of penny whistles which he had brought from Sydney and soon the bush began to
 be filled with sounds to which it had pre-
 viously been a stranger.
 The islanders, who form a race new to
 ethnologists, are supposed to be a retro
 grade type, or else more primitive typo
 than the ordinary Australian aboriginal. They do not make huts, as do the natives
 on the mainland, but simply collect heaps
 of grass and sleep on the bare ground to the leeward of them. Articles which have to be carried from one place to another
 are wrapped in bark, the use of baskets
 being unknown, as is that of canoes, the
 water craft employed being rudely con- structed rafts consisting each of a couple
 of logs with some light weed, propelled
 by branches as paddles. Compared with the natives on the mainland, the islanders
 seemed far behind in knowledge of even the rudest aboriginal appliances. The! have however, a stringent system of trt-
 bal classification, intended to represent different degrees of relationship and to as- sists in preventing too close intermarria ge The origin of this system. so prevalent among all classes of Australian aborigi- nals remains an unsolved mystery. Its existence on Mornington Island was dis covered by pr. Roth when one of the islanders refused to speak to one or the DOyS DeCduSC AAS "~S AAAS @~N'A~% in-law."
 Only members of the tribe belonging to the same class are allowed to marry, and much to the amusement of the two ex- plorers they found an island woman hirt' ing with one of the tame blacks. she l having ascertained that both belonged to the same class and that she. therefore. could marry him If he were willing. Not | withstandinR the rough nature of life among the islanders they look strong and healthy, although somewhat understood, and were apparently of peaceful dispo- sition. They were ignorant of the arts or
 cultivation, their food consisting of wild
 fruits, fish and meat, fire being obtained by rubbing a couple of sticks together
 Except their weapons and tew cooking appliances there is no personal property almost everything being shared in com, mon. It Is probable that a second visit may be paid to the island few months
 hence. when some further information re-
 Enecting the islanders will be procurable' there being an opinion that further in- vestieation will assist in throwing some light on the character of Australian abo- riginal life in the past