Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1905-08-09
A NEW SAVAGE RACE.
Morning Islanders Live in the Most
Primitive Fashion.

Morning Islanders Live in the Most
Primitive Fashion.
DIR. Roth, the protector of northern
aborigines in Queensland, and a Mr..
Hedley made an interesting discovery
on their last scientific tour of the
Wellesley archipelago, in the gulf Of
Carpentaria. AT the southern end of
the gulf is situated Mornington is
land, which was discovered by Capt
Matthew Flinders in 1902, though
he does not appear to have landed
there The island is not inviting, the
soil being poor and marsby, ami the
bush coarse AMI stunted DR.. Roth
experienced no difficulty in landing,
and soon found that he had stumbled
upon new discovery, a race of abort
gines who had evidently been sepa-
rated from the mainland natives for
untold generations. With one excep-
ton, an aboriginal who had visited the
shores of the gulf. none of the island
ers had ever seen a white man. AMI
the use Of clothing, however scanty,
was unknown to both sexes alike.
DR.. Roth, together with some
tame" blacks, that is, natives who
have been educated at the mission sta
lions in northern Queensland and
elwehrere, remained on the island
three days, employing the tame"
blacks as guides and scouts, and it
was speedily discovered that the lat
/ fHrss IN 70 -1sf xr-f4
the islanders, whose language was a
dialectical version of that of the gulf
natives. Great caution had to be OBJ
! served by the visitors, who were al
ways armed, the islanders having
spears and a few boomerangs, but al
ways running away as the white men
advanced. At last, however, a couple
were induced to make friends with
the two explorers, whom they regard
ed with stolid gaze, as If their I'M
expected appearance was an every
day occurrence. This seeming in
difference is an aboriginal character
istic.
Their assumed apathy vanished the
moment DR.. Roth and Mr.. hedley
lighted their pipes. They stared in
bewilderment and according to the
tame" boys, declared that the white
men were burnir their mouths. They
were equally astonished when
match was used for lighting a fire and
a billy" employed for boiling water.
Mr.. 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 previously been a strang-
err The islanders, who form race
new 10 ethnologists. are supposed tn
- a retrograde type or else a more
primitive type than the ordinary Aus
tralian aboriginal They do not make
huts, as do the natives on the main
land; they simply collect heaps Of
fra.-s and sleep ON the bare ground to
the leeward cf them Articles which
have to be arried from one place to
another are wrapped in bark, the up
Of baskets being unknown, as is that
Of canoes, the water craft employed
being rudeIy constructed RATS, CON
sisting each Of a couple Of logs, with
some light wood. propelled by
branches as paddles.
Compared with the natives on the
mainland, the islanders seemed far
behind in a knowledge Of even the
rudest aboriginal appliances. They
have, however, a stringent system OF
tribal classification, intended to repre- /
sci t different degrees Of relationship
and TO assist in preventing too close /
intenaarriage. The origin Of this
system, SO prevalent among all classes
# Australian aboriginals, remains an
uasolved mystery. It's existence on /
MorniagtOn island was discovered by
Dr. Roth. when one Of the islanders
refused to speak to one Of the tame"