Holbrook argus., 1906-10-06
AUSTRALIAN MESSAGE. STICKS.
They Served as Vouchers in PrlMi- tive Forms of Trade.


 tive Forms of Trade.
 Considerable mystery has always at taclied to the so-called "message-sticks' used by natives of Australia, bearing marks that are often supposed to take the place of written characters in the transmission of information. There is no doubt that these curiously marked sticks are carried by messengers from one body of natives to another, but 1t Is asserted by Walter Roth. who writes on the subject in one of the ethnograph- fcal bulletins of the Queensland gov ernment, that they do not serve in themselves to convey information, but gre merely used for purposes of iden- ticaticn. Says Mir. Roth, as quoted In Knowledge and Scientific News:
 '"rhe limited quantity and portability of natives personal goods offer little or no opportunity for the use of prop erty marks. If weapons are of the same cut, there are minute, yet sutii- cient, differences which are recogniz- able to the owner; even If similarly ornamented, no two are so alike that they cannot be distinguished. In general way, each having sufficient for his own wants, and no person having more than another, there is nothing to theve and hence the lenity with which theft, even when 1t occurs, is regarded. Only in cases of trade and barter, through an intermediary, where it Is essential that one individuals goods should be distinguished from another's, is there q necessity fer q definite prop erty mark, this taking the form of q so-called letter or 'message-stick.' Un- der such circumstances the stick may be put into use as follows: Charlie. residing at Boulia, wants, we'will say, some pituri, but being prevented by sickness or some other cause from 20. ing himself. sends some relative or friend Peter to the nearest market on the Mulligan River to get some for him, and gives him message e-stick.'
 Arrived at last at his destination, Peter Is asked his business, tells who has sent him, hands over the stick and establishes his bona fdes. The bagful of piturl being at last forth coming. the vender returns the stick to Peter, but not before taking careful mental note of it, so as to be sure of recognizing 1t again. Peter returns at last to Charlie at Boulin. and deliv- CTS up beth pituri and stick. It now remains for Charlie to pay for the pi- turf with spears, boomerangs, etc. If he can prevail on Peter to take sec ond trip, all we'll and good, but If not, as is usually the case with so long a journey, he either proceeds himself or sends another messenger with the goods and the identical message as be- fore. He. or the second messenger, ar irving at the Mulllgan,' finds the ven der and gives him the spears. boomer. angs, etc, together with the stick Recognizing the latter, the seller ac- cepts the various articles in payment for the bagful of pIturi which he part ed with some few weeks previously, knowing now that he has been paid by the right person, probably personally unknown to him-l. e., the sender of the original stick"
 tion that the mesks on the sticks do not convey any communication, in tho ordinary sense of the term; tho same fnossage may accompany dideSest