New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-05-15
Some Q14eer Peoples Described By
Veteran Traveller Sg>6o Kr7oe0S Them

> left for himself. This is not willing hospi-
/ tally, but the observance Of long estab-
lished tribal custom.
/ When a man Of the tribe is sick to death
/ his fellow blacks give themselves up 10
the widest demonstrations Of grief. They
drive their sharp pointed yam sticks into
/ their heads until the blood flows; they
/ shrek; they writhe over the body OF the
/ dying man; they cash their legs with Stone
| knives, while the women batter each Other
with clubs as death approaches. The
modes Of burial differ IN different parts OF
! the country In some tribes. however. II
used TO be the practice TO eat the flesh Of
the dead man. and then bury the bones,
after elaborate rites. In one tribe, for ex-
ample, a fire was made. the head was cut
of and the limbs were dismembered and
eaten by the men OF the tribe. The bones
were then made into a little parcel by the
dead mans father. who placed them in a
fOrke1 stick stuck in the ground, round
which a fire was built Only the parents
were allowed to approach the fire. and
after a time the bones were placed in "a
| hollow log or left in a tree.
Although human sacrifice was never, ap-
parently. INDUCED in, cannibslism was Ger
/ tainly once practised by the Queensland
! blacks. Any one who was killed in battle
was eaten; so, too. was any man Of valOr
or influence in the tribe, no matter what
his age was or what he died or One OF
the early white settlers in Queensland
Tom" Petrie-was told by them that they
did it out Of consideration and pity for the
body. and in order that they might know
where it was. This pity and cOnsidera-
ton, however, was not extended to the
tough old gins, whom they did not trouble
10 eat. When a body was eaten il was
first singed all over excepting the head,
until the skin turned a light brown color
/ Then the body was turned face downward
and three or four men would advance,
singing, toward It. The first wOuld with
his stone knife, slit down the skin from
/ the head to the neck, the Eext continue the
! cut down the body. and so on till the
whole Of the skin was ready to be peeled
Off in one piece. While this was done with
due solemnity the other members Of the
tribe would be sitting IN groups each
group gathered round a fire waiting for
its share and as each received its por-
ton it was Immediately roasted and con-
sumed with great relish.
The skin, after being peeled off. was
hung on two spears before the fire TO dry
sometimes requiring to be spread out
afresh each day. The hair, ears, nose, fin
gers and toes would be left attached TO the
skin, which. when properly dried. was
/ blackened with grease and charcoal Some
special bones were saved and the skin
was folded up with these and carried about
by the relatives in their dilly-baEs.
The songs of the Australian natives are
very numerous and are descriptive Of al
most every feature of their life. Some are
used as dance music. some are dramatic.
some magical incantations, others descrip-
tive; others, again, comic. Many OF the
latter deal with obscenity. None Of them,
apparently, contain a shred of sentiment
or pathOs. while lullabies or love songs as
we understand them are absolutely IN
known. It very rarely happens that a
native will sing for his own amusement