Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-07-07

dren attending a native school In VIC
toria. who. for three consecutive years.
ranked highest in examination results Of
all the State schools in the colony, as
/ Victoria was before it attained to the
dignity oS State of Australia.
I CANNIBALIsM e..
l STILL PRACTICED.
Canuibalism is not a thing wholly OF
/ the past among the wilder tribes. Not
4 long ago. 100 miles from Thursday Island
an aboriginal woman was killed and
eaten By an old bIackfeIlow sixty years
7 OF age. on the ground that she was 9
nuisance. These orgies are seldom heard
Of nowadays. but that they still exist Is
clear. There is also one grisly tribal Gus
/ tom still In practice among the wild
tribes. 1t takes the form Of eating por
tions Of dead aboriginals who have Gone
/ to their fathers in the natural course
! This repulsiye practice IS not prompted
/ by savagery: it Is regarded by those who
indulge II as a mark Of respect for the
dead. leg or an arm VI dead aborigi-
nal who was physically strong is. for eN-
ample. eaten IN the strange belief that the
strength Of the limb is transferred to th,
one who consumes Il.
It has been a recognized practice among
some tribes TO fay the corpse OF one Of
its mem bers and eat certain portions Of
the flesh, parts Of the body being pre-
served and carried about as relics or
charms. As a charm, and as an instru-
ment Of sorcery, which has been largely
responsible for some Of these barbarous
customs the hand Of a dead aboriginal
would be worn around the neck Mothers
would carry the dead bodies Of their
children, even in a putrefying state, in
- a,-s If In
hicted upon young mothers for causing
their babys death by carelessness.
THEIR ORIGIN IS
sHROUDED IN PAST.
As the name aboriginals indicates, it is
commonly believed that the blackfellows
were the first people who lived in Aus
traIia although there is one noted scien-
fist who has questioned the theory. Not
long after the British settlement there
were writer's who regarded the black
fellows as Of mixed Papuan and Malay
blood. 1t would take more space than is
availsbl even to trace briefly all the
theories which have been advanced In
scientific studies Of the Australian abort
glnes, in answer to the question, who
ara they7" That a relationship exists
between them and the ancient Dravidians
Of India is the contention Of several in
vestigators. What Is regarded as one
connecting link between the two is the
picture Of a red right hand daubed on
rocks in various parts of Australia, the
red hand being the symbol Of silva, the
"avenger" or destroyer" mentioned in
HindoO lore. Even this is not regarded
by some as evidence that people came to
Australia from India in prehistoric times.
Might not the red hand have been intro
duced into Australia not by the Indian
race direct but by Malay people. who"
says one scientist, have certainly car
ried hither sure tokens of HindoO mytho-
logical influence" The controversy is al
most endless. Perhaps, when the aborig-
inals have all melted away, one Of their
wise spirits will rise and say precisely
what the history OF the race is.
Because of impaired constitutions, the
result Of unhealthy lives arising from
changed habits since their contact with
the whites. it is regarded as probable
that in the older states of Australia there
vii not be a full blOoded aboriginal sur
wing a few years hence
1Sme has done away with many old
customs. but the use of love letters is
as readily understood today as it was
by at least one OF the native tribes OF
Australia, whose gaIiantries were ex-
pressed in the form of a bit OF twig,
about an inch and half long, and
marked with three small notches-one
representing the "dhomka." or postman,
and the other two the lovers.
CARRIED LOVE LETTER
FOR SEVERAL MONTHS
The story Of one who has seen these
letters in course of transmission Is
worth the telling: "A black boy fshed
II out from the lining of his hat. where
he had sewed IL up. He carried it in
this receptacle for several months until
he had an opportunity of delivering 1t
TO the girl for whom it was intended.