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were regular, and for the most part pleasing ; the hair was long,
black, and wavy, sometimes hanging in ringlets ; the nose was
aquiline, with broad alee nasi, and having the septum perforated
for the reception of a white stick like a pipe-stem ; the upper
lip, cheek, and chin were furnished with a moderate growth of
hair ; the teeth were regular— no incisors removed ; trunk and
extremities almost devoid of hair ; the skin of the arms, chest,
and abdomen was decorated with cicatrices which stood out from
the skin in bold relief, having the form and consistency of cords.
On the arms these scars were disposed in parallel vertical lines,
while on the chest and abdomen they were in horizontal curves.
Dr. Morice informed me that these ghastly decorations were
produced in some way unknown by means of a sharp cutting
instrument, and that no foreign substance is introduced into the
wound. He had been unsuccessful in all his efforts to ascertain
how the peculiar raised and indurated character of the sore is
produced. The women had fewer scar decorations than the men,
but had the same nasal perforation, in which they also wore sticks.
All seemed cheerful, happy, and contented with their lot. Their
huts were of the usual unsubstantial character, but were, however,
an improvement on the “ shelter-screens ” of the eastern aborigines.
They were constructed of boughs of trees supplemented with
stray bits of iron sheeting, and other scraps of wood and iron
gleaned from the settlement, and they were provided with an
arched roof, so that the whole structure was of the shape of a
half cylinder lying on its side. Many, however, were little more
than “ shelter screens,” to protect them from the prevailing winds.
Their weapons consisted of spears and clubs. The spears were
of different shapes and sizes, seme being provided with two or
three long slender tapering points of hard wood, deeply serrated
along one side, while others were tipped with rudely chipped
pieces of sandstone. The former is used for spearing fish, the
latter for fighting purposes. The “ woomerahs,” or throwing
sticks, which they always use in propelling their spears, are of
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