supplied’ ;1 these are, food and rest : the former 'is supplied to
him! by the élementsW earth,' air,'>and:ï water, the latter he finds
wheri and:-wheresoever h e choses! l!o seek Hpjg That labour which
is solnecessaryto procure’him' food,11 together with its simplicity,
contributes to the enjoyment of the^bufidest and most, refreshing
rest at Ithe hour he is" inclined to take it. He has then only
to seëk for the longest and driest-grass, and the tree that affords-
th e most shelter.' - Thislwhen he i§_ ranging the woods calorie';
but whèn he iswith his horde, he, stretches ;himself at-easp before
h blazing fire,’ and is’, protected from the- stornt which
is howling over bis head in a wigwam, or .slight hut* raised with
a few branches. -
Such beirig the uniform course of: his life from day to day;
and from.year to year,.; bii^tpok of« ideas-must npcejSj^ilyjJp
■ÿèry small' and his language,‘-as'he Can have,very* li!tleifto
Communicate Cir. to disctaig, must be greatj§r} ©kç^mseribed.;
Confined to a very few word^ liable ba be exchanged for new
ones às objects arise or vary from time to time. This being
considered, i t will not appear strange that there should b©'
no .settled nor fixed speech prevailing-amongst the natives, pf
New Holland; and it will account for what has been-'thought
màtter of astomshmenf. and wonder, that the New ^Hollander
côming from one part appears to find a difficulty in conversing
with the native of another; though, perhaps separated ^afe no
very great distance. In the course of the foregoing narrative^
ihe Reader will-find a relationof interviews betwixt the natiyp^
o f distant parts; wherein the difficulty herein remarked upon
has occurred.
I f their ideas are nairowed, their ingenuity and invention
must be equally-sri ; and the reason of this is; that in reality
the .New Hollander has little or nothing to excite the talents of
invention and ingenuity. To take a fish -Visibly gliding along
j the •
the clear stream, Che-first suggestion that naturally occurs is to
arrest it in its passage with a stone, or some sharp instrument.
Thë shadow' b|f| the- stone,- ^ as ' th’è^N'êw Hollander has experienced^
alarms the nimble'fish!,, which then escapes him, the
sharp instrument,therefore answers his purpose better; and
such 4b‘ instrument- he generally ci|pqps with him.- I t is a slen-
dér stiek of the lightest-wood he knows!! and made riot unlike
our fisH-gigl^The spear, ' which is fashioried to a point with a
flint-sfdifi^orjbySter-shell,^^ the weapon with which he defends
himself ' against an eheriily,^arid#it is an'engine, to catch birds.'
These instruments are all tha t ishricessary to supply him with
évSpy1 tffinglhè wantk tö ’sustain life*/i- I f through’his own labour,
ordtherwiSSjly gift, of ;as a kind o’f family suecessiorij he pos-
màgH for-matchet, 'wrought from a sharp flint, with a
rough handle^ h e .js ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ e ^ e n ric h e d. With t-hé-help of the
mâgîiilSè can cmnb 'the^hi^pnlsf^andiin-ost bulky trees,toigather
tft^»iilS,'!>w*;ild ^g-ney^eh catch squirrels j||p |p c ah cut1’ branches to
built! up2hr|^uf^|t)r b y darting«ii dekteforiföy at an opossum or
kangaroo, <. if 4e?chari|se.;to kill it, can feast on the game. I t
must;-however;.be acknowledged, that some-dffhein.hàve fish-
spears not inartificially formed ; and • that ,they have javelins
wrought^with a degree of'ingenuity. Thlyl also-use the .fishhook,
and lihbï' t'.
Theirules of equity and j ustice are short, plain and simple ; the
code is written on the mind of him we call a Savage, or man
in the state,-.of nature. - I t is-only’in the-intricate confusion of
a state.of'séciety that digests, pandjects and commentaries, with
a distinct ‘classmf memtéçeixpoünd them, .areihecessary'. .Thé
New Hollander needs them not : he is known to administer justice
iwith.the-sstrictest impartiality. In cases where a canoe has
beenhvantorily injured, he-has beeri remarked to adjust with
precisiorithe reparation to the trespass. When the life of an
z indivi