were preparing for the corroboree, a name given to their dancing by
these savages, and presently 200 men and 60 boys in nudity came from
among the forest trees. Each dancer was provided with a bunch of leaves
fastened above the knee, which, as they stamped in unison, made a loud
switching noise. These natives were painted from shoulder to hip, with
five or six stripes rising from the breast, their faces streaked with
white perpendicular lines, making it appear as the dancing of dead
men's bones. For some time the dancers continued to stamp to and fro,
and then, assembling at a fire that burned close by, they
simultaneously sat down. Other dancers then took their places, dressed
in fur cloaks, and wearing white and yellow feathers in their hair,
their black visages rendered hideous by fish-bones stuck through the
cartilage of the nose above their thick lips. These singular beings
stamped their way backward and forward, giving vent to yells of
excitement, and causing their bodies to tremble and twitch in the most
surprising manner. The last act of this strange drama represented the
warriors sitting cross-legged round the fire, when suddenly they
simultaneously stretched out their right arms as if pointing to some
distant object, at the same time displaying their teeth and rolling
their eyes, and then, springing to their feet, they uttered a shout
that echoed for miles over the surrounding country.

And now the preparations for a feast began. A number of women and young
girls brought baskets of fish, roasted birds, and prepared bulrush
root, whilst some very large eggs, such as I had never seen the like
before, with green shells were stacked upon the grass. Strange-looking
animals also, together with snakes and lizards, were stewed in clay
vessels, while the savages gathered round in gloating anticipation of
this repulsive food. When all was prepared one of the women gave a
peculiar cry, when there came from among the trees the young men who