Among Cannibals. An account of four years' travels in Australia, etc

Front matter

AMONG CANNIBALS AMONG CANNIBALS an account of FOUR YEARS' TRAVELS IN AUSTRALIA AND OF CAMP LIFE WITH THE ABORIGINES OF QUEENSLAND BY CARL LUMHOLTZ, M.A. MEMBER OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF SCIENCES OF NORWAY WITH MAPS, COLOURED PLATES, AND 122 ILLUSTRATIONS LONDON JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET 'Av8po<f>dyoi Si dypui>TaTa 7ra.VT<i>v avOpcoTTiav -r^ovcriv ijdea, ovtz &IK1JV vopi^ovTcs ovre vopii) ovSevl -^ptopivoc vopdSa 8<= ei'criv. Herodotus, iv. 106. TO $aul 33. ©u Œfjatllu, THE CELEBRATED EXPLORER OF AFRICA AND THE GREAT FRIEND OF SCANDINAVIA'S PAST AND PRESENT AS EVINCED BY 'THE LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN' AND 'THE VIKING AGE' THIS ENGLISH EDITION IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR In the year 1SS0 I undertook an expedition to Australia, partly at the expense of the University of Christiania, with the object of making collections for the zoological and zootomical museums of the University, and of instituting researches into the customs and anthropology of the little known native tribes which inhabit that continent.

At the commencement of my travels, which occupied four years, I spent some time in the south-eastern colonies, South Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales ; and suc ceeded in establishing connections with the museums in the cities of Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney, and I may add that everywhere I met with the most cordial reception. I am particularly indebted to the distinguished botanist Baron Ferd. von Mueller, of Melbourne ; to Fred. M'Coy, Professor of Zoology and Mineralogy in Melbourne University ; and to Dr. E. P. Ramsay, Director of the Museum in Sydney. More than ten months from November 1 880 to August 1 88 1 were spent by me at the fine station of Gracemere in Central Queensland, belonging to Messrs. Archer and Co. Both here and elsewhere I was indebted to various members of the Archer family for kindnesses, which in many ways aided me in my work.

I was placed under similar obligations to Walter J. Scott, Esq., the proprietor of the Valley of Lagoons station in Northern Queensland. To all these gentlemen I desire to express my sincere gratitude. In August 1 88 1 I entered upon my first journey of discovery, in the course of which I penetrated about 800 miles into Western Queensland, but the results in nowise corresponded to the hardships I had to endure. I thereupon selected Northern Queensland as the field of my chief exploration, and here I spent fourteen months in constant travel and study. From August 1882 to July 1883 I made my headquarters in the valley of the short but comparatively broad and deep Herbert river, which empties itself into the Pacific Ocean at about 180 S. lat., and there I lived alone among a race of people whose culture — if indeed they can be said to have any culture whatever — must be characterised as. the lowest to be found among the whole genus homo sapiens.

Chapter I

Introductory — Voyage to Australia — Arrival at Adelaide — Description of the city — Melbourne, the Queen of the South — Working men — The highest trees n the world — Two of the most common mammals in Australia Pages I-I2

Chapter II

Sydney harbour — Jealousy between Sydney and Melbourne — The Blue Mountains — Brisbane and Rockhampton — First evening in tropical Australia — Gracemere station — Animal and plant life — Vine-scrubs — Excursion into the neighbouring districts — A Norseman who feels cold in Australia . 13-30

Chapter III

Journey to Western Queensland — Camping out — Damper (Australian bread) — The song of the magpie — Australian scrubs — Hunting the kangaroo — Devotion of parrots — Station life — Lonely shepherds — Migration of rats — Native justice — Australian fleas — Native mounted police — A remarkable flint instrument — The boomerang ..... 31-52

Chapter IV

Struggle between blacks and whites — 116° Fahrenheit — Cool nights — Troubles — Bush - life — How the bushman spends his money — Inundations — Back again to Gracemere — A greedy snake — Courtship in the bush . 53-62

Chapter V

Journey to Northern Queensland — Mackay-sugar — Employment of South Sea Islanders — Townsville — A rough northern man — Sugar district on Lower Herbert — Visit to a successful Scandinavian — Blacks near Gardiner's farm — Nolla-nolla — Spring — Arrival at Herbert Vale . . . 63-75 CONTENTS

Chapter VI

Headquarters at Herbert Vale — Civilised blacks — Domestic life — Nelly the cook — Cats— Swimming in fat — My bill of fare — Killing the bullock — Strong stomachs and bad fare ..... Pages 76-88

Chapter VII

Kamin (implement for climbing) — On the top of the gum-trees — Hunting the wallaby — The spear of the natives — Bird life in the open country — Jungle-hens — Cassowary ....... 89-99

Chapter VIII

Pleasant companions — Two new mammals — Large scrubs in the Coast Mountains — The lawyer-palm — "Never have a black-fellow behind you" — I decide to live with the blacks — Great expectations — My outfit — Tobacco is money — The baby of the gun ..... 100-111

Chapter IX

My first expedition with the blacks — A night in the forest — Fear of evil spirits — Morning toilet — Maja yarri — Borboby — The "lists" of blacks — Warriors in full dress — Swords and shields — Fights — The rights of black women — Abduction of women ..... 1 12-127

Chapter X

The appearance of the aborigines in the different parts of the continent — My pack-horse in danger — Tracks of the boongary (tree-kangaroo) — Bower-birds — The blacks in rainy weather — Making fire in the scrubs — A messenger from the civilised world — The relations of the various tribes — Tattooing 12S-146

Chapter XI

Respect for right of property — New country — My camp — Mountain ascent — Tree-ferns — A dangerous nettle — A night in a cavern — Art among the blacks — Edible larvæ — Omelette aux coleoptires — Music of the blacks — Impudent begging ....... 147-159

Chapter XII

The position of women among the blacks — The husband the hunter, and the woman the provider of the family — Black female slaves — "Marking" the wives — A twelve-year-old wife — Considerate husbands — Wives an inheritance — Deserted by my followers — Reasoning power of the blacks — Darkness and rain ....... 160-171 CONTENTS XIII

Chapter XIII

Mongan, a new mammal — For my collection or to feed the blacks ? — Natives do not eat raw meat — A young yarri — A meteorite — Fear of attacks — Cannibals on the war-path — The relations between the tribes . . Pages 172-177

Chapter XIV

Dingo a member of the family — A black who does not smoke — -Hunting the flying-squirrel — Diseases among the natives — Their remedies — A splendid offer — Unpleasant companions — Trouble in getting dogs . 17S-1S7

Chapter XV

Blacks on the track — A foreign tribe — Native baskets — Two black boys — Bringing-up of the children — Pseudochirus lemuroides with its young — The effect of a shot — A native swell — Relationship among the blacks — Their old women ....... 1SS-200

Chapter XVI

Wild landscape on the Upper Herbert — Kvingan, the devil of the blacks — A fatal eel — Mourning dress — Flight of the blacks — A compromise — Christmas Eve — Lonely — Christmas fare — A " faithful " relative — A welcome wallaby 201-21 1

Chapter XVII

A wedding — Love among the Australian natives — My first meeting with Yokkai — Big eaters — An accident — Left alone with Yokkai — A difficult descent — Return to Herbert Vale — A new beetle — Friends of the animals 212-222

Chapter XVIII

Native politeness — How a native uses a newspaper — "Fat" living — Painful joy — Boongary, boongary — Veracity of the natives — A short joy — A perfect cure — An offer of marriage — Refusal . . . 223-235

Chapter XIX

A festival dance of the blacks — Their orchestra — A plain table — Yokkai wants to become "a white man" — Yokkai's confession — A dangerous situation — A family drama ...... 236-246 CONTENTS

Chapter XX

Arrival of the native police — The murderer caught — Examination — Jimmy is taken to Cardwell — Flight of the prisoner — The officer of the law — Expedition to the Valley of Lagoons — A mother eats her own child — My authority receives a shock ...... Pages 247-255

Chapter XXI

The rainy season — How the evenings are spent — Hardy children — Mangola- Maggi's revenge — The crania of the Australians — The expedition to Cardwell — Dalrymple Gap — A scandalous murder — Entry into Cardwell — Yokkai as cook — " Balnglan's " death — Tobacco cures sorrow 256-26S

Chapter XXII

Unpleasantnesses at Herbert Vale — New expeditions — Hunting human flesh — Cannibalism — Human flesh is the greatest delicacy of the Australian blacks — Superstitions in connection with the eating of human flesh — The taste of the cannibals — Cannibalism in Burma . . . 269-274

Chapter XXIII

The burial of the blacks — Black mummies — Sorcerers or wizards — Myths and legends — The doctrine of the Trinity in New South Wales — The belief in a future life among the blacks .... 275-2S5

Chapter XXIV

My life in danger — Morbora's ingratitude — Another danger — My position grows more precarious — The black man's fondness for imitating . 286-292

Chapter XXV

Winter in Northern Queensland — Snakes as food — Hunting snakes — An unexpected guest at night — Yokkai's first dress — Norway's "mountains of food " Departure from Herbert Vale — Farewell to the world of the blacks 293-302

Chapter XXVI

Message sticks — The common origin of the dialects — Remarkably complicated grammar — The language on Herbert river — Comparison of a few dialects 303-313 CONTENTS XV

Chapter XXVII

Frozen meat — Again in Gracemere — Australian scenery — In a carriole — Hunting the dugong — Cosmopolitan quarters for the night — Cure for nervous diseases — Poisonous rabbits — Marry only a person with good teeth — Bush girls — Mount Morgan ..... Pages 314-324

Chapter XXVIII

A family of zoologists — Flesh-eating kangaroos — How the ant-eater propagates — Civilised natives — Weapons and implements — Civilisation and demoralisation ....... 325-338

Chapter XXIX

Religion — Blacks in the service of the white men — Fickle minds — Settlers and natives on the borders of civilisation — Morality — A life and death struggle — The cruelty of the whites — Future prospects of the Australian natives ....... 339-349

Appendix

I. An Outline of Australian History — PAGE The Condition before the European Discovery . . . 353 History of the Discovery ..... 355 History of the Colonies ...... 359 II. Geology ........ 366 III. Flora ........ 369 IV. Fauna ........ 376 INDE.K . . ...... 3S9 ILLUSTRATIONS Portrait of Author in Australian Dress . . Frontispiece FACE Black Swan ........ i Flinders Street, .Adelaide ..... 3 View near Adelaide ..... 4 The Library, Melbourne . . . . 6 The Governor's House, Melbourne .... 7 Native Bear with its Voung . . . . . io Hunting the Opossum .... To face page u Tree-Ferns in Victoria . . . . . . 1 1 Sydney Harbour . . . . .13 The Blue Mountains .... .15 The Parliament House, Brisbane . . . .17 Frogs (Hyla cœruled) entering a Water-Jar . .18 Gracemere Station ...... 20 The Main Building, Gracemere Station . . . .21 In the Neighbourhood of Rockhampton .

To face page 24 Laughing Jackass (Dacelo gigas) . . . . 26 Vine-Scrub near Gracemere . ... To face page 27 True Australian Scenery .... To face page 29 A Wool-Waggon . . . . . • -3' Head of "More Pork" (Podargns cuvierii) ■ .32 A Kangaroo Hunt ..... To face page 34 Spider paralysed by' a Hornet ..... 3S Queensland Native Mounted Police . . . .46 Flint Knife from Georgina River with its Sheath . . 4S Pouch for the carrying of Pituri . . . .49 Boomerangs from Queensland . . 51 Stock-man's Whip .... • ■ 53 Rest under a Bottle-Tree (Sterculid) . ■ ■ 55 b ILL USTRA TIONS XVIII PAGE Bushmen ......•■ 5^ A Squatter's Homestead ...-•■ 59 Elephant Sugar-Cane, Mackay . . . ■ ■ 63 My Gordon Setter pointing a Black Snake 1 To face page 64 A Native Man from Central Queensland, near Rockhampton 68 A Native Woman from Central Queensland, near Rockhampton 69 nolla-nollas . . . . . ■ -73 Peculiar Position of Natives when resting . . -77 Nelly in the Kitchen ....

To face page 81 Jacky, a " civilised " Black-Fellow . . . -83 Climbing with the aid of Kamin . . To face page 89 Wallaby Hunt ..... To face page 92 Wallaby Net from Herbert River . . . -94 The Screw-Palm (Pandanus) . . ■ ■ -95 Young Cassowary . . . . ... .98 Palm Forest in Northern Queensland .... 103 A Woman from Northern Queensland, near Townsville . 107 My Camp ...... To face page no Wooden Shields from Northern Queensland . . .120 Fillet or Brow-Band from Northern Queensland . . 121 A Warrior in great Excitement just before Borboby commences ...... To face page 122 A Borboby ...... To face page 124 Old Women protecting a fallen Warrior . . .125 A Woman from Maryborough, Central Queensland To face page 129 A young Girl from Maryborough, Central Queensland To face page 130 An old Man from Herbert River . . . .132 A Group of Natives from Herbert River . . 133 A young Boy from Herbert River, showing Ornamental Scars i 35 Small Basket carried about the Neck, Herbert River . 136 Making Fire ....... 141 Jungle-Hen (Megapodius tumulus) ..... 149 Toollah (Pseudochii-us archeri) — Coloured plate .

To face page 152 Edible Beetle {Eurynassa australis) . . . .154 Larva of Same . . . . . . .154 Natives from Herbert River . . To face page 163 Rifle-Bird {Ptiloris victoria) . . . . . .171 Mongan {Pseudochirus herbertensis) — Coloured plate . To face page 173 Yarri (Dasyitrus maculatus) . . . . . .174 Dingo . . . . . . . .179 Start for an Expedition .... To face page ILL USTRA TIONS XIX PAGE Basket from North Queensland . . . . .190 A Basket made of soft Materials (grass) from Herbert River 194 Basket from Herbert River, painted with Stripes and Dots of Human Blood ■ . . . . . .195 Yabby (Pseudoc/iirus lemuroides) — Coloured plate . To face page 197 Yellow Necklace worn by the Blacks as an Emblem of Mourning ....... 203 Cicada aurora ........ 222 Boongary (Dendrolagus lumholtzii) — Coloured plate .

To face page 226 All the Dogs were produced . . . To face page 229 Kelanmi ........ 233 A Tuft of Talegalla Feathers ..... 237 A Shell used as an Ornament ..... 237 Dance of the Natives .... To face page 238 Striped-faced pouched Mouse (Smintkopsis virginiæ) . . 252 Jimmy ......... 255 A Male Cranium from Rockhampton, Central Queensland, seen from Five Sides ...... 259 Dalrymple Creek ..... To face page 261 An old Man from Townsville, Northern Queensland . 263 Natives on Herbert River . . . . 269 Burial in Northern Queensland. .... 275 A large Basket from Northern Queensland for carrying Children ....... 276 Hunting the Python ...... 293 Snake Feast in my Camp .... To face page 298 A Message Stick from Central Queensland . . . 304 Reverse Side of the Same ..... 304 Message Stick, with Interpretation of Inscription . . 304 The Freezing Establishment, Lakes Creek, near Rockhampton 314 A wire Harpoon Point . . . .317 A wooden Plug . . . . . . 317 A wooden Harpoon Point . . . .317 The Dugong, or Australian Sea-Cow {Halicore dugong) . . 319 Near the Coast of Central Queensland.

Jabiru in the foreground ..... To face page 323 Mount Morgan Gold Mine . . . To face page 324 Nephrurus asper . ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ • 325 Natives from the Vicinity of Rockhampton . 330 Brow-Band from Central Queensland . . . 331 Opossum Thread . . . . . ILLUSTRATIONS XX PAGE Apron made from Opossum Yarn ... ■ 332 Shields from Central Queensland . . 333 Wooden Sword from Central Queensland . • 334 Bendi from Coomooboolaroo ..... 334 Crystalline Axe from Peak Downs in Central Queensland . 335 A Spear from the Coast of Central Queensland . . 335 "King Billy of Gracemere" with his "Gin" (wife) . . 337 Civilised Girls from the Vicinity of Townsville . . 341 "The lonely old People," Natives from the Neighbourhood of Townsville ....... 344 Native Police dispersing the Blacks . . To face page 348 Cook's Monument in Sydney ..... 356 A large Fossil Sea-Shell from Western Queensland (Inoceramus maximus) . . . . . . . -3^7 Leaves, Flowers, and Fruit of Eucalyptus amygdalina . . 370 An Australian Spruce (Araucaria bidwillii) . . . 372 The Tea-tree {Melaleuca Leucadendron) .... 373 Chlamydosaurus kingii . . . . . . 376 Wild Geese from North Queensland (Anseranas melanoleuca) To face page 383 Egg OF Daphnia lumhollzii ...... 386 Daphnia lumholtzii . . . . ■ . . .386 Cyclestheria hislopi . . . . . . 387 Shell of a Cyclestheria hislopi ..... 3S8 Map of Australia ..... At end Map to illustrate the Author's Travels in Queensland „ black swan.

Chapter I

Introductory — Voyage to Australia — Arrival at Adelaide — Description of the city — Melbourne, the Queen of the South — Working men — The highest trees in the world — Two of the most common mammals in Australia. On May 24, 1880, I went on board the barque Einar Tambarskj elver bound from Snar Island near Christiania to Port Adelaide with a cargo of planed lumber. I carried with me a hunter's outfit, guns, ammunition, and other articles necessary for the chase, furnished me by the University of Norway, as well as some northern bird skins in order to inaugurate exchange with Australian museums. Sailing in the north-east trade-winds, a sunset in the tropics, or a mild starlit night on the ocean with a blazing phosphorescent sea, do not fail to make a strong impression. Then passing the pacific belt of the ocean, where a dead calm is suddenly interrupted by the most violent storm, you soon reach, by the aid of the south-east trades, the region of the westerly winds.

The Southern Cross and the cloud of b CHAP. Magellan, the gigantic sperm-whale, whose huge head now and then appeared above the surface of the water, and the albatross, whose glorious flight we never ceased to admire, heralded our arrival within the limits of the Southern Ocean. Cape-doves, albatrosses, and gulls accompanied us for weeks together. The passage had, however, at times its dark sides. On August 17, at six o'clock in the morning, we were overtaken by a most violent gale. All the sails, except the close-reefed topsails and foresail, were taken in. We shipped many seas. The stairs to the quarter-deck were crushed ; one wave broke through two doors in the companion-way to the steerage, another set all the water -casks afloat in the maddest confusion, a third filled the galley, so that the cook found himself waist-deep in water.

The fire was extinguished, and the food was mixed with the salt water. Several times the seas broke through our main cabin door, filling my cabin with water, making boots, socks, books, and other articles swim about in all directions. On a long journey one gets tired of the sea, this " desert of water," as the Arab calls it — and we long to set foot again on terra firma. According to the calculations of the captain we were fifty geographical miles from the coast of Australia, when one morning we perceived for the first time the smell of land, in this instance a peculiarly bitter but mildly aromatic odour, as of fragrant resin. This fragrance, doubtless, came from the acacias, which at this time were in full bloom. For by the aid of the wind these trees, particularly Acacia fragrans, diffuse the fragrance of their flowers to a great distance, and this morning there was blowing a fresh, damp breeze directly from the land.

On the afternoon of August 29 we got sight of land. In the evening we saw the lighthouse on Kangaroo Island ; followed by dolphins we navigated through Investigator Straits, and on the afternoon of the next day we anchored outside Port Adelaide. As it was raining, we contented ourselves with viewing the town from the distance. Our eyes involuntarily rested on a number of chimneys, an evidence of extensive manufactories. ADELAIDE What most interested me here was the Botanical Garden, which I visited the same day. The weather was splendid, the rays of the sun were reflected in large ponds, where the water-fowl were swimming among papyrus and Babylonian weeping-willows. The parrots chattered in their cages, and displayed their brilliant plumage ; the birds sang in the cultivated bushes of the garden, and the frogs croaked with that harsh, strong note, which seems especially developed in tropical lands.

There was a life, a throng, an assemblage of dazzling colours, which could not but make a deep impression FLINDERS STREET, ADELAIDE. on a person whpse eyes for a hundred days had seen nothing but sky and water. This fine garden contains forty-five acres, and is excel lently managed by Dr. R. Schomburgk, celebrated for his travels in British Guiana. In the " palm-house," built of glass and iron, are found tropical plants. The most beautiful and most imposing part of the park is the so-called garden of roses, a large square enclosure surrounded by garlands of tastefully -arranged climbing roses. Here is an abundance of varieties, beginning with the tallest rose-bushes and ending with the smallest dwarf-roses, and the colours vary from the most dazzling white to the darkest red or almost black.

CHAP. 4 Among the trees familiar to me in this park were an alder and a birch. They stood very modestly, just putting forth their leaves in company with grand magnolias^ in VIEW NEAR ADELAIDE. blossom, elegant araucarias, and magnificent weeping-willows. The hot -houses near the superintendent's dwelling were admirable, and presented a wealth of the greatest variety of flowers from all parts of the world, but mainly from Australia. I MELBOURNE 5 Some groups of fine bamboo particularly attracted my attention. The park is visited by several thousand people ever)' Sunday afternoon. Adelaide, containing about 60,000 inhabitants, is a very regularly laid out city. All the streets cross one another at right angles, and are very broad. Along the gutters railings are placed, to which people may hitch their horses.

Even servants go to market on horseback with baskets on their arms. The residences are constructed in a very practical manner, suited to the demands of the climate, with verandahs and beautiful gardens. In many parts of the city there are public reading-rooms, where the latest newspapers may be found. In the forenoon these reading-rooms are always full of people, particularly of the working classes. The city cannot fail to make a favourable impression upon the traveller. It is cleanly and elegant, corresponding to its feminine name Adelaide. The inhabitants are un usually amiable, and they are renowned for their hospitality, and this is saying a great deal in so hospitable a land as Australia. From Adelaide to Melbourne is a three days' journey, and early one morning I went on board a steamer bound for this port.

Once there we immediately perceive that we have come to a metropolis, for the flags of all nations are unfurled to the breeze in its harbour. The International Exhibition was to be opened in a few weeks, and in the distance we could already see the great cupola of the building looming up above the rest of the city. Great clouds of dust appeared in the streets, giving us an idea of Melbourne's dry climate. After a slow voyage up the shallow Yarra river, during which we actually stuck in the mud once or twice, we finally landed at the wharf. Melbourne with its suburbs has only 300,000 in habitants, but has the appearance of being much larger on account of its broad and straight streets and its numerous parks and magnificent public buildings. The first building attracting our attention is the Library, a noble structure in classical style, but the first thing the inhabitants want the stranger to notice is the Post Office and CHAr.

Town Hall. The question is being perpetually asked : " Have you seen the Town Hall and the Post Office ? " The Assembly Room in the Town Hall contains one of the largest organs in the world ; it has 4373 pipes. The residence of the Governor occupies a commanding height, and is surrounded by a large park, which is directly connected with the Botanical Garden. The University, which is attended by about 400 students, has, since 1880, been open to women, who are now admitted THE LIBRARY, MELBOURNE. to all the courses except medicine ! It possesses a large museum, where the animals are in part set up in groups representing scenes from their daily life, a most instructive arrangement. Here can also be seen a fossilised egg of the extinct gigantic bird from Madagascar, the yEpyornis maximus. The city contains a number of magnificent churches, hospitals, and benevolent institutions.

The streets are large, wide, and have immense gutters. It has been well said bv an author that Melbourne is London seen through the small end of the telescope. THE AUSTRALIANS 7 People seem to be very busy, and move through the streets with great rapidity. Melbourne is a city of enjoy ments and iuxuries, equipped with great elegance and comfort ; everything suggests money and the power of wealth. There is no article of luxury which is not to be found here, from Norwegian herring to champagne in every degree of dryness. Among sports, horse-racing ranks first, and not a week passes without one or more races on the celebrated Flemmington racecourse, near the city, taking place. Every year, in the beginning of November, about 120,000 people come together to witness the great Melbourne Cup race, where fortunes are lost and won.

The whites born in Australia are gradually becoming a distinct race, differing: from other Englishmen. Thev have a more lively temperament, and are slighter in frame, but tall, erect, and muscular. I also observed in Queensland that some of the children had a tendency to the American twang. The Australians pay great attention to travellers visiting their country, and they are very proud of showing its attractions. Thus a stranger may, as a rule, count on getting a free pass on all the railroads. The ladies are free and easy in their manners. They are frank and confiding, and their acquaintance is quickly made. Their friendship, once gained, may be relied on, and they are untiring in their acts of kindness. In no other place in the world do the labouring classes have as much influence as in Victoria ; for the working men in fact govern the colony.

As a rule, they are well educated, and keep abreast of the times, but still their administration of affairs has not always been successful. The economical condition of the labouring classes in Melbourne is excellent, but they are rather fond of intoxicating drinks. I am able to give an example, showing how the people of Australia keep themselves informed on public questions. I once spoke to a labourer whom I met on the street in Melbourne, and as he noticed that I was a stranger, he asked me where my home was. When he learned that I came from Norway, he exclaimed : " Oh, we know Norway very well, and the Norwegian scheme ! " He then explained this to me as best he could. I afterwards learned that Victoria, in 1874, was on the point of adopting a parliament like the Nor wegian, with one chamber which divides itself into two bodies (the odelsthing and lagthing), a proposition which was on the point of being carried.

The climate of Melbourne is not particularly warm, though during the summer excessively hot winds from the interior of the continent may blow for a few days, and not infrequently children die from the heat at this time. The sudden changes of temperature, peculiar to the southern part of Australia, also annually demand their victims, though upon the whole the climate must be regarded as very healthy. Before leaving Melbourne I made several excursions far into the colony. On one of these I visited the celebrated mining town Ballarat, the place which marks the first epoch I THE GUM-TREE 9 in the history of Victoria, and of all Australia for that matter, for it was the gold which especially drew the attention of the world to the new continent. Since 185 I the annual production of gold in Australia has averaged ten million pounds sterling.

No traveller should neglect to view " the highest trees in the world," for it is easy to see them near Melbourne. Eucalyptus amygdalina grows, according to the famous botanist Baron F. v. Mueller, to a greater height than the Wellingtonia sequoia of California. Trees have been measured more than 450 feet high. Though these gum-trees are without comparison the highest in the world, they must yield the place of honour in regard to beauty and wealth of foliage. They send forth but a couple of solitary branches from their lofty tops. Thus the Wellingtonia retains the crown as the king of the vegetable kingdom. F. v. Mueller says of Eucalyptus amygdalina : " It is a grand picture to see a mass of enormously tall trees of this kind, with stems of mast-like straightness and clear whiteness, so close together in the forest as to allow them space only toward their summit to send their scanty branches and sparse foliage to the free light."