Journals Of Expeditions Of Discovery Into Central Australia And Overland From Adelaide To King George's Sound In The Years 1840-1: Sent By The Colonists Of South Australia By Eyre, Edward John
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The Wombat Is Driven To His
Hole With Dogs At Night, And A Fire Being Lighted Inside, The Mouth Is
Closed With Stones And Earth.
The animal being by this means suffocated,
is dug out at convenience.
Birds are killed on the wing, with bwirris, or whilst resting on the
ground, or in the water, or upon branches of trees. They are also taken
by spearing, by snaring, by noosing, and by netting. In spearing them the
natives make use of a very light reed spear (kiko), which is pointed with
hard wood, and projected when used, with the nga-waonk or throwing
stick. They resort to the lagoons or river flats, when flooded, and
either wading or in canoes, chase and spear the wild fowl. The
kiko is thrown to a very great distance, with amazing rapidity and
precision, so that a native is frequently very successful by this method,
particularly so when the young broods of duck and other wild fowl are
nearly full grown, but still unable to fly far. Getting into his canoe,
the native paddles along with extraordinary celerity after his game,
chasing them from one side of the lagoon to the other, until he loads
himself with spoil.
Ducks and teal are caught by snaring, which is practised in the following
manner. After ascertaining where there is a shelving bank to any of the
lagoons, which is frequented by these birds, and upon which there is
grass, or other food that they like near the edges, the natives get a
number of strong reeds, bend them in the middle, and force the two ends
of each into the ground, about seven inches apart, forming a number of
triangles, with their uppermost extremities about five or six inches from
the ground.
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