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[Page 40] 40
-The Tomahawk-
[Drawing of a tomahawk]
The tempered iron Tomahawk was of course an immense
improvement over the stone one €“ which by the way €“
I never saw amongst them €“ The Tomahawks of the
days I am speaking about, were narrower and longer
than the American sort, which came in later, and
for which the blacks had no time €“ With the
narrow bladed kind they could cut out a possum
from a hollow tree, or a bandycoot, or Kangaroo-rat
from a log. far more easily than with the broad
bladed ones €“The first thing a blackfellow did
when he received a tomahawk, was to substitute for
the white mans handle, one of his own make €“
shaped as per illustration above €“ flat and €“
narrowing to a point €“ This was placed loosely
into the eye of the tomahawk and fastened
firmly by a wedge driven in on the side €“
The reason for this change was that the thin handle
could be easily pushed under the waist belt, leaving
the hands free when climbing a tree, and at the
same time keeping the implement secure and
handy when wanted €“ The thin handle also lent more
weight to the head €“