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[Page 44] 44
- 2-
was intended - The heaviest was used for spearing
the big sea mullet which appeared in schools at certain
periods of the year - The wood for the prongs was
first of all shaped in the rough and then allowed
to be in some salt water pool for a time, to get rid
of the sap and toughen it- and at the same time make
it easier to scrape down to the required thickness -
The blacks soon found out the superiority of a
scraper made from a broken bottle, over the shell
scraper formerly in use - An indispensible thing
in this work of spear making was the gum of the
grass tree, a good big lump of this was always
kept on hand - It was interesting to watch the
spearing of the sea mullet - The schools used to travel
from west to east close inshore on the northern side
of the harbour, at high water, and it was a great time
of feasting for the blacks who consumed large
quantities of the fish, never seeming to tire of it -
The camp was made near the shore and the
women were posted to give notice of the approach
of a school and at the signal the fisherman, generally
about half a dozen at once, would rush into the water
up to their middles, with spears and womerahs all
poised ready, then when the school was within striking
distance