At one time, there were many blacks in Victoria. They roamed about, and stayed only where there was plenty of food to be found. The men caught wild animals, or birds, or fish, and the women dug up roots and yams, and gathered berries.
When a tribe was on the march, the men always walked in front carrying their weapons, so as to be ready to fight an enemy or to kill any game they might find. Whatever articles a tribe owned were carried by the women, who also had their babies in a sort of hood on their backs. The little black things looked very happy, peeping over their mothers" shoulders.
Mary E.B.HoWitt.
About the Author.-Mary HoWitt (1799-1888), whose un- married name was Mary Botham, was born in England. She married William Howitt, himself a poet. Mary Howitt wrote many poems, ballads, novels, and children"s tales. Her husband with their two sons came out to Australia in 1852 and tried his luck at gold-mining, his party discovering the Nine-mile Creek diggings (Yackandandah). Thefather returned to England with his younger son and published two important books on Australia, one of them a History of Discovery. He finally settled at Rome, where he helped to introduce gum-trees for planting in the marshy places. The elder son, Alfred William, became a fearless bushman. It was he who found the survivors of the Burke and Wills expedition and the bodies of the explorers in 1861. Later he wrote an important book, The Native Tribes of South-east Australia.
About the.-Why did not the blacks settle down and build towns? Why do the women of savage tribes have to do most of the heavy work?