When a native dies his brother inherits his wives and children, but his
brother must be of the same family name as himself. The widow goes to her
second husband's hut three days after the death of her first.

The old men manage to keep the females a good deal amongst themselves,
giving their daughters to one another, and the more female children they
have the greater chance have they of getting another wife by this sort of
exchange; but the women have generally some favourite amongst the young
men, always looking forward to be his wife at the death of her husband.

OBLIGATIONS OF RELATIONSHIP. DIVISION OF FAMILY BRANCHES.

But a most remarkable law is that which obliges families connected by
blood upon the female side to join for the purpose of defence and
avenging crimes; and as the father marries several wives, and very often
all of different families, his children are repeatedly all divided
amongst themselves; no common bond of union exists between them, and this
custom alone would be sufficient to prevent this people ever emerging
from the savage state.

As their laws are principally made up of sets of obligations due from
members of the same great family towards one another--which obligations
of family names are much stronger than those of blood--it is evident that
a vast influence upon the manners and state of this people must be
brought about by this arrangement into classes. I therefore devoted a
great portion of my attention to this point, but the mass of materials I
have collected is so large that it would occupy much more time to arrange
it than I have been able to spare so as to do full justice to the
subject; but in order to give an accurate idea of the nature of the
enquiries I pursued I have given in the Appendix A a short genealogical
list which will show the manner in which a native gives birth to a
progeny of a totally different family name to himself; so that a district
of country never remains for two successive generations in the same
family. These observations, as well as others made with regard to the
natives, can be only considered to apply, as yet, to that portion of
Western Australia lying between the 30th and 35th parallels of south
latitude unless the contrary is expressly stated; though I think there is
strong reason to suppose that they will, in general, be found to obtain
throughout the continent.

DIFFICULTY OF PURSUING THE ENQUIRY.

It is impossible for any person not well acqua