grubs, it
begins to give, and if this takes place he pushes the tree over, and,
gradually breaking it to pieces with his hammer, he extracts the grubs,
of which sometimes more than a hundred are found in a single tree.

Until the top of the tree is dead it is not a proper receptacle for these
animals. The natives are therefore in the habit of breaking off the tops
of the grass-trees on their land at a particular season of the year in
order that they may have an abundance of this highly-prized article of
food. If two or more men have a right to hunt over the same portion of
ground, and one of them breaks off the tops of certain trees, by their
laws the grubs in these are his property and no one else has a right to
touch the tree. No mistake on this point can occur, for if the top of the
tree dies naturally it still remains in its original position, whereas a
native who thus prepares the tree knocks it off altogether; an instance
occurred at King George's Sound of a native travelling between thirty and
forty miles to lay a complaint before the Resident that another had been
guilty of this unpardonable breach of honesty, and, notwithstanding it
had been clearly brought home to him, still stoutly refused to make any
amends.

When there is a grub in a wattle-tree its diseased state, which produces
excrescences, soon betrays this circumstance to the watchful eyes of a
native, and an animal much larger than those found in the grass-tree is
soon extracted; they seldom however find more than one or two of these in
the same tree.

Grubs are either eaten raw or roasted; they are best roasted tied up in a
piece of bark in the manner in which I have before stated that they cook
their fish. If the natives are taunted with eating such a disgusting
species of food as these grubs appear to Europeans they invariably retort
by accusing us of eating raw oysters, which they regard with perfect
horror.

HUNTING THE SMALLER ANIMALS.

The smaller species of animals are either caught by surprising them in
their seats or by burning the bush. A native hunting for food has his
eyes in constant motion and nothing escapes them; he sees a kangaroo-rat
Sitting in a bush, and he walks towards it as if about to pass it
carelessly, but suddenly, when on one side of it, he stamps on the bush
with all his force, and crushes the little animal to death; should it be
rapid enough in its movements to avoid this blow he hurls his dow-uk at
it as it scamp