The Confessions of a BeachcomberBanfield, E. J. (Edmund James)
History
The Confessions of a Beachcomber
Banfield, E. J. (Edmund James)
Dunk Island (Qld.); Natural history -- Australia -- Queensland
Turtle being wanted, the blacks voyage out each in a bark canoe, which
weighs about 40 lbs., is 8 feet long, 2 feet beam and 1 foot deep
midships, where the sides are much depressed, leaving little more than
an inch of freeboard. There is a good sheer forward and a slight tilt at
the stern, while the bottom is level. Occasionally two men fit
themselves into a canoe of the dimensions given. The canoe is
constructed of a single sheet of bark, preferably of "Gulgong"
(EUCALYPTUS ROBUSTA) or "Carr-lee" (ACACIA AULACOCARPA), or "Wee-ree"
(CALOPHYLLUM INOPHYLLUM) brought neatly together at the ends, which are
sewn with strips of lawyer cane. Pieces of lawyer cane are sometimes
also stitched in to represent stem and stern posts, and the chaffing
pieces also are of cane, though occasionally thin pliant saplings are
strapped and sewn on. Across the bow and the stern are stays of cane,
with generally a stronger thwart midships. When new, and the stitches of
yellow cane regular and bright, the canoe represents about the neatest
and nattiest of the few constructive efforts of the blacks, and is as
buoyant as a duck. The seams are caulked with a resinous gum,
"Tambarang," of the jungle tree known as "Arral" (EVODIA ACCEDENS), and
is prepared by being powdered on a flat stone previously moistened with
water. The powdered resin is melted by heat, allowed to solidify, and
pounded and melted again, and after being rolled and kneaded into a
lump, is wrapped in a leaf until wanted. The finished article, which is
also used as a cement, is known as "Toon-coo."
Motor power for the canoe is a shovel-shaped piece of bark 5 inches by 3
1/2 inches, each man having a pair. Ever and anon the aft man ejects
leakage by a rapid succession of dexterous back strokes of his paddle.
Naked and unashamed, the blacks are well equipped for sport. They may
have three or four harpoons of their own manufacture, besides a live
fire-stick lying on a piece of bark sprinkled with sand, or they may
carry a couple of dry sticks for raising a fire by friction. The haft of
the harpoon is probably red or orange mangrove (BRUGUIERA RHEEDI), heavy
and tough. It has been duly seasoned and straightened by immersion in
running water and exposure to fire. At the heavy end it is hollowed out
to a depth Of 4 inches. The point is preferably of one of the black
palms (ARCHONTOPHOENIX JARDINEI), and a barb is strapped to it with the
fibre of the "Man-djar" (HIBISCUS TILIACEOUS) and cemented with
"Toon-coo."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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