As soon as it grew
dark, small fires were lighted, and the men commenced their toilet,
which consisted in painting themselves white in spots and lines. As
soon as all was ready, large fires were kept blazing, round which
the women and children were collected as spectators; the Cockatoo
and King George's men formed two distinct parties, and generally
danced in answer to each other. The dancing consisted in their
running either sideways or in Indian file into an open space, and
stamping the ground with great force as they marched together.
Their heavy footsteps were accompanied by a kind of grunt, by
beating their clubs and spears together, and by various other
gesticulations, such as extending their arms and wriggling their
bodies. It was a most rude, barbarous scene, and, to our ideas,
without any sort of meaning; but we observed that the black women
and children watched it with the greatest pleasure. Perhaps these
dances originally represented actions, such as wars and victories;
there was one called the Emu dance, in which each man extended his
arm in a bent manner, like the neck of that bird. In another dance
one man imitated the movements of a kangaroo grazing in the woods,
whilst a second crawled up and pretended to spear him.
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