Note 181 — Chapter II · HUNTERS AND FISHERS.

1º. Abundance of food. Food in Australia is by no means abundant and often very scarce. The Australians are omnivorous in the widest sense of the word; they eat even mice, rats, lizards, beetles, etc. In some parts of Australia, especially on the West Coast and in the interior, the natives are continually suffering from hunger181. Thomas remarks: “In few parts of Australia can the native count on anything like regular supplies of food. He is dependent on the course of the seasons for his seeds and fruits; the time of year also affects the supply of fish in many parts; and in Central Australia, perhaps owing to the barrenness of the land, much time is given up, if our accounts are accurate, to magical ceremonies, whose object is to promote the increase of game and plant life, so difficult does the native find it to obtain sustenance”182. We shall soon see that scarcity of food compels them to live in very small groups.