The American journal of science and arts . Fox. The first notice which I remember to have seen of the weapon,was in a slight volume of travels in Van Diemens Land, pub-lished about four years since in London, but with which I havenot been able to meet again. It is there described as made ofheavy wood ; and, as being in the hands of a native, a very dan-gerous and powerful instrument of offense. About three yearssince, some specimens were imported into Dublin, and there soonbecame such a demand for them, that they have since been man-ufactured there. They are used by the students at Oxford andC
The American journal of science and arts . Fox. The first notice which I remember to have seen of the weapon,was in a slight volume of travels in Van Diemens Land, pub-lished about four years since in London, but with which I havenot been able to meet again. It is there described as made ofheavy wood ; and, as being in the hands of a native, a very dan-gerous and powerful instrument of offense. About three yearssince, some specimens were imported into Dublin, and there soonbecame such a demand for them, that they have since been man-ufactured there. They are used by the students at Oxford andCambridge, to throw for recreation. The specimen now in myhands was imported from Australia; but is evidently intendedfor England, and is made of light materials which could do littleharm should it chance to strike any one. It is of some native wood, and has been either cut out of abranch, having the appropriate bend by nature ; or it must havebeen twisted by means of steam, the vein of the wood followingthe curve to prevent its Meteo7ological Table-cmd Register. 165 From A, the handle, to B, it meas-ures, including the curve, two feet nineinches. It is two inches in breadth,and about the eighth of an inch inthickness. The upper side is slightlyrounded, the lower one is flat. Byholding the missile by one end, A, theplane side undermost, and throwingit towards C, as if to hit the groundat thirty yards distance, and giving it,on leaving the hand, a rapid rotary as A well as progressive motion, instead of striking the ground, it risesin the air horizontally, sixty or eighty feet, flies round behind theprojector, and finally falls near his feet; or if thrown with skill, itmay be made to form two circles before coming to the ground.*The natives of Australia have attained to such skill in the use ofit, that they can hit objects at a great distance, and procure theirfood by means of it; but to a foreigner, such a degree of accuracyappears to be next to impossible. The rotar
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookpublishernewhavensconverse, bookyear1820
