BY N. DE MIKLOUHO-MACLAY. 623 



a little English — " all same — spayed cow," and added that this 

 operation is sometimes performed to give the young men of 

 the trihe a female companion, without the risk that such a kind 

 of " Hetaira " will ever become a mother.* The man explained, 

 by gestures, that after the incisions in the groins are made, the 

 ovaria are torn out. 



This tale appeared to me especially interesting, as it was a 

 confirmation of another similar account, I remember, in 1878 to 

 have heard from Mr. E. P. Eamsay, that Mr. J. Macgillivray, 

 the well known naturalist of the "Rattlesnake," had told him 

 about a native woman whom he saw at Cape York, on which the 

 same operation (Ovariotomy) had been performed. Mr. 

 Macgillivray saw himself the woman and convinced himself of 

 the existence of two cicatrices in the groins. The woman was 

 born dumb, and the operation of Ovariotimy was performed to 

 prevent her having dumb-born children. 



Although it is strange that the Australian Natives should 

 undertake such dangerous operations, it seems however to me, 

 to be a fact. My reasons for this opinion are : — 1. The authen- 

 ticity of the relaters (Macgillivray and Eotsch). 2. The circum- 

 stance that Ovariotomy scarcely can be regarded as an operation 

 more dangerous or complicated! than that of " Mikse " which 

 has, as known, such a large spread in Australia. 3. The fact 

 that dark races, as a rule, stand dangerous wounds or operations 

 better than the white. 4. That this operation (Ovariotomy) 

 is known to be performed by nations having very little knowledge 



*Mr. Bracker of Waroo Station, near Stanthorpe, mentioned to me, that 

 amongst the blacks of that part of Queensland, sterile women were regarded 

 as belonging to every man, as naturally fitted to be prostitutes. 



fAfter Ih. Billroth, (Handbuch der Frauenkrankheiten, 1877, page 215 

 and 228) the percentage of recoveries after the Ovariotomia is 90,5%. 



