550 KUDITCHA SHOES OF CENTRAL AUSTRALIA. 



Central Australian rivers, and their dry channels are filled with 

 a white sand analogous to that of the sea shore. No track can 

 be hidden hei'e. All that can be done is to cause uncertainty 

 as regards the direction. Time is the great factor for the fugitive. 

 It is known whence he came and to where he will return, but 

 were these the outward or the returning tracks 1 While this 

 point is being cleared up by a circle of observations, the fugitive 

 gets back to his own tribe and is no longer in individual danger. 

 The customary challenge and tribal fight ensues, and peace 

 follows." 



Tucked inside each of the shoes from Barrow Creek, both at 

 the toes and heels, I found several examples of a well-marked 

 Helix, that Mr. Charles Hedley informs me is H. perinflata, Pf., 

 a characteristic desert species hitherto known to range from the 

 MacDonnell Ranges to the Victoria Desert, W.A. Whether 

 these shells are fortuitous, or were placed in the shoes by their 

 former sable owner for some occult reason, I am unable to say. 

 My informant, Mr. Brown, was unable to solve the riddle, but 

 simply says that the shells were in the shoes when he obtained 

 them ; and further that the Blacks of this part of the country eat 

 snails as we do oysters, but after cooking them. He saw a 

 number of camps, one hundred miles west-nor-west of Oodnadatta 

 where a feast had taken place. 



