394 ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES, 



The food supply was as a rule abundant in the district during 

 favourable seasons. It consisted of all kinds of game, birds and 

 birds' eggs, reptiles, fishes, and insects. Amongst the first 

 the opossum furnished probably the most frequent meal, because 

 it occurred very abundantly; and amongst the insects the 

 " Bugong "* supplied numbers of the natives with a fattening diet 

 for months. How this unique and remarkable food supply, found 

 always on the highest mountains, was procured deserves a detailed 

 description : — As early as October, as soon as the snow had 

 melted on the lower ranges, small parties of natives would start 

 during fine weather for some of the frost-riven rocks and procure 

 " Bugongs " for food. A great gathering usually took place 

 about Christmas on the highest ranges, when sometimes from 500 

 to 700 aborigines belonging to different friendly tribes would 

 assemble almost solely for the purpose of feasting upon roasted 

 moths. Sometimes these natives had to come great distances to 

 enjoy this food, which was not only much appreciated by them 

 but must have been very nutritious, because their condition 

 was generally improved by it, and when they returned from the 

 mountains their skins looked glossy and most of them were quite 

 fat. Their method of catching the insects was l^oth simple and 

 effective. With a burning or smouldering bush in the hand the 

 rents in the rocks were entered as far as possible, when the heat 

 and smoke would stifle the thickly congregated moths, that 

 occupied nearly every crack, and make them tumble to the bottom 

 of the cleft. Here an outstretched kangaroo skin or a fine net 

 made of kurrajong fibre would receive most of the stupefied and 

 half-sinsred insects, which were then roasted on hot ashes. This 

 process required some care and attention in order to prevent the 

 bodies of the moths getting scorched, and therefore the ashes 

 required to be not too hot and had to be free from large glowing 

 embers. The insects were thrown upon the ashes and well mixed 

 with them, and then the whole was stirred with sticks till the 

 wings and legs had broken away and the body was cooked, when 



* See also the note at the end of the paper (p. 40G). 



