94 NATIVE WORDS OF THE OYSTER BAY TRIBE, 



R.S. TAS. 



75. Pee-bid-ka = Tlumder. 



H.L.R. gives the variant " poimettja " for ''thunder." It 

 is " pe(na)-matta-ka," i.e.^ " lauce-big mass-noise," and means 

 "a (fiery) lauce (followed by) a big mass (falling with) a 

 noise." 



In the final note, H.W.M. metitions the rajiid, guttural 

 diction of the Aboriginals, which H.L.R. also mentions. His 

 explanation of thunder shows that lie was eager to do 

 missionary service. He was probably in error when he took 

 that old native to refer to the Second Advent; as thund^-r is 

 rarely heard in Southern Tasmania, and the memory of 

 primitive people is shoi t, that native probably meant to ask 

 simplv whether there would be more thunder soon, evidently 

 considering H.W.M. to be able to tell him what was going on 

 in the sky. 



In conclusion, I submit that I have now established the 

 genuineness of Mr. Beattie's record, and considerably aug- 

 mented the force of the arguments I have uiged in support 

 of mv theory on the nature of the language of the Aborigines 

 of Tasmania. 



