BY F. BKNXETT. 



177 



on the Paroo River in the remote south-Mest. Yet, here, 

 tribes only 50 miles apart use different words for the most 

 common objects. There was evidently some natural 

 boundary between the two tribes, but Avhat it could be I 

 do not know as there is no large range or river to the south 

 of Mt. Spencer. The tribe was, I fancy, a small one and 

 restricted to a small area, Avhereas the powerful and savage 

 blacks of the Upper Dawson, after the notorious Goongarry 

 massacre, fled to the Flagstaff ranges, 72 miles awa}-, and 

 the Comet River blacks, after the Cullin-la-riifgo slaughter, 

 fled to a great distance. 



The explanation may lie in the fact that the ranges in 

 the south-west of the Leichhardt district abound in deep 

 gorges almost inaccessible to enemies, and tribes using the 

 refuge amalgamated into one powerfid tribe, whereas this 

 ''City of Refuge" was too far distant for the Dee River 

 blacks to attempt. 



{a) Common objects. 

 Water = cam' oo 

 Springwater=tee'nang camoo 

 River= buboo'rah 



(cf Biboo'hra near Cairns) 

 Moiintain=bar'ree 

 Sun= karroo 



{b) Common animals (edible or 

 otherwise). 

 Eel=go'yooh, or boog'-so-lah 

 Turtle=nay' pur'-rah 

 Scrub turkey= coo' -coo-bee 

 Plain turkey = wurk' -er 

 Alligator = tee' -nah 



^Note that thee'nah=sole of the 

 foot. Tid'-na=foot). 

 Porcupine = mont' - coo 

 Carpet-snake=boon'-gi 

 Tiger snake=coo-yun'-garra 



(c) Trees (used for weapons, and 

 as scrubs for refuge and 

 for hunting). 

 Scrub = mon-gay 



Brigalow=cab-bal-lah(c/Cabar- 



lah, near Toowoomba) 

 Bottle tree =bof fine 



Partial Vocabularv. 



Moon=kak kal 



Stars = gat till 

 Thunder = kar ' ree 

 Lightning=par'ee warree 

 (Note the similarity in barree, 

 karee, paree- warree) 



Emu=goon-doo-'oo or goo'-roo- 



man 

 Kangaroo = woorah 

 Wallaby= woy-yah 

 Opossum =kooIan ("/ Kolan R.) 

 Nat ve bear=ko-o-lah (cf ko-a- 

 la) 



Whip-tail wallaby= wal-lura-bul 

 Black iguana=mo'-nal {rf Mo- 



nal township) 

 Yellow iguana=mon-gull 



^Bauhinia=moo-kine 



Ironbark=boon-garrah 



Moreton Bay ash=kal-koo-rah'« 

 ee 



Coolibah= wee-coo'-loo 



Npunyah=mvmd-jah 



M 



