THE " DEBIL-DEBIL " 307 



no single person or any number of persons, individually 

 or collectively, was or were entitled to barter the rights 

 and property of another. The bean-trees especially were 

 subject to the law of entail. The old men, the young 

 soothsayer explained, could not legally deprive him of 

 his rights to the fruit of the trees that had been the 

 property of his as well as their ancestors, though he, dis- 

 ingenuously, was quite ready for a personal consideration 

 to forego his privileges. He, too, was for peace sake made 

 happy ; and it was there and then explained by the settlers, 

 definitely and determinedly, that no more payment for 

 the particular trees about to be sacrificed on the altar 

 of civilisation would be made. In future the laws of the 

 camps were to be restricted to the hundreds of other bean- 

 trees in the jungle, each of which, if wanted, would be 

 the subject of special negotiation. 



THE "DEBIL-DEBIL" 



Blacks in their attempts to give verisimilitude to the 

 " debil-debil " generally describe that personage as having 

 hands fitted with hooks or sharp needles. An intelligent 

 boy of the Cape York Peninsula added a few thrilling 

 details on an occasion, when, to allay his fears, his Boss 

 had promised to shoot the " debil-debil " should the boy 

 be molested. " No more earn shoot that fella, Boss. All 

 asame sum-moke." The boy said that the " debil-debil " 

 had arms like the lawyer vine long and set with spurs 

 and dwelt in the heart of the mountains, in the thickest 

 jungle. " Subpose," said the terrified boy, " black fella 

 might hear 'em, that debil-debil tching out, altogether 

 no more yabber little bit (keep silence). Altogether tell 

 'urn um-boi-ya (medicine man). That one trow'um wookoo 

 (message-stick) alonga scrub. He trow'um pire stick, uhg- 

 kurra, eparra ung neera, arwona-deer (north, south, west, 

 east). He sit down little bit. Bi'mby that one ah- 

 anaburra (scrub turkey) he plenty 'tching out. Altogether 

 black fella make 'um big fella fire. He no more sleep. 



