50 AUSTRALIA AND THE AUSTRALIANS. 



to them." To some of these they gave names such as 

 had belonged to their more distinguished ancestors. 



In some of their vocabularies, white vnen and ghosts 

 are expressed by the same term. 



CREATION AND THE DELUGE. 



The tribes in the Gippsland country (a part of the 

 colony of Victoria) believe that the Creator of all that 

 has life upon earth was a gigantic black fellow who 

 lived in Gippsland many centuries ago, and now 

 dwells among the stars. Many of the stars are named 

 after some of their people long since dead. Venus 

 is called noorut, which means ivombat hunter. These 

 tribes have also a tradition of the deluge which runs 

 somewhat as follows : 



Long ages ago there was no water at all in what are 

 now the lakes, rivers and seas known to them or their 

 fathers, for an immense frog had swallowed up the 

 whole of it. 



All the animals arid fishes held a consultation, and 

 came to the conclusion that the only remedy was to 

 make the frog laugh, and then there would be plenty 

 of water. 



To this end every animal came before the frog in 

 the most ridiculous postures imaginable, and went 

 through the funniest antics. For a long time they 



