214 Dennett's wanderings 



be sufficiently heated, when the fire being removed, and the ashes 

 cleared away, the moths are placed upon the heated ground, and 

 stirred about, until the down and wings are removed from them : 

 they are then placed on pieces of bark, and winnowed, to separate 

 the dust and wings mixed with the bodies ; they are then eaten, 

 or placed into [in] a wooden vessel, called a ivalbun or culibun, 

 (usually made from one of the knotty protuberances so commonly 

 seen upon the trunks of the large Eucalypti trees,) and pounded by 

 a piece of wood into masses or cakes, resembling lumps of fat, and 

 may then be compared, in colour and consistence, to dough made 

 from smutty wheat mixed with fat. The bodies of the moths are 

 large, and filled with a yellowish oil, resembling in taste a sweet nut. 

 These masses will not keep above a week, and seldom for that time ; 

 but by smoking, they are able to preserve them for a much longer 

 period. The first time this diet is used by the native tribes, violent 

 vomitings, and other debilitating effects, are produced ; but after a 

 few days, they become accustomed to its use, and then thrive and 

 fatten exceedingly upon it. These insects are held in such high 

 estimation, that they assemble from all parts of the country to collect 

 them from these mountains. It is not only the native blacks that 

 resort to the Bugong, but crows also congregate for the same pur- 

 pose. The blacks (that is, the crows and aborigines), do not agree 

 about their respective shares ; so the stronger decides the point ; 

 for when the crows (called Arabul by the natives) enter the hollows 

 of the rocks to feed upon the insects, the natives stand at the 

 entrance, and kill them as they fly out, and afford them {i.e. the 

 crows afford the natives) an excellent meal, being fat from feeding 

 upon the rich Bugong. So eager are these feathered blacks, or 

 Arabuls, after this food, that they attack it even while it is preparing 

 by the natives ; but as the aborigines never consider any increase of 

 food a misfortune, they lay in wait for the Arabuls with waddies or 

 clubs, and kill them in great numbers, and use them for food. — 

 Vol. I. p. 273. 



Some of our younger readers may not have met with a 

 history of the den-constructing spider. It has repeatedly been 

 our own good fortune to see the singular residence of this 

 creature. 



There is a spider, which J. frequently observed about Yas Plains, 

 and also at other parts of the colony, which forms a den in the 

 ground ; the opening is about an inch in diameter ; over this a lid 

 is formed of web incorporated with earth, and a web hinge, accurately 

 fitting the external aperture, which the animal can shut at pleasure. 



