METEOROLOGY AND ASTRONOMY. 101 



Hydra, ' Barrukill,' is a great hunter of kangaroo rats, On his right, and a 

 little above him, are two stars — the rat, and his dog ' Karlok ; ' above these 

 again are four stars, forming a log ; underneath are four other stars, one of which 

 is his light, and three form his arm. The dog chases the rat into the log ; 

 Barrukill takes it out, devours it, and disappears below the horizon. Hydra is of 

 great service to the aborigines in their night journeys, enabling them to judge the 

 time of the night and the course to be taken in travelling. 



A comet, ' Puurt Kuurnuuk,' believed to be a great spirit. 



A meteor, ' Gnumniie waar,' ' deformity.' 



The crepuscular arch in the west in the morning is called ' Kullat,' ' peep- 

 of-day.' 



The upper crepuscular arch in the east at sunset is called ' Kuurokeheear' 

 puuron,' ' white cockatoo twilight.' 



The under arch, ' Kappiheear puuron,' ' black cockatoo twilight.' The 

 natives say this arch comes from the constellation Orion. 



The crepuscular rays in the west after sunset are called ' rushes of the sun.' 



The Aurora Australis, ' Pure bure,' ' ashes.' 



For the names of the cardinal points of the compass, and of the various winds, 

 see the vocabulary at the end of the book. 



The aborigines appear to be well acquainted with the effects of earthquakes. 

 Besides one which they say rent the ground and formed ' Taap heear ' — a 

 waterhole in Spring Creek, near Minjah House — they have a vivid recollection of 

 another which occurred about forty years ago. Puulornpuul, who described it, 

 was a little boy when it occurred. Three tribes were encamped on the lower 

 Hopkins River, and were holding a korroborse after sunset ; they had their fires 

 lighted round a waterhole, and were in the midst of their dancing, when a 

 strange sound, ' like the galloping of horses,' approached from the north-west, 

 accompanied with a violent shaking of the ground, which, according to 

 Puulornpuul, ' ran about and pashed up blackfellows,' and wa.s immediately 

 followed by a hurricane. This may have been the same earthquake which upset 

 one of Major Mitchell's drays while his party was encamped between the Hopkins 

 and Geelong. 



Some names of places indicate the existence of heat in the ground at a 

 former period ; but no tradition exists of any of the old craters, so numerous in 

 the Western District, ever having thrown out smoke or ashes, with the exception 

 of 'Bo'ok,' a hill near the town of Mortlake. An intelligent aboriginal 



