■249 



situated furtlier north. Its use may, thereftire, be mare widely 

 distributed, but not in a westerly direction. 



Duboisia Hopivoodii, which is much prized by some of the 

 West Queensland tribes, occurs throughout the central region of 

 -Vustrali.-i. 1 collected it first at Camp 9, and found it in places 

 all through the Victoria Desert, and have no doubt that it ex- 

 tenfls to the verge of its western limits. T have, however, nevii^.v 

 seen this plant used by any of the natives, and, therefore, think 

 that its properties are unknown to them. It seems to me that 

 oidy the prepared leaves and stalks are known outside of the dis- 

 trict where "pituri'' is gathered at present, and those natives 

 who acquire it by barter are entirely unacquainted with it in its 

 natural state, or else its use would have spread certainly much 

 further than it has done, considering that generally most natives 

 who once have tasted this intoxicating drug get a craving for it, 

 and are always desirous of obtaining it again. 



All aborigines of the interior circumcise, and also slit the 

 urethra ;* but at what age the one or the other rite is performed 

 I am iniable to state from my own observations. That circum- 

 cision precedes the other seems to be sufficiently well confirmed 

 l)y the fact that some yf)ung men where met with who had had 

 the first-mentioned rite performed upon them, but not the lattei'. 

 Most of those we encountered had one or the other central 

 incisor knocked out, and all were more or less tattooed by scars 

 on the chest, arms, or back. Every one had besides the mutila- 

 tions and embellishments mentioned, the septum of the nose 

 pierced, to hold the " kondell," or nose-stick, which is, no doubt, 

 also considered an ornament, from their point of view. 



Fr(}m the fact that some of the young men, and all the boys, 

 liad a full set of teeth, it is fair to conclude that the removal of 

 one tooth is to sonu^ extent connected with the ceremonies 

 that declare the youth to have arrived at the state of manhood. 

 There can hardly be any doubt about it that these painful opera- 

 tions are mainly performed for the purpose of trying the courage 

 and stoicism of the youths, and to make them accustomed to the 

 endurance of pain. The tattooing may besides have something 

 to do with the distinguishing of the pedigree of the individual, 

 but the marks ai'e intended principally as adornment. 



Regarding the mutilation of the sexual organ, it becomes 

 rather difficult to determine the purpose which it is intended to 

 serve. Tlie incision of the urethra is supposed to be done in 

 order to prevent over-population, and as this rite is principally 

 practised where food, as a rule, is scarce, or may become so at 



* This mutilation is by different writers variously alluded to as the 

 terrible rite," the " mika operation," or " Sturt's rite." 



