254 



K. H. MATHEWS. 



Just within the gateway leading into the outer barri- 

 cade, one of the old men ties a little bag containing a 

 portion of the skin of a dead man. This is supposed to 

 cause the fish to flock into the enclosure in larger num- 

 bers than could be obtained otherwise without this 

 magical help. 



If fishing is done by hook and line, these instruments 

 are often rubbed with a dead man's skin or fat to make 

 them more effective. Mullet fat thrown in little pieces 

 on the waves in a lake or estuary, is supposed to make 

 the water smoother, while the people are engaged in 

 fishing. 



When the men are fishing in canoes, or standing upon 

 rocks in the water, they break into small pieces crayfish, 

 sea-eggs, congewoi, or shell fish, and cast the fragments 

 on the water for the purpose of collecting schnapper. 

 As soon as they appear and commence eating the bait, 

 they are empaled with a spear made for the purpose. 

 Groper fish are caught in the same way. 



Early in the morning, while the dew is on the trees, 

 the men and women take each a koolamin, ' bung'gulli,' 

 and go among the small honey-suckle trees, 'babir,' when 

 they are out in blossom. A native puts his koolamin 

 under one of the bunches of bloom and shakes the twig, 

 which deposits the honey from flowers into the koolamin. 

 The dew dilutes the honey exuding from the blossoms, 

 and causes it to come away when they are shaken. Each 

 bunch of bloom is shaken in succession, and when a 

 sufficient quantity of honey has been collected, water is 

 added to form a pleasant beverage, which can be drunk 

 at any time during the day. 



When a man went out hunting he took with him a 

 charmed wommera or spear-lever, the hook of which con- 

 sisted of a bone from a dead man's arm, ground to a point. 



