154 R. H. MATHEWS. 



Past Tense. 



Singular I * beat tllis mornm &> Bumulngurridyu 

 1st Person ) X beat ' y esterda y Bumulguandhu 



( I beat, indefinite Bumaidliu 



Future Tense. 

 Singular ) * w ^ beat, indefinite Bumulgiridyu 

 1st Person ) * w *^ beat soon ' Bumulyamagiridyu 



( I will beat tomorrow, Bumulngurrigiridyu 



Imperative. 

 Buma, beat ! Kurria buma, beat not ! 



Reflexive. 

 Bumungadyillindyu, I am beating myself. 



There are also reciprocal and other forms of the verb, 

 but as I am preparing a grammar and vocabulary of the 

 Wiradhuri language, no more will be said upon the subject 

 at present. 



5 — The Kurnu Language. 



The native tribes speaking the Kurnu language are 

 located on the Darling River from about Tilpa up the river 

 to Bourke, and also up the Warrego River as far as Ford's 

 Bridge. Dialects of the Kurnu are spoken along the course 

 of the Darling River from Tilpa downwards, via Wilcannia 

 and Menindie, to Wentworth, a distance of about 350 miles. 

 The Kurnu language extends, with some modifications, 

 from the Darling River to Torawotta Lake and the Barrier 

 Ranges, as well as up the Paroo River as far as the 

 Queensland boundary. The social organization and initia- 

 tion ceremonies of these tribes were described by me in 

 a former article to this Society. 1 The following elements 

 of the language have been gathered by myself in the Kurnu 

 territory, from reliable old natives. 



1 " The Group Divisions and Initiation Ceremonies of the Barkunjee 

 Tribes," Journ. Koy. Soc, N.S. Wales, Vol. xxxn., pp. 241-250. 



