INFANTlCIUli* 



123 



jjTfivioiisto liirtli ; and wlicii it ttike^ place, keep 

 thv\r word liy (U'stroyin"' it. One iiistnncc Mas 

 meiitioned to mo as occurring at a station at 

 CiiltabitloO)*' (a hundred and twenty miles 

 fxom I)ab@«(,) and near 1^6 C^ii^mgib oir Big 

 River ; (and I liave since know n several similar 

 occniTcnces ; ) the woman liad, in this case, been 

 two ilays snti'erijig from a severe and lingering 

 labour, during which, she often threatened the 

 poor timboi^ intot^^th de«^1t m it» eonting ixkHo 

 the world, using- tlic expression of " pi, a, co- 

 liera ! (break its head !"*) and, on its birth, the 

 nnfortunate baby was nbsoliitcly killed }\y its 

 unnatural parent.']" This has occurred in a num- 

 p{ m^bsm^ wfeeat the dblMiSlai: wm^ b^df^ 

 cadb?y ^etsA seems to be almost m ini^able 

 custom among the Australian aborigines, — as it is 

 amon*^ the New Zealanders and natives of tlui 

 Polynesian Archipelago, to destroy the infants 

 produced b;^1i|t^):»^ae EvmfmMBf unless 

 tile father t^Mm tms^m&j ^fi^tli ihm femk^ or 

 else may he near 1;hem at the time, to prevent 



• Pi" sigmfies " to hit or bruak, " and " cobcra/' *« huad." 



dv^Uoyhv^ tlicir tiflspriiii; alk'^^L! as a reason, that tlu v aiL- 

 loo much trouble to aitry about: however, it is well known, 



