4 
MEMOIUS OF THE QVEENSLAND MVSEVM. 
made of this, especially in view of the fact that tons of material of such faked 
implements leave our shores yearly to find a way into the collections of other 
countries; hence it is well to place those that are not aware of it on their guard, 
and in the interests of square-dealing to question the honesty and integrity of 
those whites who cause the natives to indulge in such practices, purely for the 
financial advantage that may accrue. 
AVith the advance of civilisation, magical practices particularly are the 
first to retreat into the ])ackgrou]id, and hence the importance of saving every 
possible record while opportunity permits. The Queensland aborigine differs, 
from his brethren in centi'al and other parts of Australia by the comparative 
simplicity of his public life. The a])sen('e of such elaborate toteinic oi*ganisations 
and devices as are recorded of the Arunta' tril)e, for instance, has doubtless 
been iiLstrumeutal in limiting the ])ower of the heads or so-called medicine men 
of the tribes, and consequently there is an accompanying decrease of magic and 
superstition, which seems to be particularly noticeable in Queensland, and 
manifests itself in various Avays. Further, it is very suggestive that the absence 
of hereditary chieftainships” synchronizes Avith tlie non-existence of elaborate 
ceremonial totemism. There is a remarkable paucity of objects associated Avith 
superstitious ideas, and although doubtless many a simple stone, stick, or 
“ Avhat not ” may have been used for magical purposes in the past, unfortunately 
history records but fcAv instances. The cause and effect is doubtless due directly 
or indirectly to the food sai)ply, for as long as the countiy can guarantee the 
native a liberal diet, tlie tribes, nomadic only Avithiu a limited area, liA^e com- 
paratively peacefully and the exercise of magical inlluences becomes corres- 
pondingly diminished. The death of any one member of their tribe, natural 
or otherwise, Acas alAvays the signal for revenge and lust, and their firm belief 
that death could only l)e dm* to the CAnl intentions of someone else AA'as doubtless 
lesponsible for the magical death-l)one as a medium by AA'ldch such a death 
could be easily avenged. The use of the death-bone' has been almost uniA^ersaff 
and is still in vogue to-day in some of the out-of-the-A\my places of the State, 
but whether it is actually pointed ” and '' sung ” or not, its presence alone 
is still a poAA'erful safeguard in the possession of such as avouIcI seek protection 
from the hands of a Avilful foe; many Avomen never venturing out after nightfall 
AVithout having such a bone carefully secreted in their hands." The concealment 
of the death-bone is responsible for much ingenuity on the part of the native 
at times. 
^Spencer mu'l Gillon, The iSTorthern Tribes of Central Australia, 1004. 
-Hr. Wh K Roth, North Queensland ethnography — Superstition, ^ifagie, and Medicine — 
Bulletin 5, paragraph 144, Brisbane, 1903. 
nriss C. C. Petrie tells me tl.at her father, Mr. Tom Petrie, knew no death-bone amongst 
the members of the old Brisbnne (Tnrrbal) tribe. This is very astonishing. 
"On the authority of Mr. M. J. Colelough. 
