At last a reed spear went through his side. Just then a Headman of the Buthera-baluk who had heard what was to take place, and had followed the Meymet down from the Goulburn River, came running up, and went in between the two parties, shouting "Enough!" and turning to the Meymet said, "You should now go back to your own country." This stopped the spear-throwing; they had had blood, and all were again friends. A great corrobboree was held that night.
Buckley gives an account of a somewhat similar case which happened in his tribe the Wudthaurung, and is worth quoting in this connection.[1]
In speaking of an elopement, he thus describes the expiation which followed it, "At length the young man advanced towards us, and challenged our men to fight, an offer which was accepted practically by a boomerang being thrown at him, and which grazed his leg. A spear was then thrown, but he warded it off cleverly with his shield. He made no return to this, until one of our men advanced very near to him, with only a shield and waddy, and then the two went to work in good earnest, until the first had his shield split, so that he had nothing to defend himself with but his waddy. His opponent took advantage of this and struck him a tremendous blow on one side of the head, and knocked him down; but he was instantly on his legs again, the blood, however, flowing very freely over his back and shoulders. His friends then cried out, 'Enough!' and threatened general hostilities if another blow was struck. This had the desired effect, and they soon after separated quietly."
As a good instance of the manner in which trespasses by a person of one tribe on the country of another tribe were dealt with, I take the case of a man of the Wudthaurung tribe, who unlawfully took, in fact stole, stone from the tribal quarry at Mt. William near Lancefield. I give it in almost the exact words used by Berak in telling me of it, and who was present at the meeting which took place in consequence, probably in the late forties.
It having been found out that this man had taken stone without permission, the Ngurungaeta Billi-billeri sent a
- ↑ J. Morgan, op. cit. p. 63.
