The meeting was held on the Tambo River between Swan Reach and Lake King. The two parties faced each other at a little distance, in the manner described, and Bunbra had two shields for his defence, one for use and the other in reserve. The other side were armed with Kunnin for throwing, and boomerangs. It may be mentioned that the latter used in these ordeals are not those which return to the thrower, but the fighting boomerang which does not return. The proceedings commenced by Bunbra saying, "I want to tell you that I did not hurt that poor fellow." The reply was, "You must fight." Boomerangs were then thrown, as my informant said, "like a flight of parrots." Bunbra dodged or successfully warded them off. At last a Kunnin was thrown, which passed through his thigh, but which he drew out, and threw back at his assailants. The women then rushed in between the two parties and stopped the fight, and the feud was at an end.
Sometimes a blood-feud has spread until the whole tribe was involved, and the feud went beyond the power of a Nungi-nungit to heal. Such was one which arose shortly after the settlement of Gippsland, and not only brought in all the tribes on one side or the other, but also the Theddora of Omeo and the Mogullum-bitch of the Buffalo River. It was so much talked of among the Kurnai, even years after, that I carefully traced the course to its end in a battle between the Kurnai clans about the year 1855.
When the Gippsland and Omeo natives had become better acquainted with each other, through the white settlers, and were thus more or less friendly, one of the Theddora men named Billy Blew obtained a Brayaka woman for his wife. When on a visit to his wife's people, he ill-used her, and in consequence her father, Kaiung, fought with him and speared him, so that he died. Billy Blew's kindred came down from the mountains and killed Kaiung, together with another Brayaka man, called Lohni, the brother of Bundawal (Bite-spear), mentioned elsewhere. In revenge for this, Jimmy, a man of the Dargo division of the Brabralung clan, the sister's son of Kaiung's wife, killed a man called Johnny. Then Flanner, one of the Bunjil-baul, and other relations of
