under my notice in the year 1888. He came to me and asked for the loan of a spear-thrower which I had, and which he thought to be of special magical power, because it had been used at the Jeraeil ceremonies. He informed me that he wanted it to catch one of the tribe who had married a relation of his, a widow, without the consent of her kindred, and also far too soon after the death of her husband, indeed so soon that "it had made all the poor fellow's friends sad, thinking of him." When I refused him the use of the Murriwun, he said it did not matter, for he and his friends had made a very strong stick to point at him with, singing his name over it, and spitting strong poison over it.
He used the word "poison" for "magic," but I think that in some tribes actual poison was used. For instance, in the Yuin tribe the Gommeras are credited with killing people by putting things in their food and drink. I was informed that one of these substances is a yellow powder. My informant said that he once obtained some of it from one of the old Gommeras and having rubbed it on some meat, he gave it to a kangaroo dog, who fell down and died very shortly.
A similar statement comes to me from the Kamilaroi on the Gwydir River,[1] About Moree it is said that the medicine-men have two kinds of poison, which they use to kill people with. The poisons are called Wuru-kahrel and Dinna-kurra, from Dinna, "a foot," and Kurra, "to catch." It is said that they get these poisons by putting the dung of the native cat in a hole in an ant-hill, covered up with gum-leaves. After a while a white mossy powder comes on it, which they say is the poison. It is said to be very slow in its action, taking three weeks to operate. I give this for what it is worth.
I may note also that the Rev. George Taplin mentions in his account of the Narrinyeri tribe the Neilyeri, or poison revenge, which is by using a spear-head or a piece of bone which has been stuck in the fleshy part of a putrid corpse, and kept there for some weeks. This weapon is used by
- ↑ Cyrus E. Doyle.
