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336 to speak to him. He then demands the culprit, but as the demand is generally met by a denial of his being there, they return to their friends, who have been waiting to hear the result. If they still believe him to be concealed in the camp, they surround it at dawn, stamping and making a hideous noise to frighten the people. In the meantime the Chief, anticipating the second visit, has very likely aided the culprit to escape while it was dark.

Persons accused of wrong-doing get one month's (sic) notice to appear before the assembled tribes and be tried on pain of being outlawed and killed. When a man has been charged with an offence, he goes to the meeting armed with two war spears, a flat light shield, and a boomerang. If he is found guilty of a private wrong, he is painted white, and his brother, or near male relative, stands beside him as his second. The latter has a heavy shield, a Liangle, and a boomerang, and the offender is placed opposite to the injured person and his friends, who sometimes number twenty warriors. These range themselves at a distance of fifty yards from him, and each individual throws four or five spears and two boomerangs at him simultaneously "like a shower." If he succeeds in warding them off, his second hands him his heavy shield, and he is attacked singly by his enemies, who deliver each one a blow with a Liangle. As blood must be spilt to satisfy the injured party, the trial ends when he is hit.

If the accused refuses to be tried, he is outlawed, and may be killed, and his brother or nearest male relative is held responsible, and must submit to be attacked with boomerangs.

In the Wurunjerri tribe when a man, say a Bunjil, was called on to appear and answer for having killed some other man, say of the Waang class, all the Bunjil men, his kindred, stood at one side, and all the Waang men, the kindred of his victim, at the other, each party under their Headman.

The avengers would throw spears at him until he was killed, or so injured that he could no longer defend himself, or until his Headman called out "Enough."