Page:Native Tribes of South-East Australia.djvu/379

VI there was forest, through which a bush track led to the settlements in New South Wales. This country is now opened up by tracks cut in various directions, and is partly occupied by settlers, and in a few other places by gold-miners, but at the time spoken of it was a veritable terra incognita, from which a bush track led to the nearest cattle station in New South Wales. Two white men occupied this spot, and had a blackboy from the Yuin tribe as a stock-keeper. Some of the Kurnai of the Snowy River occasionally went to Twofold Bay, to assist in whale-fishing as harpooners. Their road followed the sea-coast, and thus passed within about twenty miles of the tract of grazing country spoken of. A party of Kurnai, thus travelling, were invited by the Yuin boy to visit him, which they did, and he took the opportunity, under the protection of the white men, to shoot one of the Kurnai called Bobuk (water), and to carry off his daughter Bolgan from the midst of the other Kurnai. These escaped to their own country, and the Yuin blackboy kept Bolgan as his wife. The relatives of the murdered man, however, prepared for revenge. Men both of the male and female side formed a party under the guidance of Bobuk's brother, and finding the cattle station where the murder had taken place deserted, they tracked the Yuin to the nearest Station, where they killed him and recovered Bolgan. It was the sister's son who revenged his uncle, after chasing the offender for several miles.

Some years after I went through this country with these men and visited the scenes of this tragedy.

Upwards of fifty years ago, four of the Theddora (Omeo), accompanied by some of the Dargo clan, went on a visit to the Kutbuntaura division of the Brayakaulung, and when there they quarrelled with their hosts and were killed. In revenge some of their tribes-people came down to the low country and killed some of the Brayaka. They returned by way of the Snowy River so as to avoid pursuit, and called on their way home at the Black Mountain Station. It was there observed that they had with them pieces of human flesh, apparently cut from the calf of the leg or thigh, wrapped up in stringy-bark, and hung from the end of their spears.