Page:The Aborigines of Victoria and Riverina.djvu/15

10 certainly none of the brute creation do) until their abdominal regions become so distended as to be decidedly uncomfortable. Not being so learned in medicine as Heliogabolus was, they do not avail themselves of the relief offered by emetics. To remove their discomfort, however, they lay themselves prone on the ground, face downwards, and then get lyoores suffering less from repletion than themselves to run up and down on their bodies until the desired end is gained, either by expulsion or extension. When this happy result is successfully achieved, they commence to gorge again, and continue doing so, until the rolling process is once more found necessary to animal comfort, and this continues just so long as the feast lasts.

When the food has come to an end, those who have come out of the feasting ordeal without paying the penalty which outraged nature usually imposes have to turn out to hunt for game to replenish the savage larder, whilst those who have been less fortunate lie in their loondthals, and groan until old doctor sees fit to step in to their aid.

When they have a superabundance of food they never try to preserve any for future use, but allow everything which they cannot stuff into themselves to go to waste.

Amongt the Murray tribes tons upon tons of fat, delicious fish are permitted every summer to go to decay. To such an extent does this improvidence prevail at times, that the air, becomes so tainted with the effluvium as to be unbearable even to an aborigine, and his olfactories are none of the most sensitive. When the air becomes thus permeated they merely pick up their belongings, and take themselves off to