Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 5 1887.djvu/157

 Rh "Prisoners' Base" is one of the most popular. Then they have "The Boar," a most diverting pastime, and "The Fish," which requires expert swimmers.

"The Boar" is played by one holding two bits of sharpened wood, about the size of boar's tusks, between his teeth; the other players in turn trying to clasp him around the ribs. If one can do so without being scratched, he takes his turn at "boar," which is consequently the part of the most expert player. Of course, the longer a "boar" can hold his own the more plaudits he receives, and he does not hesitate to give ugly scratches.

The game of "Fish" is played by two at a time. A creek is selected which widens inwards, and from each side of the entrance two players plunge in together; one has to make for a point in the centre of the beach, and the other must catch him. Those who avoid being caught stand aside until the remaining pairs have had their turn, then all the winners pair off, and so on, until only two are left; these in turn pursue each other until the championship is decided or the contest ends in a draw.

Trials of skill with the bow and arrow, spear, short sword, and matchlock, are common, bets are freely made, and much property lost and won. They also gamble with a kind of dice.

There is no limit to aboriginal superstition; they live in an atmosphere of omens, witchcraft, and goblins. Any inexplicable occurrence is put down as the work of some malicious spirit trying to entrap the unwary. Goblins emerge from dark caverns in the forests, and cause famine, sickness, and death: "For did not Bunkiet's wife's brother's cousin, when gathering turmeric, see grinning imps peeping out from the canebrake? and was it not that year the small-pox carried off two hundred men of the tribe?"

On hearing a sneeze one must at once return, no matter how near he may be to the end of his journey, as "of all things a sneeze is the most unlucky." Even inside a dwelling, if one happens to sneeze, the rest mumble a charm, with the unction of the old Highland woman who places the tongs in the fire before going to milk the cow. The call of a certain bird, if heard on the left, presages fatal misfortunes, and the hearer must turn back. If one sees an armadillo by