Page:The Native Tribes of South Australia (1879).djvu/124

 62 DEMONS. and there appears to have resided until his death. There is also a tradition that two warriors afterwards led a party up the Coorong, and established themselves near Mount Gambier. In addition to the legends before related, the Narrinyeri tell some curious but absurd stories about the animals. For instance, they say that originally the turtle possessed venomous fangs, and the snake had none; so the latter begged the former to make an exchange, offering to barter his own head for the turtle’s fangs, alleging, as a reason, that he lived on the shore exposed to the attacks of the black fellows, while the turtle occupied a secure position in the Lake. So the turtle consented to the bargain, and ever since then the snake has had venomous fangs, and the turtle a snake-like head and neck. It is also said that once the pelicans were fishing in the Lake, and caught a great quantity of tukkeri. They carried them to Tipping, and there the magpies (muldurar) said they would find fire and cook the tukkeri for a share of them. The pelicans consented, but soon found that the magpies were taking advantage of their culinary operations to steal the fish. This led to a struggle, and a fight over the dinner, in which the magpies got rolled in the ashes, which gave them their black coats, and the pelicans got besmeared with the silvery scales of the tukkeri, which caused them to have white breasts. The Narrinyeri are terribly afraid of two wood demons, called Melapi and Pepe. They say that the former assumes any shape he pleases; sometimes he is like an old man, at other times he will take the form of a bird, or a burnt stump, and always for the purpose of luring individuals within his reach, so that he may destroy them. I have several times heard blacks declare that they have seen him. The natives also dread a water spirit, called Mulgewanke. The booming sound which is heard frequently in Lake Alexandrina is ascribed to him, and they think it causes rheumatism to those who hear it. He is represented as a curious being, half man, half fish, and instead of hair, a matted crop of reeds. I