other parts of the body for anointing himself, and he also swallows the fat and skin on some occasions; but he does not, like many of the South Sea Islanders, build a huge oven, and cook a number of human bodies, in order that a whole tribe and its friends may enjoy a feast. Horrible and disgusting as may be the customs amongst his people, he is not so bad as his neighbours.
Mr. Alfred W. Howitt has been good enough to obtain for me some information from the natives of Gippsland respecting the eating of human flesh. He says:—
"Taking kidney-fat, called Wurnewunga wallunga—i.e., the fat of the 'stone,' the kidney being so called from a supposed resemblance to a rounded pebble—from the conquered enemy, is not the custom of the Gippsland blacks, who, however, know of it as being customary among those of Maneroo—the Brajeraks. The custom here is, or rather was, to remove the skin from each side extending from the arm to the waist, and from the breast to the shoulder-blade, and from each thigh in front from the groin to the knee. This was roasted on the fire, and eaten by all men present. Women and boys were not allowed to eat this, or even to see the operation performed. It is said to have been done 'because father belonging to you and me'—that is, the ancestors—did it; in other words, as a traditionary custom, the meaning of which was lost. It is denied that any of the strength or courage of the deceased would pass to the eaters. One blackfellow explained it to me by saying—'After fighting that fellow, berry hungry.' The following instance may be given, which occurred soon after Gippsland was settled. My informant is Long Harry, otherwise Toorl-bourn (name given by his father), Bungil Bottle (name given by his contemporaries on account of his propensity to empty bottles containing strong waters), and otherwise Bungil Wunkin (a name indicating that he is the great boomerang thrower of the tribe, which has been acquired lately). The story is as follows, which I give as nearly as possible as he told me:—'When I was a young man, beard just growing—I had been made "Jerry-ale"—a lot of strange blacks came down to Gippsland. They were some Dargo River blacks, and with them some Omeo blacks. The Gippsland blacks did not meddle with them, because the Dargo blacks live on the upper part of this river (Mitchell), and therefore belong to us. The names of two of the Dargo blacks were Tare-ngun and Too-turn-burr; they were two brothers, very strong men, and left-handed. There were several others, but I forget them. Among the Omeo blacks were one called Panky Panky and another Binjo. I don't know what these names mean, they belong to another language. This mob of blacks camped at the Top Plain, near Bushy Park, and were looking round for 'possums, and so on—hunting. The Gippsland blacks were camped near Bushy Park, and I was there, and so knew all about this. The Dargo blacks quarrelled with the Omeo blacks, and they separated camps. Tare-ngun sent two men to find out where Panky Panky was encamped. In the night, just before dawn, the Dargo blacks all surrounded the Omeo men's camp. Binjo's wife saw them, and jumped up and sang out. The others rushed in—they were armed with reed-spears, pointed with glass—and speared the two men. Binjo ran out, but was followed, and overtaken about half a mile off. He had his blanket
