defend them against any one expressing the least doubt respecting them, or hinting even that the Mintapa might have put the piece of wood or bone into his mouth previously."
The Rev. Mr. Taplin refers to the vigorous squeezings and kneadings of the native doctors. Sometimes a patient will groan when he is under treatment, so severe are the manipulations, and the cure is indeed often harder to bear than the wiwirri (disease) itself. For rheumatic affections the Narrinyeri employ a vapour bath. They heat stones in the same manner as for cooking, and the patient is placed on a sort of stage made with sticks. The hot stones are put under the stage, the sick person is covered up with rugs, all but his head, wet water-weeds are put on the hot stones, and the space below the stage is made as close as possible. The steam ascends, and soon the sufferer is enveloped in it. This method is said to be effectual.[1]
Sometimes their practices are strange enough. Mr. Taplin has seen a grey-bearded old man, stark naked, performing a solemn dance before his sick son, singing and beating time with the Tartengk.[2] This business will continue perhaps for an hour, the old man being firmly convinced that his labors will result in a perfect cure. The Kuldukke—men-priests, sorcerers, or doctors—are imposters, and rob the poor natives of their food, in order that they may live in idleness. They pretend to every kind of skill in treating diseases; and use the superstitions of the natives to their own great advantage. And it appears that the women are the chief supporters and believers in the Kuldukkes. Without their favor and countenance, the arts and impostures of this class would fail to support them.
- ↑ Mr. F. Hughan, a gentleman well acquainted with the habits of the natives of the Lower Murray, has sent me the following statement:—"A great number of the natives belonging to the tribe best known to me suffered very much from internal complaints, and swellings or tumours in the side, these latter being sometimes of a considerable size. By way of relieving or curing these complaints, I have seen the blacks resort to bleeding by suction, and also to a system of steam-bathing, which was practised as follows:—A hole was dug in the ground about a foot deep, at the bottom of which was laid lighted bark, and on the fire damp leaves were placed to a level with the top of the excavation; over the hole the patient was placed in a state of nudity. The portion of the body affected being immediately over the leaves, which, acted on by the heat of the fire, emitted a steam, which was not permitted to escape, as opossum rugs were heaped on the doctored individual, who was thereby subjected to the influences of a bath, which could hardly fail in causing perspiration to burst from every pore of the patient in unmistakable quantities. Whether any radical good was effected I cannot say. One case of doctoring, on the principle of counter-irritation, I was witness to, and felt thankful that no such remedial measures were required on my own account. In the employ of a settler on the Lower Murray was a man named Abel, and at the time of which I write he was suffering from a very severe attack of sandy blight, and no means adopted by him to obtain relief were successful. Amongst the blacks on the station was one who went by the euphonious name of 'Dicky the Lawyer,' and this worthy undertook to cure Abel, providing the latter would undergo the operation proposed by the legal darkie. Abel did consent, hopeful of obtaining relief; and having an idea that Dicky might, after all, be in the possession of something which would cure the really terrible pain he (Abel) was suffering. Dicky having plucked some hair from his head, placed it in his mouth, and grinding it between his teeth, he, in course of time, reduced it to fine particles. After doing this he placed Abel in a standing position against the wall of the hut, and then with the finger and thumb of each band he opened the eyes of Abel, into which he suddenly spurted the hair from his mouth, a proceeding which, to all appearance, caused Abel the most acute agony, for he dropped to the floor, and absolutely rolled about with the pain, until it had somewhat subsided. Whether due to Dicky's peculiar practice, or to some other cause, I cannot say; at all events, from that out, Abel's eyes improved rapidly until they were perfectly restored."
- ↑ The two waddies knocked together on such occasions are named Tartengk.
