drinking vessels (Tarnuk) belonging to the Aborigines, and he drained the creeks, and made such a scarcity of water that all the women and young children cried aloud. The men, women, and children had no water to drink; Kur-bo-roo had taken it all. Much distressed and perplexed, the Aborigines gave way at length to extreme despair, for no help came to them. Kur-ruk-ar-ook seeing all these things, came down from the sky, and enquired into the causes of this sorrow. Kur-ruk-ar-ook called all the bears to her and heard their complaints, and she heard also all that the Aborigines had to say, and she settled the quarrel thus: The blacks might eat the flesh of the bear, because it was good, but they might not skin it as they skinned common animals; and the bears were commanded not to steal the Tarnuk, the No-bean tarno, or the waters of the creeks; and all of them, blacks and bears, became friends by means of the counsel given by Kur-ruk-ar-ook. Thenceforth the bear became well disposed towards the blacks, and ever ready to give advice and help to them.[1]
Another version of this story is given by the men of the Upper Yarra. The bear by them is called Koob-boor or Koob-borr, and they say that Koob-borr's father and mother died when he was about four years old. The tribe that he was left with were not kind to him. At one time water was very scarce everywhere, and poor little Koob-borr could not get any. No person would give him any water. Oh a certain day all the tribe went out to hunt, and they forgot to take little Koob-borr with them. All the people left the camp, some on one errand and some on another, and Koob-borr was left alone. The people had forgotten to hang up their tarnuks—they were full of water—and for once Koob-borr had more than SIC|euough|enough}} to drink. But that he might have always plenty, and also avenge the wrongs which had been done to him, he took all the tarnuks and hung them up on the boughs of a little tree. Having done this, he next brought all the water of the creek and put it into the tarnuks, and finally he climbed the tree and seated himself beside the tarnuks. The tree suddenly
- ↑ "I can vouch for their superstition on this head. I sadly wanted a bear's skin to make a cap, but I could never get it. One day a black of the Yarra tribe, who had brought in a bear early, before the rest of the blacks had returned to the encampment, was importuned by me to skin it. He refused to skin it; but at length, by giving him presents, and showing him that no harm could come of the act, because all the sorcerers and all the blacks who could communicate with the sorcerers and other chief men were absent, he took off the skin and gave it to me. I took the skin to my tent, and meant to make it into a cap; but the young man became very restless. Remorse overtook him. He could not put the skin on again, nor indeed, had he wished to do so, would I have given it up. He said, 'Poor blacks lose 'em all water now,' and he became so much alarmed, and exhibited such contrition and terror, that the old doctors came to enquire into the cause. He told all. Much excitement followed. I said that the blacks had nothing to fear. I laughed at their terrors; but at length I was obliged to give them the skin. The skin and the bear were buried in the same manner in which a black man is buried. Though the bear was actually roasting, his body was taken away and buried with the skin. This ceremony they all believed would propitiate the bears, and avert the calamity of a loss of water."—The late Wm. Thomas's MS.
"Kur-bo-roo, a well-known Western Port black, and held in high esteem as a sorcerer, a dreamer, and diviner, was named 'The Bear,' under the following circumstances. Kur-bo-roo was born at the foot of a tree, and during his mother's trouble a bear in the tree growled and grunted until Kur-bo-roo was born, when he ceased his noise. By this, it was said, the bear intended to show that the male child born at the foot of the tree should have the privilege of consulting the bears, and the child was called Kur-bo-roo. Kur-bo-roo attained to some excellence in his profession,
