B 505: Lecture on the Aborigines of Australia and papers on Wirradhurrei dialect, 1837-1840 - Page 22

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so asked. They seem to know of a few [indecipherable] they [ xxtally?] employ, in certain cases, they also apply warm water; they breath at times in the sick persons nostrils or mouth or taking their hands they often manipulate upon by rubbing them for a time. F. [But?]I will give you some [indecipherable] of their mysterious performance.

[IN RIGHT SIDE MARGIN:] some of their performances [indecipherable] [indecipherable] one of mesmerism

I remember one evening, a black man was said to be in great pain - a [indecipherable] in his stomach on whom they manipulated. At last they came running to me and exclaimed that the blackfellow was cured showing me a stone - it was a white quarz - which they allege one of the doctors had by some mysterious process extracted from his body. Having examined the stone, I said Why this stone is so [dusty?] and [greezy?] just as if it had long been handled about and had been kept in one of these [dainty?] bags they carry about and I see blackfellows finger  marks and it would not look so if it had just come out of a man's body. This caused a hearty laugh among my young men and they seemed to comprehend the  delusion.
On another occasion something more plausible was practised. I heard that something very extraordinary was going on at the camp

 

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