er of her, and the bat became
alarmed and flew away. After that death came into the world, having
before been unknown.

"They have another tradition that at one time all the water in the earth
was contained in the body of an immense frog, where nobody could reach
it. The spirits held an investigation, and ascertained that if the frog
could be made to laugh the water would run out of his mouth when he
opened it, and the drought then prevailing would be broken. All the
animals of the world gathered together and danced and capered before the
frog in order to make him laugh, but all to no purpose. Then they called
up the fishes to see if they could accomplish anything, but the frog
preserved a solemn face until the eel began to wriggle.

"The wriggling of the eel was too much for the frog and he laughed
outright. Immediately the waters flowed from his mouth and the earth was
covered with water. Many people were drowned, and all who could do so
sought the highest land. The pelican undertook to save the black people;
he made a great canoe and went around picking up the people, wherever he
could find them, and thus saved a great many.

"They have a theory about the sun," the gentleman continued, "that is
certainly a very practical one. They say that as it gives out a great
deal of light during the daytime, it needs a supply of fuel, and it goes
at night to a place where it takes in fuel enough for its next day's
work. They say that it used to take in wood exclusively before white
people came to Australia, but since the arrival of the whites, and the
opening of coal mines, they think the sun takes in both coal and wood at
the place where it renews its supply.

"They believe in dragons, great serpents, and other wonders, and if you
are inclined to laugh at them for their beliefs, you must remember that
all the rest of the world shared in them two or three hundred years ago.
The creature in which they have the greatest faith is the bun-yip, which
is supposed to haunt rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water, and
possesses remarkable powers. According to their description, he is like
a dragon; he devours black and white people indiscriminately, and can
cause all sorts of misfortune. Many natives, and also quite a number of
white men, claim to have seen him, and they certainly give some very
graphic accounts of his appearance and actions. Not long ago an account
appeared in one of the Australian newspapers, written by a white ma