Notes by Howitt on Kulin from Barak

Transcription - Page 32

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and hit at him with their yam sticks
but he ran away. He found a big stump
and put some [dirt - crossed out] earth on the top and
kept his fire there. ———————

The deluge legend

Long ago there was dry land right out
where the ships go outside Melbourne.
Two boy [sic] were playing about getting wattle gum and
as [they - crossed out] each gathered it in the tree [each rolled - crossed out] he rolled
it in a ball and dropped it to the ground.
By and bye the boys came down for their gum.
They could not see it – it was gone. Well! There
was an old man lying just under the earth with his
mouth open and the gum had gone into it.
Looking round they saw a hole – one boy got
a spear and pushed it down. A voice in
the ground said “What do you do that to me
for”. The old man jumped up and caught
the little boy and took him away.
The old people who told me this story said
that at that time there was no Yarra River
and no gullies – all was land. The
old man took the boy along where the Yarra is
now and at night made his camp
where the ships now lie at Melbourne.
In going along he had made a drain
after him and the water ran after him
and covered the ground. Būnjil
saw this old man and was angry and
the next day when the old man and
the boy were walking about in the water
Būnjil put things like razors in it
so that the old man fell over them
and cut himself in pieces.

Būnjil said that no old men must
do anything to children. —————

Another deluge legend

Once Būnjil said to some boys come we
will go away. The boys went with him from the
camp. By and bye one little boy said “I have
forgot my things I must go back for them”.