She asked one of my Black-but-Comelys, a very stalwart young woman, to help her lift one of these posts into the garden where she wanted to erect it.

The girl took hold of one end, but in a little while dropped it, said it was too heavy.

Old Bootha got furious.
'I get the spirits to help me,' she said, and started a little sing-song, then shouldered the post herself and carried it in.

These posts are painted red, black, and white, with a snaky pattern, the Kurreah sign, on them.

She also planted in my garden two other witch-poles, one painted red and having a cross-bar about midway down it from which raddled strings were attached to the top; this was to keep away the Euloowayi, black fellows possessed of devils, who came from behind the sunset.
The other was a plain red-painted, tapering pine-pole which she said, when it fell to the ground, would tell of the death of some one related to an inmate of the house.