She said Adelaide was made ill because she had offended the spirits by bathing in the creek under the shade of a Minggah, or spirit-tree, a place tabooed to all but wirreenuns, or such as hold communion with spirits.
Of course, according to the blacks, to disturb a shadow is to hurt the original.
In this Minggah, Guadgee said, were swarms of bees invisible to all but wirreenuns, and they are ready always to resent any insult to the Minggah or its shadow.

These spirit-bees had entered Adelaide and secreted some wax on her liver; their bites, Guadgee said, were on her back.
Well, that can't be it, I said, I for you never did bathe in the shade of a Minggah; for, going as you always do with the house-girls, you are bound to be kept from such sacrilege; they would never dare such desecration.' 'Which is their Minggah?
Is it a big Coolabah between the Bend and the garden ?' 'Yes.' 'Then I did bathe there the last time I went down.

I was up too late to go with the Black-but-Comelys, and as the sun was hot I went further round the point and bathed in the shade.

And the bee-bites must be those horribly irritating pimples I have across my back.' The cause of illness settled to her satisfaction, Bootha asked how to cure it.

The patient was to drink nothing hot nor heating but as much cold water as she liked, especially a long drink before going to bed.
Guadgee said she would come in the night when the patient was asleep and take the wax from her liver; she would sleep well and wake better in the morning.
Bootha got up then, came over to the patient, took her hand, rubbed it round the wrist several times, muttering an incantation; then saying she would see her again next day, off she went, taking, she told us, all the spirits away inside her, whence at desire they could be returned to such Minggah in their own Noorunbah, or hereditary hunting-grounds, as wirreenuns had placed them in, or to roam at their pleasure when not required by those in authority over spirits.