bone of a kangaroo under her left rib, and drove it upwards into her heart.  The shrieks of the poor wretch brought down to the spot many colonists, who arrived in time only to see the conclusion of the horrid spectacle.  After they had buried the bone in her body they took their glass-pointed spears and tore her entrails out, and finally fractured her skull with their waddies.  This barbarous method of wreaking vengeance is common among them."[169]

The men being indifferent to female chastity, it would be vain to expect true jealousy on the part of the women.  The men are entirely unrestrained in their appetites unless they interfere with other men’s property rights, and in a community where polygamy prevails the jealousy which is based in a monopoly of affection has little chance to flourish.  Taplin says (101) that

“a wife amongst the heathen aborigines has no objection to her husband taking another spouse, provided she is younger than herself, but if he brings home one older than herself there is apt to be trouble”

as the senior wife is “mistress of the camp,” and in such a case the first wife is apt to run away.  Vanity and envy, or the desire to be the favorite, thus appear to be the principal ingredients in an Australian woman’s jealousy.  Meyer (191) says of the Encounter Bay tribe: 

“If a man has several girls at his disposal, he speedily obtains several wives, who, however, very seldom agree well with each other, but are continually quarreling, each endeavoring to be the favorite.”

This, it will be observed, is the jealousy two pet dogs will feel of each other, and is utterly different from modern conjugal or lover’s jealousy, which is chiefly based on an ardent regard for chastity and unswerving fidelity.  In this phase jealousy is a noble and useful passion, helping to maintain the purity of the family; whereas, in the phase that prevails among savages it is utterly selfish and brutal.  Palmer says[170] that “a new woman would always be beaten by the other wife, and a good deal would depend on the fighting powers of the former whether she kept her position or not.”  “Among the Kalkadoon,” writes Roth (141),

“where a man may have three, four, or even five gins, the discarded ones will often, through jealousy, fight with her whom they consider more favored.  On such occasions they may often resort to stone-throwing, or even use fire-sticks and stone-knives with which to mutilate the genitals.”

Lumholtz says (213) the black women “often have bitter quarrels about men whom they love and are anxious to marry.  If the husband is unfaithful, the wife frequently becomes greatly enraged.”