SURVEY OF TORRES STRAIT COMPLETED. 307 



understood^ tifter in vain itttempting* by smooth 

 words and fair promises to induce her to g^o back 

 to hve Avitli him^ left the ship in a rag-e^ and we 

 were not sorry to get rid of so impudent and 

 troublesome a visitor as he had become. Previous 

 to leaving-^ he had threatened that, should he or 

 any of his friends ever catch his faithless spouse 

 on shore, they would take off her head to carry 

 back with them to Muralug- and so likely to be 

 fulfilled did she consider this threat, being* in perfect 

 accordance with their customs, that she never after- 

 wards ventured on shore at Cape York. 



During the period of om^ stay at Cape York, the 

 Bramble^ Asp, and E^attlesnake's pinnace were sent 

 away to the western entrance of Torres Strait to 

 finish the surve}^, and returned after a month^s 

 absence. The boats had held no intercourse with 

 any of the natives, except a small party of Kow- 

 rareg-as, the inhabitants of Mulgrave and Banks 

 Islands having carefully avoided them. Hopes had 

 been entertained prior to starting of seeing* something* 

 of a white man of the name of Wini, who had lived 

 with the Badus for many years. Gi'om had seen 

 and conversed with him during* a \'isit to Muralug* 

 which he had made in hopes of inducmg her to 

 share his fortunes. She supposed him to be a 

 foreigner, from his not appearing* to understand the 

 English she used when asked by him to speak in her 

 native tong*ue. He had reached Mulgrave Island 

 in a boat after having, by his own account, killed 



X 2 



