30 SUPERSTITIONS. 



SO far as to recoofnise in several of our officers and 

 others in the ship^ the g-hosts of dejiarted friends to 

 whom they mig-ht have borne some fancied resem- 

 blance^ and, in consequence, under the new names of 

 Tamu, Tarka, &c. they were claimed as relations, 

 and entitled to all the privileg'es of such. 



Among- many superstitions held by the Prince of 

 Wales islanders, they are much afraid of shooting* 

 stars, believing- them to be g-hosts which in breaking* 

 up produce young- ones of their own kind. After 

 sneezing-, they make violent g-estures with the hands 

 and arms ; if a joint cracks, they imag-ine that some 

 one is speaking- of them or wishing- them well in the 

 direction in which the arm is pointing-. 



The only tradition which I heard of occurs among- 

 the Kowrareg-as, and is worth mentioning* for its 

 sing-ularity. The first man created was a g-reat 

 g-iant named Adi, who, while fishing* off Hammond 

 Island, was caug'ht by the rising* tide and drowned, 

 Hammond Rock spring-ing- up immediately after to 

 mark the spot. His wives, who were watching- him 

 at the time, resolved to drown themsalves, and were 

 chang-ed into some dry rocks upon an adjacent reef 

 named after them Iplle, or the wives. 



According- to Gi'om ag-ue is prevalent in Muralug- 

 during* the rainy season, but is not much dreaded, 

 as it is supposed to remove former complaints, such 

 as the sores prevalent among* children. At Cape 

 York I have seen people affected with this com- 

 plaint, but to what extent it occurs in that neig-h- 



