NARRATIVE OF MR. CARRON. 213 



larg'e fan-palm leaves. Their girdles were made of 

 the leaves of the Cordyline. Both men and wo- 

 men were very stout, strong", well-made people — 

 some of the men standing" six feet hig-h. They 

 broug-ht us some fish, which they called '^ ming-ii," 

 but it was such as they would not even eat them- 

 selves ; also a kind of paste, made of different kinds 

 of leaves and roots, mixed with the inside of the 

 roasted mang*rove seeds, all pounded up tog-ether, 

 then heated over a fire in a larg-e shell. This paste 

 they call ^^ dakiaa."* Althoug'h we did not much 

 like the taste of the paste, and it was very full of 

 sand, we ate some of it as a veg"etable. 



Nov. 19/ A.— This morning* about fifty or sixty 

 natives, all strongly armed with spears, made their 

 appearance, and by their g"estures and manner it 

 was quite evident that they intended to attack us if 

 opportunity offered. As we always kept our fire- 

 arms in readiness, we stood out in a line, with our 

 g-uns in our hands, I made sig-ns to them to keep 

 back, but they pretended not to understand us, 

 holding- up pieces of fish, crying- out 7ningii, mingiiy 

 (fish, fish), to induce us to come for them, but their 

 desig-ns upon us were too transparent for that. They 

 kept us standing" a g'ood while, for I was anxious 

 to refrain from firing- on them if possible, and at 

 leng-th they left us without any actually hostile 



* This is identical with the buju of Cape York. — See Vol. II. 

 p. 26. 



