AND TORRES STRAIT. 3 



the Massile»-as* reside on the York Isles and others 

 adjacent : and the Miriam-f tribe hold the north- 

 easternmost islands of Torres Strait^ including' Mur- 

 ray and Darnley Islands. 



The junction between the two races^ or the Papuan 

 from the north and the Australian from the south^ 

 is effected at Cape York by the Kowrareg'as^ whom 

 I believe to be a Papuanized colony of Australians, 

 as will elsewhere be shewn. In fact, one mig'ht 

 hesitate whether to consider the Kowrareg'asJ as 

 Papuans or Australians, so complete is the fusion 



* I do not know what name is given to the tribe or tribes 

 inhabiting the space between the ^Miriam and the Kdlkalaig. 

 Dzum (a Darnley islander) told me of a tribe called Gamle 

 inhabiting Owrid, Uta, Zogarid, Sirreb, IMekek, and Wurber ; at 

 all events the natives of Massid belong to a distinct tribe, judging 

 from their language, and are known as the Massilegas by the Kow- 

 raregas. They occasionally (as in 1848) come down to Cape 

 York on a visit to the Australians there, often extending their 

 voyage far to the southward, visiting the various sandy islets in 

 search of turtle and remaining away for a month or more. 



f Is so named from a place in Murray Island. The possessions 

 of this tribe are Mer, Dowar, Wayer, Erriib, Ugar, Zapker, and 

 Edugor, all, except the two last, permanently inhabited. 



X Dr. Latham informs me that the Kowrarega language is 

 undeniably Australian, and has clearly shewn such to be the case : 

 and although the Miriam language does not show any obvious 

 affinity with the continental Australian dialects, yet the number of 

 words common to it and the Kowrarega, I find by comparison of my 

 vocabularies to be very considerable, and possibly, were we at all 

 acquainted with the grammar of the former, other and stronger 

 affinities would appear. 



B 2 



