NATIVES AT CAPE YORK. 125 



dialects were spoken, but I failed then to connect 

 them with particular tribes or even find out which, 

 if any, were the resident ones. Among- these 

 were two or three of the Papuan race, from some 

 of the islands of Torres Strait. It appeared to me 

 that a constant friendly intercourse exists between the 

 natives of the southern portion of Torres Strait and 

 those of the main land about Cape York, which last, 

 from its central position, is much frequented during- 

 their occasional, perhaps periodical migrations. 

 This free communication between the races would 

 account for the existence in the vocabulary I then 

 procured at Cape York of a considerable number of 

 words (at least 31 out of 248) identical with those 

 g-iven by Jukes in his vocabularies of Darnley 

 Island and Masseed, especially the latter. 



The physical characteristics of these Australians 

 seen at Cape York differ in no respect from those 

 of the same race which I have seen elsewhere. 

 The absence of one or more of the upper incisors 

 was not observed here, nor had circumcision or any 

 similar rite been practised, as is the case in some 

 parts of the continent. Among- these undoubted 

 Australians were, as already mentioned, two or three 

 Papuans. They differed in appearance from the 

 others in having- the skin of a much lig-hter colour — 

 yellowish brown instead of nearly black —the hair on 



indmduals — for the shin-bone, words which in the course of time 

 I found to mean respectively, the leg— the shin-bone — the skin — 

 and bone in general. 



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