SURVEY OF TORRES STRAIT COMPLETED. 307 



understood^ after in \am attempting by smooth 

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

 to Hve with 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 fi'iends 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 our stay at Cape York, the 

 Bramble, Asp, and Rattlesnake's pinnace were sent 

 away to the western entrance of Torres Strait to 

 finish the survey, and returned after a month's 

 absence. The boats had held no intercourse with 

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

 raregas, 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 li\'ed 

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

 and conversed with him during a visit to Muralug 

 which he had made in hopes of inducing her to 

 share his fortunes. She supposed him to be a 

 foreigner, from his not appearing to understand the 

 Eno'lish she used when asked by him to speak in her 

 native tongue. He Tiad reached Mulgrave Island 

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



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