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 high. They 

 brought us some fish, which they called " mingii," 

 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 mangrove seeds, all pounded up together, 

 then heated over a fire in a large shell. This paste 

 they call " dakiaa."* Although we did not much 

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

 sand, we ate some of it as a vegetable. 



JVov. 19^A.— This morning about fifty or sixty 

 natives, all strongly armed with spears, made their 

 appearance, and by their gestures 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 

 guns in our hands. I made signs to them to keep 

 back, but they pretended not to understand us, 

 holding up pieces of fish, crying out mingii, mingii, 

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

 designs upon us were too transparent for that. They 

 kept us standing a good while, for I was anxious 

 to refrain fi-om firing on them if possible, and at 

 length they left us without any actually hostile 



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

 p. 26. 



