210 doodegab's sisters. 



my sisters, saying, " Derree berbet* Dukees, Atai 

 berbet Dukees." As the rain had now ceased, they 

 got up to accompany us back to the boat, and I 

 taught them to walk arm-in-arm with me, at which 

 they seemed much amused. Two others immediately 

 came up and took Dr. Muirhead's arms, which 

 elicited a roar of laughter from the rest. Thev 

 seemed to enjoy the joke, and proposed we should 

 race one party against the other ; but Dr. M . and 

 I soon found that running over the deep sand and 

 rough beach was to us no joke at all, although 

 perfectly easy to our lightly clothed and active 

 partners. 



On arriving at the boat, I proposed, in order to 

 see what they would say, that they should go off to 

 the ship, and be our " coskeer" (wives) ; but at 

 this they drew back and seemed rather alarmed, 

 saying,f "Lola coskeer, — berbet, — coskeer lola IV 

 On seeing it was merely a joke, however, they 

 laughed, as a girl would in England at a similar 

 proposal from a stranger, and took a friendly leave 

 of us. 



April 21. — There were many natives down at the 

 watering place to-day, as we told them we were going 

 away and not coming back. I inquired about places 

 to the northward : they seemed to have no acquaint- 

 ance with any such names as Papua or Arafoora, 



* Berbet means sister certainly, and I believe brother also, 

 from the way they use it. 



f " No wife, — sister, — wife not." 



