LOPE DE VEGA. 423 



"I never heard the name Devil Devil or Devega used in con- 

 nection with dance masks here, and can find no trace of Spanish 

 in either their songs or dances. A native in speaking in praise 

 of his mask or dance would use the word debele or debe-debe, i.e., 

 good ; these words would sound to one not acquainted with the 

 language very much like devil. 



"The fish-traps (at Murray and Darnley Islands) according to 

 legendary lore, were built by two beings with supernatural powers 

 named Kos and Abob, they were gifted with the power of being 

 able to change their form into either fish or birds as required. 

 After they finished the traps at Murray they went to Darnley, 

 built traps there, and so on to different islands until they reached 

 New Guinea eventually. They also taught new languages to the 

 people they went amongst, and took a new name to themselves at 

 each place visited by them; so that though known as Kos and 

 Abob at Murray, they were known only by their adopted name 

 at other islands. No man on Murray Island is supposed to be 

 able to make these traps ; the work is considered to be above 

 their powers, they can only repair them. The dykes are only 

 stones laid on top of the coral, but they enclose large areas." 



Mr. Bruce's letter makes it plain that the Murray Island 

 immigrants did not come over the eastern reef, but followed 

 the Oape York Peninsula, east or west past Mount Adol- 

 phus, east of Moa (Banks Island), and so on to Mar-be-ack 

 (Jervis Island) between Jervis and Orman Reefs. 



The season of the year that this happened is shown to 

 be near Christmas, the ship went ashore with S.E. weather. 

 No long stay was made as there are no indications of it as 

 yet. She was neaped once or twice and came off with the 

 north-westerly monsoon flying light and leaky. Went to 

 leeward past the Sisters and brought up on a patch within 

 sight of Murray Island and out of sight of Mount Adolphus. 

 Her final resting place was on a patch of coral or sand, 

 because the bananas and cocoa-nuts were salved : it was 

 more to the eastward than Half-way Island, or Torres 



