“IRRU, irru.”

Our friendly intercourse with these natives sustained a shock, which at first threatened to annihilate it, but which fortunately ended, as it began, in smoke.  One of the officers used a common flint and steel, in order to procure a light for his cigar; at this new mode of procuring fire all eyes were open—­for doubtless they procure it only by means of friction—­but when he proceeded to place the lighted cigar between his lips, and roll forth from thence a thick and perfumed cloud, fright took full possession of them, and exclaiming “irru, irru,” with the arm extended, and a slight vertical motion of the hand, they darted off most unceremoniously, clambering up the face of a precipitous cliff, with extraordinary agility.  Their cry of “irru, irru,” and their manner of delivering it, were identical with those of King’s Sound, under somewhat similar circumstances.  In a few days they had forgotten their fright, and had returned to renew the friendly relations this little incident had interrupted.

During the short time we passed with this people in Port Darwin, some words of their language were collected by many of us.  Those that we all agreed in I have noted down, but the different names for things given by the same person, here and at Shoal Bay, will at once impress the reader with the conviction of how impossible it is for transient visitors to obtain a correct vocabulary.  Those first made out at Port Essington, were found to be half Malay words, and of any meaning rather than what they were supposed to convey.  The words given below are from Mr. Earl’s vocabulary, the result of four years careful examination and experience.

Column 1:  English. 
Column 2:  Shoal bay. 
Column 3:  Port Darwin. 
Column 4:  Port Essington. 
Column 5:  Swan river.

Crab :  Algaura :  — :  Meir :  -. 
Dog :  Melinga :  — :  Mugki :  Dudah. 
Ear :  Bangua :  — :  Alayjar :  Zungah. 
Eye :  Ummera :  Mical :  Ira :  Mael. 
Hair :  Brailma :  Guarshiel :  Angbal :  Cutap. 
Hand :  — :  Guian :  — :  -. 
Stone :  — :  Lowheil :  — :  -. 
Tree :  Urmingua :  — :  Ojalli :  Boono. 
Teeth :  Emburge :  — :  Aujije :  Nalgo. 
Water :  — :  Kararback :  — :  Kaaby.

Difficulty of understanding the natives.

The great difference between the words at Shoal Bay and Port Darwin, must now be apparent to the reader; a more extended acquaintance with the aboriginal inhabitants of Australia, has shown that many words put down by us as meaning a certain thing, signify in reality, “What do you mean?” “I do not understand”—­which shows at once the great difficulty of arriving at the truth.  This must often be the case; for what is more natural, than that when a savage is asked the meaning of a thing, and knows not, but that he