Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By the Late Captain Owen Stanley - Volume 2 - John MacGillivray (best novels of all time .txt) 📗
- Author: John MacGillivray
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Niblet, reading the funeral service over them; about ten or twelve of the natives were present, and we fully explained to them what we were doing, they conducted themselves with propriety when the funeral service was being read. Poor Jackey was much affected, and could not refrain from tears.
The spot I selected is the most conspicuous on the island, and would be an excellent site for the erection of a monument to the memory of the unfortunate men who perished on the late ill-fated expedition.* At each end of the grave I planted two large bushes, and on the top were placed several large stones. A bottle was suspended over the grave, with a paper in it, stating who was interred, with the date, etc.; and at sunset we returned on board.
(*Footnote. A tombstone with suitable inscription was afterwards erected by Captain Stanley, and two young coconut trees were planted near the grave.)
I cannot close my extracts without mentioning the exemplary conduct of Jackey-Jackey. Since he came on board I have always found him quiet, obliging, and very respectful; when on shore he was very attentive, nothing could abstract him from his object; the sagacity and knowledge he displayed in traversing the trackless wilderness were astonishing; when he found the places he went in search of, he was never flushed with success, but invariably maintained his quiet, unobtrusive behaviour; he was much concerned at not being able to find the remains of his late unfortunate master, to whom he was sincerely attached; his two companions* also conducted themselves well, and were very useful on shore.
(*Footnote. Aboriginal blacks of his own tribe.)
...
APPENDIX 1.
COMPARATIVE VOCABULARY OF TWO OF THE LANGUAGES OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF CAPE YORK.
A few words procured at Cape York and Port Lihou are given in the Voyage of the Fly, and most of those which I have been able to identify belong to the language spoken by the Kowrarega tribe, inhabiting the Prince of Wales Islands, and frequently visiting Cape York.
For the materials composing the present Kowrarega Vocabulary, I am almost entirely indebted to Mrs. Thomson. Unfortunately, however, her total want of education prevented her from acquiring any idea of the construction of the language; nor could she always be made to understand the meaning of a question-however simple in its form-framed to elicit information on this point. Even by carefully sifting at leisure hours the mass of crude materials obtained from her and written down at each interview, day by day, I did not make sufficient progress in the grammar of the language to enable me to pursue the subject further, until her value as an authority had so far declined that it was prudent to reject it altogether. Nearly all the words originally procured from Mrs. Thomson were subsequently verified either by herself or by our Kowrarega visitors.
The Gudang Vocabulary was formed at Cape York, and the chief contributor to it was the black named Paida, mentioned above, to whom I latterly was able to make myself tolerably well understood upon most subjects, through the medium of the Kowrarega language, which he knew thoroughly. As several dialects are spoken at this place,* I took care to reject all such words as were not given me expressly as Gudang.
(*Footnote. Two examples will suffice to show the differences in the five languages which I have heard spoken at Cape York.
Dog ing-godinya (Gudang and Yagulle), ngyomo (Kachialaiga), Inyomo (Induyamo), umai (Kowrarega).
Smoke ekura (Gudang and Induyamo), rong-gura (Yagulle and Kachialaiga), tuo (Kowrarega).)
The following rules have been adopted in the Vocabularies:
[The vowels are sounded as follows:
a as in hard. a as in hat. e as in there. e as in bet. e as in French meme. i as in eel. i as in bit. o as in hole. o as in not. u as in cool. u as in cut. ai as in eye. ei not represented in English.]
G is always hard, as in get; ch soft, as in church.
The letters in italics are sometimes omitted.
The numbers appended to some words point out similarities and derivations.
...
1. NATURAL OBJECTS.*
(*Footnote. To form the plural of a noun or adjective, the rule appears to be to add le as a postfix, sometimes previously supplying a terminal vowel if required: Example: geta hand becomes getale in the plural: kuku foot, kukule: kutai yam, kutaile: ipi wife, ipile: kerne lad undergoing a certain ceremony, kernele: makaow mat, makaowle: bom fruit of pandanus, bomale. There are exceptions however; mari shell ornament, makes marurre in the plural: gul canoe, gulai: tawpei short, tawpeingh: all nouns ending in ra have the plural in re, as kowra
ear, kowrare and all ending in kai gain jille in the plural, as ipikai
woman, ipikaijille.
Regarding the allusion to a terminal vowel, it may be mentioned here that as most Kowrarega words end in a vowel, its absence when a vowel commences the following word is commonly owing to elision. Example: udzu umai my dog becomes udz'umai. When the last consonant in a word is the same as the first in the following word, one of the letters is omitted. Example: apa pirung soft ground becomes ap'irung. There are numerous other contractions, as ai for aidu food: aiye for aiyewel come here: mue utsem the fire has gone out, for mue utsimem etc.)
COLUMN 1: ITEM NUMBER. COLUMN 2: ENGLISH. COLUMN 3: KOWRAREGA. COLUMN 4: GUDANG.
1 : Sky : je : -. 2 : Sun : gariga : inga. 3 : Cloud : dapar : otera. 4 : Cloud, heavy, cumulus : markei : -. 5 : Cloud, driving, scud : ras : -. 6 : Moon : kissuri : aikana. 7 : Moon, new : kainidung (634) : kichia. 8 : Moon, full : mullpal : ichara. 9 : Moonlight : kapi kissurri (612.6) : -. 10 : Star : titure : onbi, unbi. 11 : Star, falling : titure udzarizhe (10.745) : -. 12 : Star, morning : gariga titure (2.10) : -. 13 : Jupiter ? : dogei : -. 14 : Pleiades : kusali* : -.
(*Footnote. The frequency of words having different meanings may perhaps lead some to suppose that they may have originated in error on my part. Some have a figurative connexion as upu a series of waterholes, also a blister; kusali the constellation of the Pleiades, also a plant with bunches of seeds which become white and glittering by exposure to the sun: others have no obvious community of meaning, as ari rain, also a louse; gi laughter, also ripe, &tc.)
15 : Darkness, night : inur : yulpalga. 16 : Shadow, shade : yirada : moda. 17 : Wind : guba : alba. 18 : Rain : ari : apura. 19 : Rainbow : oripara : ung-gebanya. 20 : Dew : urma : -. 21 : Fog : wunu : -. 22 : Thunder : duyuma : wagel (526). 23 : Lightning : baguma : omba. 24 : Heat, steam : kaman : -. 25 : Sea : wur : -. 26 : Salt water : adabu : ung-onya. 27 : Saltwater creek : kassur : -. 28 : Saltwater swamp : gowada : gawata. 29 : Deep water : mal : -. 30 : Shoal water : gata : -. 31 : Wave : baow : -. 32 : Foam : tsika : -. 33 : High-water : wur pusakuradun (746) : -. 34 : Low-water : wur nuremizinghi : -. 35 : Tide, flood : wur kamizinghi : -. 36 : Tide, ebb : wur nurezinghi : -. 37 : Salt : - : ? bawa. 38 : Fresh water : nuki : epi. 39 : Spring : dana nuki (443) : -. 40 : Well, hole dug in ground : marama : akanya. 41 : Stream of fresh water : bubbu : epitaba (38). 42 : Stream, bed of : kassa : artaba. 43 : Chain of ponds : upu (529) : -. 44 : Land : laga (370) : -. 45 : Sand, sandy beach : butu : aigi. 46 : Island : kowra (455) : unbonya. 47 : Reef : madji : -. 48 : Flat, plain : bowa : -. 49 : Hill, wooded : pada : pada. 50 : Hill, stony : baradi (56) : -. 51 : Ground, soil : apa : ampa. 52 : Mud : barrudder : -. 53 : Mangrove swamp : tugga : -. 54 : Stone, rock : kula, kola : olpa. 55 : Cave, hole in rock : sakai : -. 56 : Any remarkable rock : adi : -. 57 : Cliff : thi : -. 58 : Sandstone : iba-eba : -. 59 : Quartz : us : elpowa. 60 : Pumice : maat : meta. 61 : Ochre, red : parma : anto. 62 : Ochre, yellow : daoma : -. 63 : Fire, wood : mue : yoko. 64 : Flame : buyeli : -. 65 : Smoke : tuo : ekora, ekura. 66 : Ashes : kunur : buro-buro. 67 : Charcoal : burker : onta. 68 : Path : yabu : alka. 69 : Summer, dry season : aibow : -. 70 : Winter, rainy season : kuki* : adara.
(*Footnote. Also applied to north-west wind then prevailing.)
71 : Spring and Autumn : malgui : -. 72 : Turtling season : sulangi : -.
a. MAMMALIA.
73 : Tail of quadruped : koba : opo. 74 : Bat, large : sapur : -. 75 : Bat, young of : kugi : -. 76 : Bat, harpy : - : tumidumi. 77 : Bat, small : ararapa : mali. 78 : Native cat : - : kute. 79 : Dog : umai : ing-godinya. 80 : Bandicoot : - : walkundunya. 81 : Kangaroo : usur* : epama.
(*Footnote. The sounds of s and z are wanting in Gudang, and when occurring in a foreign language are represented by ch or ty. Example: The Kowrarega words usur kangaroo, makutz mouse, surka megapodius, susu
breasts, if pronounced by a Gudang black are rendered by uchur, makutcha, tyurka, tyu-tyu.)
82 : Opossum : barit : -. 83 : Mouse : makutz : makutcha. 84 : Whale : bidu : -. 85 : Dugong : dung-ula : wattei. 86 : Dugong, tail of : sun-na (149) : -.
b. BIRDS.
87 : Bird, insect, shell, etc. : ure : wuroi. 88 : Wing : buta : ngaga. 89 : Tail : kupa-luba (478) : kopagoba. 90 : Quill : kai-kai : aikunya, eikunya. 91 : Down : palissa : -. 92 : Nest : padama : untinya (242). 93 : Egg (or of reptile) : kakuru (499) : achina (499). 94 : Eagle : agaleg : -. 95 : Eagle, quill of : baba* (418) : -.
(*Footnote. Literally the father (of feathers); it is much prized as an ornament both for the persan and to deck graves with.)
96 : Hawk : - : kartam. 97 : Owl : - : tuitru. 98 : Goatsucker : biya : ngoko. 99 : Laughing jackass : kowru : unbunya. 100 : Kingfisher, long-tailed : - : quatawur. 101 : Kingfisher, yellow-billed : - : poditti. 102 : Swamp pheasant : - : pura-pura. 103 : Swift : - : ebundyara. 104 : Parson-bird, thrush : - : weya. 105 : Bower-bird : - : yewinya. 106 : Dragoon-bird : - : eipura. 107 : Fork-tailed flycatcher : - : trokaru. 108
The spot I selected is the most conspicuous on the island, and would be an excellent site for the erection of a monument to the memory of the unfortunate men who perished on the late ill-fated expedition.* At each end of the grave I planted two large bushes, and on the top were placed several large stones. A bottle was suspended over the grave, with a paper in it, stating who was interred, with the date, etc.; and at sunset we returned on board.
(*Footnote. A tombstone with suitable inscription was afterwards erected by Captain Stanley, and two young coconut trees were planted near the grave.)
I cannot close my extracts without mentioning the exemplary conduct of Jackey-Jackey. Since he came on board I have always found him quiet, obliging, and very respectful; when on shore he was very attentive, nothing could abstract him from his object; the sagacity and knowledge he displayed in traversing the trackless wilderness were astonishing; when he found the places he went in search of, he was never flushed with success, but invariably maintained his quiet, unobtrusive behaviour; he was much concerned at not being able to find the remains of his late unfortunate master, to whom he was sincerely attached; his two companions* also conducted themselves well, and were very useful on shore.
(*Footnote. Aboriginal blacks of his own tribe.)
...
APPENDIX 1.
COMPARATIVE VOCABULARY OF TWO OF THE LANGUAGES OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF CAPE YORK.
A few words procured at Cape York and Port Lihou are given in the Voyage of the Fly, and most of those which I have been able to identify belong to the language spoken by the Kowrarega tribe, inhabiting the Prince of Wales Islands, and frequently visiting Cape York.
For the materials composing the present Kowrarega Vocabulary, I am almost entirely indebted to Mrs. Thomson. Unfortunately, however, her total want of education prevented her from acquiring any idea of the construction of the language; nor could she always be made to understand the meaning of a question-however simple in its form-framed to elicit information on this point. Even by carefully sifting at leisure hours the mass of crude materials obtained from her and written down at each interview, day by day, I did not make sufficient progress in the grammar of the language to enable me to pursue the subject further, until her value as an authority had so far declined that it was prudent to reject it altogether. Nearly all the words originally procured from Mrs. Thomson were subsequently verified either by herself or by our Kowrarega visitors.
The Gudang Vocabulary was formed at Cape York, and the chief contributor to it was the black named Paida, mentioned above, to whom I latterly was able to make myself tolerably well understood upon most subjects, through the medium of the Kowrarega language, which he knew thoroughly. As several dialects are spoken at this place,* I took care to reject all such words as were not given me expressly as Gudang.
(*Footnote. Two examples will suffice to show the differences in the five languages which I have heard spoken at Cape York.
Dog ing-godinya (Gudang and Yagulle), ngyomo (Kachialaiga), Inyomo (Induyamo), umai (Kowrarega).
Smoke ekura (Gudang and Induyamo), rong-gura (Yagulle and Kachialaiga), tuo (Kowrarega).)
The following rules have been adopted in the Vocabularies:
[The vowels are sounded as follows:
a as in hard. a as in hat. e as in there. e as in bet. e as in French meme. i as in eel. i as in bit. o as in hole. o as in not. u as in cool. u as in cut. ai as in eye. ei not represented in English.]
G is always hard, as in get; ch soft, as in church.
The letters in italics are sometimes omitted.
The numbers appended to some words point out similarities and derivations.
...
1. NATURAL OBJECTS.*
(*Footnote. To form the plural of a noun or adjective, the rule appears to be to add le as a postfix, sometimes previously supplying a terminal vowel if required: Example: geta hand becomes getale in the plural: kuku foot, kukule: kutai yam, kutaile: ipi wife, ipile: kerne lad undergoing a certain ceremony, kernele: makaow mat, makaowle: bom fruit of pandanus, bomale. There are exceptions however; mari shell ornament, makes marurre in the plural: gul canoe, gulai: tawpei short, tawpeingh: all nouns ending in ra have the plural in re, as kowra
ear, kowrare and all ending in kai gain jille in the plural, as ipikai
woman, ipikaijille.
Regarding the allusion to a terminal vowel, it may be mentioned here that as most Kowrarega words end in a vowel, its absence when a vowel commences the following word is commonly owing to elision. Example: udzu umai my dog becomes udz'umai. When the last consonant in a word is the same as the first in the following word, one of the letters is omitted. Example: apa pirung soft ground becomes ap'irung. There are numerous other contractions, as ai for aidu food: aiye for aiyewel come here: mue utsem the fire has gone out, for mue utsimem etc.)
COLUMN 1: ITEM NUMBER. COLUMN 2: ENGLISH. COLUMN 3: KOWRAREGA. COLUMN 4: GUDANG.
1 : Sky : je : -. 2 : Sun : gariga : inga. 3 : Cloud : dapar : otera. 4 : Cloud, heavy, cumulus : markei : -. 5 : Cloud, driving, scud : ras : -. 6 : Moon : kissuri : aikana. 7 : Moon, new : kainidung (634) : kichia. 8 : Moon, full : mullpal : ichara. 9 : Moonlight : kapi kissurri (612.6) : -. 10 : Star : titure : onbi, unbi. 11 : Star, falling : titure udzarizhe (10.745) : -. 12 : Star, morning : gariga titure (2.10) : -. 13 : Jupiter ? : dogei : -. 14 : Pleiades : kusali* : -.
(*Footnote. The frequency of words having different meanings may perhaps lead some to suppose that they may have originated in error on my part. Some have a figurative connexion as upu a series of waterholes, also a blister; kusali the constellation of the Pleiades, also a plant with bunches of seeds which become white and glittering by exposure to the sun: others have no obvious community of meaning, as ari rain, also a louse; gi laughter, also ripe, &tc.)
15 : Darkness, night : inur : yulpalga. 16 : Shadow, shade : yirada : moda. 17 : Wind : guba : alba. 18 : Rain : ari : apura. 19 : Rainbow : oripara : ung-gebanya. 20 : Dew : urma : -. 21 : Fog : wunu : -. 22 : Thunder : duyuma : wagel (526). 23 : Lightning : baguma : omba. 24 : Heat, steam : kaman : -. 25 : Sea : wur : -. 26 : Salt water : adabu : ung-onya. 27 : Saltwater creek : kassur : -. 28 : Saltwater swamp : gowada : gawata. 29 : Deep water : mal : -. 30 : Shoal water : gata : -. 31 : Wave : baow : -. 32 : Foam : tsika : -. 33 : High-water : wur pusakuradun (746) : -. 34 : Low-water : wur nuremizinghi : -. 35 : Tide, flood : wur kamizinghi : -. 36 : Tide, ebb : wur nurezinghi : -. 37 : Salt : - : ? bawa. 38 : Fresh water : nuki : epi. 39 : Spring : dana nuki (443) : -. 40 : Well, hole dug in ground : marama : akanya. 41 : Stream of fresh water : bubbu : epitaba (38). 42 : Stream, bed of : kassa : artaba. 43 : Chain of ponds : upu (529) : -. 44 : Land : laga (370) : -. 45 : Sand, sandy beach : butu : aigi. 46 : Island : kowra (455) : unbonya. 47 : Reef : madji : -. 48 : Flat, plain : bowa : -. 49 : Hill, wooded : pada : pada. 50 : Hill, stony : baradi (56) : -. 51 : Ground, soil : apa : ampa. 52 : Mud : barrudder : -. 53 : Mangrove swamp : tugga : -. 54 : Stone, rock : kula, kola : olpa. 55 : Cave, hole in rock : sakai : -. 56 : Any remarkable rock : adi : -. 57 : Cliff : thi : -. 58 : Sandstone : iba-eba : -. 59 : Quartz : us : elpowa. 60 : Pumice : maat : meta. 61 : Ochre, red : parma : anto. 62 : Ochre, yellow : daoma : -. 63 : Fire, wood : mue : yoko. 64 : Flame : buyeli : -. 65 : Smoke : tuo : ekora, ekura. 66 : Ashes : kunur : buro-buro. 67 : Charcoal : burker : onta. 68 : Path : yabu : alka. 69 : Summer, dry season : aibow : -. 70 : Winter, rainy season : kuki* : adara.
(*Footnote. Also applied to north-west wind then prevailing.)
71 : Spring and Autumn : malgui : -. 72 : Turtling season : sulangi : -.
a. MAMMALIA.
73 : Tail of quadruped : koba : opo. 74 : Bat, large : sapur : -. 75 : Bat, young of : kugi : -. 76 : Bat, harpy : - : tumidumi. 77 : Bat, small : ararapa : mali. 78 : Native cat : - : kute. 79 : Dog : umai : ing-godinya. 80 : Bandicoot : - : walkundunya. 81 : Kangaroo : usur* : epama.
(*Footnote. The sounds of s and z are wanting in Gudang, and when occurring in a foreign language are represented by ch or ty. Example: The Kowrarega words usur kangaroo, makutz mouse, surka megapodius, susu
breasts, if pronounced by a Gudang black are rendered by uchur, makutcha, tyurka, tyu-tyu.)
82 : Opossum : barit : -. 83 : Mouse : makutz : makutcha. 84 : Whale : bidu : -. 85 : Dugong : dung-ula : wattei. 86 : Dugong, tail of : sun-na (149) : -.
b. BIRDS.
87 : Bird, insect, shell, etc. : ure : wuroi. 88 : Wing : buta : ngaga. 89 : Tail : kupa-luba (478) : kopagoba. 90 : Quill : kai-kai : aikunya, eikunya. 91 : Down : palissa : -. 92 : Nest : padama : untinya (242). 93 : Egg (or of reptile) : kakuru (499) : achina (499). 94 : Eagle : agaleg : -. 95 : Eagle, quill of : baba* (418) : -.
(*Footnote. Literally the father (of feathers); it is much prized as an ornament both for the persan and to deck graves with.)
96 : Hawk : - : kartam. 97 : Owl : - : tuitru. 98 : Goatsucker : biya : ngoko. 99 : Laughing jackass : kowru : unbunya. 100 : Kingfisher, long-tailed : - : quatawur. 101 : Kingfisher, yellow-billed : - : poditti. 102 : Swamp pheasant : - : pura-pura. 103 : Swift : - : ebundyara. 104 : Parson-bird, thrush : - : weya. 105 : Bower-bird : - : yewinya. 106 : Dragoon-bird : - : eipura. 107 : Fork-tailed flycatcher : - : trokaru. 108
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