it may lead to inference that the so-called Papuan
tongue of Torres Strait is really Australian. Nevertheless, although I do
not absolutely deny that such is the case, the evidence of the whole body
of ethnological fact--e.g. those connected with the moral, intellectual,
and physical conformation of the two populations--is against it.

And so is the philology itself, if we go further. The Erroob pronouns
are:

Me = ka.
You = ma.
His = eta.
Mine = ka-ra.
Your = ma-ra.

All of which are un-Australian.

Are we then to say that all the words of the table just given are
borrowed from the Australian by the Papuans, or vice versa? No. Some
belong to the common source of the two tongues, pit = nose being,
probably, such a word; whilst others are the result of subsequent
intercourse.

Still, it cannot absolutely be said that the Erroob or Miriam iongue is
not Australian also, or vice versa. Still less, is it absolutely certain
that the former is not transitional between the New Guinea language and
the Australian. I believe, however, that it is not so.

The doubts as to the philological position of the Miriam are by no means
diminished by reference to the nearest unequivocally Papuan vocabulary,
namely that of Redscar Bay. Here the difference exceeds rather than falls
short of our expectations. The most important of the few words which
coincide are:

COLUMN 1: ENGLISH.
COLUMN 2: REDSCAR BAY.
COLUMN 3: ERROOB.

Head : quara : kerem.
Mouth : mao : mit = lips.
Testicles : abu : eba = penis.
Shoulder : paga : pagas = upper arm.

On the other hand, the Redscar Bay word for throat, kato, coincides with
the Australian karta of the Gudang of Cape York. Again, a complication is
introduced by the word buni-mata = eyebrow. Here mata = eye, and,
consequently, buni = brow. This root re-appears in the Erroob; but there
it means the eyeball, as shown by the following words from Jukes'
Vocabulary:

Eye : irkeep
Eyebrow : irkeep-moos = eye-hair.
Eyeball : poni.
Eyelid : poni-pow = eyeball-hair.

Probably the truer meaning of the Redscar Bay word is eyeball.

No inference is safer than that which brings the population of the
Louisiade Archipelago, so far, at least, as it is represented by the
Vocabularies of Brierly Island and Duchateau Island, from the eastern
coast of New Guinea. What points beyond were peopled from Louisiade is
another question.

For the islands between New Ireland and New Caledonia our data are
lame