the two, so that I thought the argument was at least over for the time being; but as darkness fell, it flared up again, and soon became general, with the natives rehashing the superstitious murder of Mullawirrabarka's brother. The clubs clattered and the audible blows fell on the heads that I would not have been surprised if a life had been lost. But that wasn't the case; but Idla Waritya was so badly wounded that the blood rushed from his mouth and nose, and several others were badly cut.

December 15th, 1839. Sunday.
This morning, before I got up, the natives had already fought again, namely over a young ( 189 ) girl who an old man named Tainmunda burka* wants to have as his wife and who was also given to him by her father. But she prefers a young person, Pultao*. The girl and another woman also received severe blows. When I arrived that morning, Tainmunda burka went around to the men one by one, handed them weapons, ring-tailed lemurs and wirris, and said words to them that I didn't understand, but that obviously contained an invitation to a fight. But everyone threw away their weapons again, which made the old man so angry that he couldn't contain himself from anger, walking back and forth, lifting his legs alternately as if he wanted to attack someone, and stroking his beard in order to put it in his mouth, which he was too short for. --

With Br. Teichelmann in Klemzig, to my chagrin, not enough that he said that it was rude of Mamsell Teusler to bring me water rather than him, even though he didn't ask for any from her, only from his father, and she didn't know anything about it; but in Fiedler's presence he reproached me for coming from Klemzig late in the evening. I said I didn't need such advice, and when he said he had such a right as a college, ( 190 ) I replied that he didn't have the right, which he took now and then, so Mr. Fiedler said we shouldn't let it get to that point.

When I told Bertha this, just as he said that she was rude, and earlier that Mr. Fiedler's children had no education, [and] pointed out that he didn't know that with Bertha, she asked me with a delightful mildness and gentleness not to be so annoyed about it, at the same time admitting that he was an immoral person. She said that she had long feared that she was not educated enough for Mr. Teichelmann, which I certainly tried to talk her out of. --

As I was walking home from Teichelmann in the evening, I met a native not far from the camp site who didn't really want to speak in response to my questions, and as I got a little further, I saw someone hiding behind a pile of shingles, I asked: Nganna mejo?* [Which man?], but got no answer, instead the person came towards me, and when I asked again Nganna mena parni nabu?* [Who is there? Come out!] and received no answer, I took the hare banner(179) [turn tail and run], since I had no defensive weapon with me. The next morning in Wirraitpinna's house lay the girl over whom the natives had fought that morning, perhaps this was the person who tried to hide behind the shingles.