1778* THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 211 



keen, intelligent disposition. Their visage, especially 

 amongst the women, is sometimes round ; but others 

 have it long ; nor can we say that they are distin- 

 guished, as a nation, by any general cast of counte- 

 nance. Their colour is nearly of a nut-brown, and 

 it may be difficult to make a nearer comparison, if 

 we take in all the different hues of that colour ; but 

 some individuals are darker. The women have been 

 already mentioned, as being little more delicate than 

 the men in their formation ; and I may say that, with 

 a very few exceptions, they have little claim to those 

 peculiarities that distinguish the sex in other coun- 

 tries. There is, indeed, a more remarkable equality 

 in the size, colour, and figure of both sexes, than in 

 most places 1 have visited. However, upon the 

 whole, they are far from being ugly, and appear to 

 to have few natural deformities of any kind. Their 

 skin is not very soft, nor shining ; perhaps for want 

 of oiling, which is practised at the southern islands; 

 but their eyes and teeth are, in general, very toler- 

 able. The hair, for the greatest part, is straight, 

 though, in some, frizzling ; and though its natural 

 colour be commonly black, it is stained, as at the 

 Friendly and other islands. We saw but few instances 

 of corpulence ; and these oftener among the women 

 than the men ; but it was chiefly amongst the latter 

 that personal defects were observed, though, if any 

 of them can claim a share of beauty, it was most 

 conspicuous amongst the young men. 



They are vigorous, ' active, and most expert swim- 

 mers ; leaving their canoes upon the most trifling 

 occasion ; diving under them, and swimming to others 

 though at a great distance. It was very common to 

 see women, with infants at the breast, when the surf 

 was so high that they could not land in the canoes, 

 leap overboard, and without endangering their little 

 ones, swim to the shore, through a sea that looked 

 dreadful. 



They seem to be blest with a frank, cheerful dis- 



p 2 



