462 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1889. 



PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF THE NATIVES. 



In describing* the personal appearance of the islanders (Plate XIV) 

 the early writers give us a pleasing variety to choose from. Behrens 

 solemnly states that a boat came off to the ship steered by a single man, 

 a giant 1U feet high, etc. He afterwards observes, " with truth, I might 

 say that these savages are all of more than gigantic size. The men are 

 tall and broad in proportion, averaging 12 feet in height. Surprising as 

 it may appear, the tallest men on board of our ship could pass between 

 the legs of these children of Goliath without bending the head. The 

 women can not compare (Fig. 3) in stature with the men, as they are 



i 

 \ 



Fig. 3. 

 Native women. 



commonly not above 10 feet high." Roggeveeii does not commit himself 

 to a measurement, but states "the people are well proportioned of 

 limb, having large and strong muscles, and are great in stature. They 

 have snow-white teeth, which are uncommonly strong; indeed, even 

 among the aged and gray we were surprised to see them crack large 

 hard nuts whose shells were thicker than those of our peach seeds." La 

 Perouse contradicts the account as to their enormous height and 

 praises the beauty of the women, who, he says, resemble Europeans in 

 color and features. M. Rollin states that the females were more liber- 

 ally endowed, with grace and beauty than any which were afterwards 



