310 A NATUr.ALIST^S WANDEIilXGS 



profuse; but they fake little or no care of it, simply t^Yisting 

 it into a knot beLind, ^vliere it is transfixed with a neatly 



ornamented comK They never dye it, that apparently being 

 the prerogative of the raale sex alone. 



The men vary very greatly in stature : some are short and 

 thick-set, and reach little over 5 feet, if they even attain that 

 height* The greater proportion are tall, well formed men of 

 about 5 feet 11 inches, but some stand well over 6 feet 

 splendid looking fellows with perfect frames and magnificent 

 muscles. In their walk they stride forward in a jerky, 

 bouncing style, which gives to the head and their hair 

 when combed out behind, a q^uick nodding motion. Their 

 whole motion is full of grace, but so proportioned are they that 

 it really seems scarcely possible for them to move ungrace- 

 fully. As youths they are splendid examples of the human 

 form ; as children not a few of both sexes are really pretty 

 in face and figure, but unfortunately they are frequently dis- 

 figured by an enormously distended stomach and abdomen, 

 which induces a sad and sickly expression of countenance. 

 The women vary greatly also; some being short and thick-set, 

 scarcely reaching 5 feet, wliile others are as tall as the taller 

 of the men. Many of the girls are handsome, and a few are 

 even beauties, with pensive eyes, delicate features, and fault- 



h 



less in contour of body and limb ; but as they pass into the 

 married state their features become coarser, yet on the whole 

 neither sex can be called u'dv. 



The colour of their smooth soft skin is a rich chocolate brown ; 

 but here and there among them occurs a quite black-skinned 

 individual, who is at once remarkable as being an exception to 

 the prevailing colour. In feature the forehead retreats slightly 

 from the prominent superciliary ridges, as seen in profile. E^i 

 face it is somewhat flat. In the malar roijion, in some the 

 cheek-bones are very prominent ; while in others, again, this 

 feature is as little observable. The brows are low, but not con- 

 spicuously hairy. The eyes are small and narrow, and in somo 

 of them a slight obliquity is observable, Avhile, on the other hand, 

 there are those with the eyeball very prominent. There are two 

 distinct forms of nose among them : one in which that feature is 

 very low between the eyes, advancing with a straight dorsum to 

 the retrousse tip, which discloses both nostrils conspicuously, 



