Malayan and Poli/neaian Lanc/uages and Haces. 161 



Cook describes the inhabitants of Malicolo and of the New 

 Hebrides as a A^ery darlc-coloured and diminutive race, vyith 

 long heads, flat faces, and. monkey countenances ; their hair 

 as black, short, and curly, but not quite so short and woolly 

 as that of the African negro, and their beard as short, crisp, 

 and busily. He pronounces them " an ape-like people," and 

 the most ugly and ill-proportioned he had encountered in the 

 Pacitic ; " qiiite a different nation from any other" he had met 

 with in that sea. 



Cook's account of Tanna, another of the New Hebrides, 

 makes the inhabitants short and sleiider, but with good fea- 

 tures, and agreeable countenances, having hair crisp and 

 woolly, but longer tlian that of the inhabitants of Malicolo. 

 At first he was disposed to think them a mixed race between 

 the latter and the Friendly Islanders, but a little acquaint- 

 ance convinced him they had " little affinity with either." 



The isolated New Caledonia, lying between the 20° of 

 south latitude and the tropic, is inhabited by another race 

 of negroes, plainly differing from those already mentioned. 

 Cook describes them as a strong, robust people, some in- 

 dividuals being found as tall as 6 feet 4 inches. Their colour 

 is the same as that of the inhabitants of Tanna, that is black, 

 but not an ebony black. They had, however, " better fea- 

 tures and more agreeable countenances." " I observed," says 

 ho, " some who had thick lips, flat noses, and full cheeks, 

 and, in some degree, the features and look of a negro.'' The 

 hair he mentions as very much frizzled, so that, at first, it 

 appeared much like that of an African negro, yet was " never- 

 theless very different." The hair, in fact, appears to be of 

 the same texture as that of some of the inhabitants of New 

 Guinea, and was, like that of these, easily dressed into a 

 hideous mop, as already described. 



But we have still another race in the inhabitants of the 

 islands of Torres Straits. Mr Jukes describes the inhabi- 

 tants of Erroob as follows : — " The men were fine, active, 

 well-made fellows, rather above the middle height, of a dark- 

 brown or chocolate colour. They had, frequently, almost 

 handsome faces, aquiline noses, rather broad about the nos- 

 trils, well-shaped heads, and many had a singular Jewish 



VOL. .NLIV. NO. LXXXVII. TAX. 1848. L 



