no PYGMIES AND PAPUANS 



^ y^ the gloss seen in the skin of the African negro. Not 



fl.i^ infrequently we saw men of a lighter, nearly yellow, 



"' is colour, and in the Wakatimi district there were three 



L(i^\P^ pure albinos, a man, a woman and a child. The man 



"^^^^ and woman were covered with blotches of a pinkish 



i) fi/Vi^ pigment and were peculiarly disagreeable to look at , 



the child, a sucking infant, and the offspring of black 



parents, was as white as any European baby, and was 



called, out of compliment to us, " Tuana." * 



The hair is black and thick and frizzly ; it never, 



or seldom grows long, so you do not see the ornamental 



coiffures characteristic of the natives of some other 



parts of the island ; but they are skilful in plaiting 



what there is of it and take some pride in the result. 



fWrCKA Three- or four-pronged combs are worn in the hair 



(jC . more as a means of carrying a useful article than as 



^^^ S^" ornaments. The hair of young children is often quite 



Vj^^ \N&U^ fair, but it becomes dark as they grow up ; some of the 



adults have the custom, common in other places, of 



dyeing the hair yellow with lime. 



The eye of the Papuan child is the eye of any bright 

 dark-eyed child here or elsewhere ; the white of the 

 eye is white and the iris dark and clear. But very 

 soon the white becomes bloodshot and yellow, and the 

 iris blurred. The expression in the eyes is a thing 

 that haunts one by its forlornness and hopelessness ; 

 it cannot be described, but you may see it in the eyes of 

 certain animals. They show a strong disinclination 



* Tua7i = master, v. p. 103. The natives always addressed us as 

 " Tuana," and many babies, of whom their parents were particularly 

 proud, were called " Tuana." 



