398 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRArilY AND TRAVEL 



the Karons be of Negrito stock. Tor as long a period 

 as Europeans have been acquainted with the country, 

 that is to say from the beginning of the sixteenth 

 century, its inhabitants have been known by the name 

 they nov/ bear, the derivation, according to Crawfurd, 

 being from the Malayan papuvxc or 'puivali-'puwah, 

 " woolly-haired." Although the pure race appears to be 

 confined to the north-western part, and perhaps to the 

 interior, the Papuan of mixed blood is found from Flores 

 in the west to Fiji in the east, though his range in point 

 of latitude is not great, and is, roughly speaking, limited 

 by the equator and Torres Strait. 



Professor Keane speaks of the Papuan as " one of the 

 most strikingly distinct types of mankind," and the de- 

 scription would probably be acknowledged as just by most 

 traA^ellers acquainted with the pure race. In southern 

 and eastern New Guinea the natives differ widely from 

 the type, and differ also much among themselves in many 

 ways — -a fact that has led some observers to the conclusion 

 that the Papuan cannot be regarded as a distinct race. 

 The typical individual nevertheless exhibits such marked 

 characteristics, both physically and mentally, that he forms 

 an extraordinary contrast with his neighbour, the ]\Ialay, 

 and it is impossible for any one who has studied the 

 latter people on the one hand, and the Austrahans and 

 brown Polynesians on the other, to doubt that any such 

 conclusion is erroneous. 



The typical Papuan may be described as follows : — He 

 is decidedly tall in stature, much surpassing the Malay 

 in this respect, and being equal, and even superior, to the 

 average European. He is strongly built, but the legs 

 are thin and weak, and he is usually more or less " spur- 

 heeled " ; but the hands and feet are large, and contrast 

 greatly with the Malay fineness of bone. The colour of 



