488 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 



and the Phcenix group already mentioned are several 

 small islands, widely separated, which are of little im- 

 portance except for the guano yielded by them. The 

 last Polynesian archipelago is that of the Hawaii or 

 Sandwich Islands, situated far away on the northern 

 tropic, with a long chain of smaller islets stretching to- 

 wards the north-west. Finally, isolated from all other 

 lands by a vast expanse of sea, we have Easter Island, 

 lying about midway between the Low Archipelago and 

 the coast of South America. 



2. The Polynesian Race. 



As all the Polynesian Islands are inhabited by one 

 race, which differs very httle in the several islands, 

 we will give here a brief general description of this in- 

 teresting people, the Tongans and Samoans being taken 

 as typical examples, except when other islands are 

 specially referred to. 



The Polynesians, according to the universal testimony 

 of travellers and residents, are one of the very finest 

 races on the globe. Lord George Campbell, in his de- 

 scription of the voyage of the Challenger, says — " There 

 are no people in the world who strike one at first so 

 much as these Friendly Islanders. Their clear, light, 

 copper-brown coloured skins, yellow and curly hair, good- 

 humoured, handsome faces, their tout ensemhle, formed a 

 novel and splendid picture of the genus liomo ; and, as far 

 as physique and appearance go, they gave one certainly 

 an impression of being a superior race to ours." Cap- 

 tain Erskine, speaking of the same people, says — " The 

 men were a remarkably fine-looking set of people, and 

 among them were several above six feet high, and of 

 Herculean proportions. One stout fellow attracted atten- 



I 



