32 VOYAGE IN SEARCH 



thcfe people it is a beauty to be very black ; 

 and in order to appear much more fo than they 

 are in reality, they cover chiefly the upper 

 parts of their body with charcoal duft. 



On their fkin is fecn, particularly about the 

 breaft and flioulders, tubercles fymmetrically 

 difpofed, fometimes exhibiting lines a decimeter 

 in length ; at others, fpots placed at different 

 diflances from each other. The cauftic, by 

 means of which they had produced thefe forts 

 of elevations, had not, however, deftroyed the 

 reticular membrane of the fl<:inj for it there 

 preferved the fame colour as in the other parts 

 of the body. 



The cuftom of pulling out two of the upper 

 incifors, which, according to the account of 

 fome navigators, had been thought general 

 among thefe inhabitants, is certainly not intro- 

 duced in this tribe J for we faw none of them 

 that had any wanting in the upper jaw, and 

 they all had very beautiful teeth. 



One of the failors v/ho accomoanied us, 

 imagined that he could not regale them better 

 than by offering them brandy ; but, accuftomed 

 ro drink only water, they very foon fpit it out 

 again; and it appeared to occafion them an ex- 

 tremely difagrceable fen fat ion. 



Thcfe favages, being all naked, arc very apt 

 to hurt themfelvcs, particularly in the lov/er 



extremities. 



