398 HISTORY OF 



are, in general, of a slender shape, with long straight black hair, 

 and often with Roman noses. Thus they resemble the Euro- 

 peans in stature and features ; but greatly differ in colour and 

 liabit of body. The Indians are of an olive colour, and, in the 

 more southern parts, quite black ; although the word Mogul, in 

 their language, signifies a white man. The women are extremely 

 delicate, and bathe very often ; they are of an olive colour, as 

 well as the men : their legs and thighs are long, and their bodies 

 short, which is the opposite to what is seen among the women 

 ot Europe. They are, as I am assured, by no means so fruit- 

 ful as the European women ; but they feel the pains of child- 

 birth with much less sensibility, and are generally up and well 

 the day following. In fact, these pains seem greatest in all 

 countries where the women are most delicate, or the constitution 



slaves. Many of the latter are almost black, and below the middle size. The 

 New Zealauders exhibit as much variety in features as the Europeans ; 

 there is little national character in their countenances, which, before they 

 come to the age for being tattooed, may be called regular and pleasing. 



The natives of the Friendly Islands have a general resemblance to the New 

 Zealanders, but are more civilized; they are of the ordinary European 

 stature, though some are above six feet ; their colour is a deep brown, 

 verging in the better classes to a light olive ; their features are various, 

 and many have the true European cast of countenance ; their hair is 

 straight, thick, and strong. That they have made some progress in civili- 

 sation is evident from the fact of their having terms to express numbers to 

 100,000. 



The people of Otaheite, and the Society Islea, are the handsomest of the 

 South Seas. The complexion of the higher orders is described as white, 

 tinctured with a brownish yellow ; and, in some of the women a blush is 

 clearly distinguishable in the cheek. From this, we find among the lower 

 orders all the intermediate hues down to the deepest brown ; black is the 

 usual colour of the hair, and of a fine texture, but brown, red, and flaxen 

 hair has been observed among them ; they are of ihe largest size of Euro- 

 peans, and well-made ; their features are good in general, but the nose is 

 usually somewhat flatfish ; corpulence is common among them ; their lan- 

 guage is more harmonious, and their manners more refined than those of any 

 other of the South Sea islanders. 



Tlie people of the Marquesas are considered the finest in the Southern 

 Ocean ; and in form are, perhaps, the finest in the world ; their average sta- 

 lure is from five feet ten to six feet. The practice of tattooing makes the 

 men appear dark, but the women and children are very fair; their hair, like 

 ours, is of various colours, but red is not found among them. 



■It is said that the Otaheitan skull approximates to the Negro, while the 

 colour so wiaeiy aiffers ; on the contrary, the natives of the Friendly Islands, 

 though very dark in colour, liave more rf the European cast of head and 

 features. 



