83 JUNCTION OF AUSTRALIAN 



tralians : I am now, however, fully convinced that 

 the}?^ afford an example of an Australian tribe so 

 altered by contact with the Papuan tribes of the 

 adjacent islands as at length to resemble the latter 

 in most of their phj^sical, intellectual and moral 

 characteristics. Thus the Kowrareg-as have acquired 

 from their island neighbours the art of cultivating the 

 ground, and their superior dexterity in constructing 

 and navigating large canoes, tog-ether with some 

 customs — such as that of preserving the skulls of 

 their enemies as trophies : Avhile they retain the use 

 of the spear and throwing stick, practise certain 

 mysterious ceremonies connected T\'ith the initiation 

 of boys to the rights of manhood — supposed to be 

 pecuHar to the AustraHan race— and hold the 

 females in the same low and degraded position 

 which they occupy throughout Austraha. 



That the Ko^^Taregas settled the Prince of Wales 

 Islands either prior to or nearly simultaneously with 

 the spreading downwards from New Guinea of the 

 Papuans of the islands, scarcely admits of absolute 

 proof: but that the former have existed as a tribe 

 for a long period of j^ears is shewn by the changes 

 which I presume to have taken place in their lan- 

 guage. While this last unquestionably belongs to 

 the Australian class, as clearly indicated by Dr. 

 Latham's analysis of the pronouns,* one of the 

 characteristic parts of the language, and, therefore, 

 least Hable to chaise, yet the occurrence in the 

 Kowrarega of a considerable number of words re- 



* See the Appendix. 



