CHAPTER IX. 



ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF THE INDIAN AND PACIFIC OCEANS. 



Having never made the science of Ethnology 

 my study, I feel some diffidence in attempting to 

 contribute to its stores. My reasons for making that 

 attempt, are, firstly, that very little is known of some 

 of the people that we visited, and secondly, that in 

 what has been published respecting them there 

 seemed to me to be one or two errors, which our 

 observations might enable me to correct. In order 

 to put the subject in a clearer light, I shall endea- 

 vour to give a slight sketch of the three principal 

 races of men, that inhabit the islands of the Indian 

 and Pacific Oceans. These three principal races 

 are, 1. The Malay o- Polynesian. *Q. The Papuan. 

 3. The Australian. The first are comparatively well 

 known, and much information has lately been given 

 to the world respecting the last, but of the second, 

 or Papuan race, the published accounts are very 

 meagre and scanty. It is from our ignorance re- 

 specting them that one of the errors I speak of has 

 arisen, namely, the confounding them with the Aus- 

 tralians, and classing both under one head, that of 

 Melanesians.* My principal object in this chapter 



* In the last edition of Dr. Prichard's Researches into the 

 Physical History of Mankind, this error is in great measure 



