716 General Notes. (July, 
D'Albertis in his voyage up the Fly river missed the main body 
of water. 
J. Peltzer writes from Tucson, Arizona, to the Société Royal 
Belge de Géographie, to prove that the Polynesians are not a 
Malay, but a pre-Malay race. This race he believes to be identi- 
cal with the Dyaks of Borneo, and to have spread from that 
island over Sumatra, Java, and other East Indian islands, previ- 
ous to the arrival of the Malays. Everywhere where they colo- 
nized they displaced the Papuan races, but when the Malays came 
as a conquering race from the coasts of Hindostan, towards the 
first century of our era, this people of Dyak origin was partly 
pressed in to the interior of the Jarge islands, but partly emigrated 
eastward in their prahus, colonizing the islands of Oceanica. 
The Malays, once Brahminists, are now Mussulmans, and every- 
where repudiate any relationship with the peoples of the interior, 
the “Orangs Benua” or “men of the land” of Sumatra, the 
“ Orangs Goenong” or “men of the mountains” of Java, or the 
Dyaks of Borneo. : 
M. Peltzer asserts that the Polynesian languages do not contain 
more than thirty words of Malay origin, a number which may 
easily be accounted for by the relations between the Dyaks and 
the Malays who conquered the coast of Borneo. There are great 
resemblances between the traditions and religious customs of the 
Dyaks and of the Polynesians. The Tabu of the latter is identi- 
cal with the Pamali of the former. Among both peoples igs 
has an inferior position, yet may become chief or queen 0 : 
tribe. Both peoples build large dwellings used in common. e 
Tahitians and people of the Marquesas expose their dead on pa 
forms, and the Dyaks expose the bodies of their chiefs in a 5! 
lar way. 
GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES. 
ascending Takht-i-Suliman, overlooking the Indus per 
triangulated over 50,000 square miles from its summit——~ 
furthest point inland reached by Lieut. Armil, though ‘te oo 
from Port Moresby, was probably not more than forty k 
southern coast. The natives were found to be very fie 
country was mountainous and difficult, but exceeding YT 
and beautiful——Mr. H. Drummond reports that the sol’ à: 
of Lake Shirwa is thin and poor, and the district quite unin 
It is evidently the dried-up bed of a much larger eree than it 
height of the lake was found to be lower by nearly 200 fee F 
; . ded in 
Major Holdich has mer a 
Th 
is given on Ravenstein’s map, where it is marked 2000 Shirwa, 
natives say that the Lujenda does not flow out of ergo a 
but is separated from it by a large sandbank. a ish miles 
reports land north-east of Spitzbergen, about 110 ris seen bY 
om Rep island. This is probably the same as tha 
Capt. Kjeldsen in 1876, and named White island. 
