AUSTRALIA, OR AUSTRALASIA 



987 



Massacre Islander. 



to the coasts, and even this is very shght. It ap- 

 pears to be still doubtful whether what is called by 

 some Louisiade is not a part of Papua ; the latter, 

 called also A''ew Guinea., is separated from New 

 Holland by Torres 's Strait, and from New Britain 

 by Dampier's Strait. The extent of New Britain 

 and New Ireland is not known, nor has the group 

 of which they form a part ever been examined with 

 accuracy enough to determine of what number 

 of islands it consists. SoIoinon''s Islands have 

 been rarely visited. JVew Hebrides consists of a 

 cluster of islands, some of which are of consid- 

 erable magnitude ; Espirilu Santo and JMallicolo 

 are the principal. The group of the Fejee 

 Islands is much resorted to by American ships 

 for beche de mar and tortoise shell. 



Captain Morrill, who recently discovered the 

 Massacre Islands, in about 5° south, and 156° 

 east, describes the natives as being nearly as 

 dark-skinned as Africans. The annexed sketch 

 was dravVn from one of the men that he brought 

 with him to New York in 1832. He was well 

 formed, with curly hair. His head had the 

 shape of the Ethiopian race, but he seemed 

 better made, and possessed a more intelligent 

 countenance, than most negroes. 

 5. Inhabitants. Australia, with the exception of a few Malays upon the northwestern coast, 

 and some Polynesians in the northeast, is inhabited by a black race, who have been called 

 Melanesians,* to distinguish them from the negroes of Africa. The Melanesians are in gene- 

 ral the most barbarous, degraded, brutal, and hideously ugly of the human race. Those of 

 New Holland and Australia are the lowest in the scale. They are thin and ill made, with flat 

 noses, wide nostrils, sunken eyes, thick lips, and black and clotted, but not woolly hair ; in 

 complexion they vary from bronze to jet black. They are often without clothing, without 

 dwellings, living in the open air, and sleeping in the crevices of rocks, or under the bushes. 

 They are ignorant of the use of the bow, but are armed with spears or clubs ; those on the 



coasts live upon fish, and those of the interior 

 chiefly upon insects, roots, eggs, berries, and 

 kangaroos. They have no regular government, 

 laws, or religion, living in litde tribes, or ra- 

 ther in families ; and their courtship consists 

 in knocking down the intended bride, and 

 dragging her away bleeding to the woods. 



The inhabitants of Papua and the other 

 northern islands are superior in appearance and 

 habits ; they are better formed, though extreme- 

 ly ugly ; most of them wear some sort of cloth- 

 ing, and some of them have permanent habi- 

 tations. Those to the east are still more ad- 

 vanced, many of them have bows and arrows, 

 cook their food, make nets and sails of the fi- 

 bres of the plantain ; and display much skill and 

 ingenuity in the construction of their canoes. 



A'eiD Hollanders. 



From two Greek words signirying Black Islanders. 



