lie TRAVELS IN TOE EAST INDIAN ARCUIPELAGO. 



and Chinese, Portuguese, Dntcli, Englieb, and prob- 

 ably American fatliers, of eveiy possible degree of 

 mixture^ a perfect Gordian knot for tlie ablest eth- 

 nologist. Each of these varieties of natives had 

 some peculiarity in dress, and one wore the hair 

 long and frizzled ; but I doubt whether they could 

 be referred to the true Papuan type. They ai> 

 peared to be fair specimens of the aljorigiuea, who 

 have been already mentioned as inhabiting the in- 

 terior of Floi is, Solor, Omblata, Pintai', and Ombay. 

 The natives of Sa\Ti are described as belonging to 

 this same group, which Mn Crawfurd calls the ^^egro- 

 Malayan race. The Rajah of Savn was at Kupang 

 while we were tbere^ and certainly was nearly of 

 pure Malay blood. 



Contraiy to what would be supposed, from its 

 position, the island of Eotti, off the southern end of 

 TimuT, is inhabited by a lank-haii*ed race, who are 

 pi-obably Malays. They were represented to me, by 

 the Resident of Kupang, as a most peaceable people, 

 and very different in this respect from the wild 

 natives of Tiniur. On the southeast coast of Timur, 

 near Mount Alias, there is said to be a tribe of black 

 people whose hair is frizzled, and, instead of being 

 evenly distributed over the scalp, is collected into 

 little tufts, a characteristic which seems to separate 

 the Papuans from all other people. Mr. Earl says * 

 tliat some of the people on the table-land l>ack of 

 Dilli have " opaque yellow complexions, the ex|)osed 

 ■paxta of the skin being covered with light-brown 



* " Native Races of the East Indian Archipelago, Papuatts," by George 

 Windsor Earl, M. R. A. S. London, 1853. 



