NORTH AUSTEALIANS. 
189 
islanders ; but in tlie neighbouring continent of Australia 
the prevailing character of the hair is straight, or only 
slightly waved, and often fine and silky, even among the 
aborigines of Cape York, who from their close proximity 
to the recognized Papuan tribes which inhabit the islaudg 
of Torres Strait, might reasonably be expected to bear 
some affinity to them in this particular. Frizzled hair is, 
however, very common among several of the aboriginal 
Australian tribes, more especially those of the north and 
north-east coasts, and from the rough appearance of their 
uncombed locks when cut short, travellers have, on several 
occasions, been led to suppose that their hair resembled 
the wool of negroes, tmtil andeeeived by a close inspection. 
But the peculiar tufted hair of the Papuan has never, so 
far as the writer^s own experience goes, yet been detected 
among the aborigines of the continent of Australia. 
The Macassar trepan g- fishers, who make annual visits 
to the north coast of Australia, assert that tufted woolly 
hair is common among the natives of Melville Island, 
with whom they hold occasional intercourse ; and it is 
certain that the native tribes of the neighbouring coast of 
Australia look upon the Melville islanders as belonging 
to another race, while at the same time they recognize 
their own affinity with the coast tribes to the east and west, 
with whom they are brought into correspondence by the 
trepan g-fishers ; the latter generally having a few of the 
natives in their vessels to act as divers in procuring the 
sea-slug from the deeper parts of the fishing grounds* 
Ab Melville Island is only one hundred and seventy miles 
distant fi-om Timor-Laut, an account of the Papuan tribes 
of the Indian Archipelago would scarcely be complete 
