PART III.— ZOOLOGY. 
I. VERTEBRATA. 
CLASS I. — MAMMALIA. 
Homo, Linn. 
H. sapiens, Linn. — As is elsewhere stated, there were no human 
beings on the Island when it was discovered ; yet in the present day 
the term “natives” has, it appears, its significant application there. 
The “natives” of St. Helena are rather tall, slight built, good featured 
specimens of the human race, with straight hair, good evenly-set 
white teeth not prone to decay easily, and pleasing countenances; their 
general colour is a very light brown or copper, sometimes deepening 
into nearly black, and in other cases becoming almost white. They 
speak very fair English as their only language, and are not a little 
proud of their local designation of “Yam stalks.” Their ancestors 
came from various parts of the world, though chiefly from Europe 
and Asia, and there is now some difficulty in tracing the prevailing ele- 
ment in their composition, or in saying which predominates, whether 
it is Portuguese, Dutch, English, Malay, East Indian, or Chinese. 
Their early history was that of slavery through a couple of 
centuries, indeed until the year 1832, when they were emancipated 
by the East India Company purchasing their freedom for a large 
sum; hut, as might he expected, they possessed none of those 
qualifications which are absolutely necessary to command success 
in settlers. The habits of dependence and indolence, as well as 
ignorance, which so long a period of slavery had engrafted, remain 
to this day evident, not only in individuals, but pervading the whole 
character of the place. The “ Yam stalks” must not be confounded 
with the Africans or negroes, as the greatest insult they can hurl at 
one another is the epithet of “ nigger ;” they respect and look up to 
the Europeans and white population, but consider themselves as occu- 
pying a much higher step on the ladder of social position than the 
Africans, who certainly had the disadvantage of arriving at the Island 
