PAPUANS, AUSTRALIANS, AND MALAYU-POLYNESIANS 688 
in conical sha ped huts ; or where they appear as occupants of the 
sea coast, roaming about in small canoes in search of food. Some 
of the more independent tribes, by which I mean those who have 
exclusive possessson of the country they inhabit, have, however 
adopted many impro vements. In several parts of the north and 
of the south coasts of New Guinea, the villages consist of one laro- e 
house, erected on piles, and occupied by all the married peopfe 
with a smaller one adjacent for the bachelors. These houses bear 
a very close resemblance to those of the Dyaks of Borneo, but are 
smaller and of more rough construction. Here the Papuans also 
cultivate fruits, yams, and sweet potatoes, and keep hogs and poultry 
to kill for food, in fact are almost on a level, as far as re°*ards 
agi iculture, with the more uncivilized tribes of the IVIalayu-PoIyne- 
sians, from whom, indeed, if we may judge from the names employed 
to designate their agricultural productions, the have derived this 
slight, but important advance they have made in civilization. 
The weapons of the Papuans are heavy wooden clubs, spears 
or lances of nibonij or other hard wood, and darts formed of a 
small kind of bambu, provided with points of hard wood or of 
sharpened bone. The lances are projected generally by means 
of a becket of sennit about a foot and a half long, one end of which 
is provided with a toggle. This is held between the fingers, 
™ i °ther end is fastened to the lance with what sailors call 
a , half-hitch . knot, which flies off when the lance is projected, 
thus allowing it to go free. The becket gives a greatly increased 
purchase to the thrower, but is much inferior in this respect to the 
womera or “ throwing stick” of the Australians, which will be des¬ 
cribed when we come to speak of that people. The darts are 
projected by means of a powerful bow, often six feet in length, 
with a bow-string of rattan. I suspect that this instrument was not 
originally Papuan, but has been adopted from the Polynesians, 
©tone axes, and knives of quartz are now superseded among all 
those tribes who have either direct or indirect communication with 
Jhe traders of the Archipelago, by Parangs, or Chopping-knives of 
iron. 'Iheir agricultural instruments are mere stakes of wood, 
sharpened at one end, which prove sufficient to effect the rude 
interference with nature required by their mode of cultivation. 
The art of navigation appears never to have been in a very 
advanced state among the Papuans, since their navigation has 
only extended to those countries which could be reached from the 
continent of Asia without entailing the necessity of going out of 
sight of land, nor are they yet sufficiently advanced in the science 
of navigation to venture on any other than coasting voyages. 
Towards the eastern limits of the Papuan race, where they come 
in close contact, and are often mixed with the Polynesians, naviga¬ 
tion is m a more advanced state than elsewhere, but this is evidently 
the result of contact with strangers, by whom, indeed the navigation 
is personally conducted. ° 
