689 ON THE LEDAING CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PAPUANS &C. 
The highest state of the art among the Papuans, without foreign 
assistance, is met with in Torres Strait and upon the South coast of 
New Guinea. Here they possess large canoes of such construction 
and propelled in so peculiar a manner, that we must consider them 
purely Papuan. Some very excellent sketches of these canoes are 
given in Flinder’s voyage, with so full a description that it will be 
unnecesary for me to enter into minute particular. These canoes 
or boats are from thirty to forty feet long, and the planks with 
which they are construted are sewed together with the fibres of the 
cocoanut. Each is provided with an outrigger, and a platform of 
bamboo occupies the centre of the boat on a level with the gunwale. 
They are propelled in calm weather by paddles with long handles, 
the rowers all standing, as is generally the case among the Papuans. 
But the most striking peculiarity of there vessels consists in the 
sail, which is an oblong piece of matting set up in the fore part of 
vessel by means of two poles or masts, to which the upper corners 
of the sail are fastened. These masts are moveable, and the sail is 
trimmed by shifting the head of one of the masts aft. According to 
my experience these boats sail very indifferently, except before the 
wind, but Captain Flinders, who had good opportunities of judging, 
maintains a more favorable opinion. They are often to be met with 
about the month of March three four or hundred miles down the 
North-East coast of Australia, the islanders being in the habit of 
making an annual voyage in this direction. The stopping places 
are usually the islands lying off the coast, where they obtain 
tortoise-shell and trepang, the chief objects of their voyages. 
The natives of the south coast of New Guinea have very large 
canoes of a similar but more unweildy construction, and propelled 
by a similar description of sail. These have never been seen far 
from the coast, and in fact are almost unmanageable from the 
difficulty experienced in steering such unweildy masses with paddles 
alone. It is therefore difficult to conceive for what purpose they 
have been constructed, unless it should be for war, in which case 
their large size would give them an imposing appearance. 
The New Guinea canoes generally are of light construction and 
are provided with an outrigger. The larger ones have an attap roof 
and are capable of containing an entire family, with household 
furniture and domestic animals. 
