6,2 
PORTER’S JOURNAL- 
were pilfered from the sailors by their girls, and this was in all 
probability in retaliation for the tricks which had been played on 
them. I he clothing of the officers and men which were wash’ 
ed at a stream, much frequented by the natives of both sexes, at 
the distance of near half a mile from the camp, were frequently 
exposed to them, and might easily have been carried off unper¬ 
ceived; but no article of this nature was ever lost, and I am in¬ 
clined to believe that an honester or more friendly and better dis¬ 
posed people do not exist under the sun. They have been stig¬ 
matized by the name of savages; it is a term wrongly applied; 
they rank high in the scale of human beings, whether we con¬ 
sider them morally or physically. We find them brave, gene¬ 
rous, honest, and benevolent, acute, ingenious, and intelligent, and 
their beauty and regular proportions of their bodies, correspond 
with the perfections of their minds: they are far above the com¬ 
mon stature of the human race, seldom less than five feet eleven 
inches, but most commonly six feet two or three inches, and 
every way proportioned: their faces are remarkably handsome, 
with keen, piercing eyes; teeth white, and more beautiful than 
ivory; countenances open and expressive, which bespeak every 
emotion of their souls; limbs which might serve as a model 
for a statuary, and strength and activity proportioned to their ap¬ 
pearance: the skin of the men is of a dark copper-colour, but 
that of the youths and girls is of a light brown—the first are 
as beautiful as those of any part of the world; but the latter, al¬ 
though possessing intelligent and open countenances, fine eyes and 
teeth, and much acuteness and vivacity, are far from being as 
handsome as the men—their limbs and hands (particularly the 
latter) are more beautifully proportioned than those of any other 
women; but a graceless walk, and a badly shaped foot, occasion¬ 
ed by going without shoes, take greatly from their charms. 
They possess much cunning, much coquetry, and no fidelity: 
the first proves a mind filled with intelligence and susceptible 
of improvement; the second is natural to their sex in every part 
of the world; and the third they do not consider as necessary; 
it is not expected of them by their husbands; and although 
transient visitors, like us, may have wished it, and they knew that 
it would have been agreeable, still they could not be persuaded 
