a common character of form, feature, hair, and physiognomy,
which I may thus describe. The average height of the males may be taken
to be from five feet five inches to five feet nine inches, though, upon
one occasion, I saw one who exceeded this height by an inch. They are
almost black--in fact, for ordinary description, that word, unqualified
by the adverb, serves the purpose best. Their limbs are spare and light,
but the muscle is finely developed in the superior joint of the arm,
which is probably owing to their constant use of it in throwing the
spear. Some tribes are entirely naked, while others wear girdles of skin
and leaves, hardly sufficient, however, to serve any purpose of decency,
much less of comfort.

PHRENOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT.

Their hair is always dark, sometimes straight and sometimes curled, and
not unfrequently tied up behind; but we saw no instance of a negro, or
woolly, head among them. They wear the beard upon the chin, but not upon
the upper lip, and allow it to grow to such a length as enables them to
champ and chew it when excited by rage; an action which they accompany
with spitting it out against the object of their indignation or contempt.
They have very overhanging brows, and retreating foreheads, large noses,
full lips, and wide mouths: in some cases they want the two foreteeth in
the upper jaw, and while, in any one tribe in which the custom prevails,
it seems to be unanimous, it does not appear to be, by any means,
universally diffused along the whole north-western coast. The
unfavourable impression produced by the prevailing character of their
physiognomy, is confirmed, if their phrenological conformation is taken
into consideration; and certainly, if the principles of that science are
admitted to be true, these savages are woefully deficient in all the
qualities which contribute to man's moral supremacy. Let me, in justice,
add, that while we found them ignorant and incurious to the last degree,
they were generally suspicious rather than treacherous, and not
insensible to such acts of kindness as they could comprehend.

Upon all this extent of coast, we saw no single instance of the use, or
even existence, of any proa, or canoe; and my own opinion, strengthened
by personal experience, and enforced by the authority of the most recent
navigators, is, that the canoe is not used upon the north-west coast. The
negative evidence, at least, is strongly in favour of this presumption;
for, whi