r long and soft without conveying any harsh feeling to the touch.

COLOUR OF THE HAIR AND SKIN.

In colour too it varied, although usually black, and when long, pale or
reddish at the tips;* yet some people of both sexes were observed having
it naturally of a bright red colour, but still woolly. The beard and
moustache, when present, which is seldom the case, are always scanty, and
there is very little scattered hair upon the body.

(*Footnote. Probably artificially produced, as is known to be effected by
means of lime water, by the inhabitants of the north-west coast of New
Guinea.)

The colour of the skin varies from a light to a dark copper colour, the
former being the prevailing hue; individuals of a light yellowish brown
hue are often met with, but this colour of the skin is not accompanied by
distinctive features.

STATURE AND STRENGTH.

The average stature of these Papuans is less than our own, being only
about five feet four inches; this did not appear to be the case when seen
alongside, but on board the ship, and especially when clothed, the
difference became very apparent. Although well made, and far surpassing
us in agility, they were our inferiors in muscular power. Their strength
was tested by means of a deep-sea lead weighing twenty-two pounds which
none of the natives could hold out at arm's length, although most of us
who tried it experienced no difficulty in sustaining the weight for a few
seconds.

Among the people who came alongside the ship one day we noticed two cases
of that kind of elephantiasis called Barbadoes Leg, in one combined with
enormous distension of the scrotum, which was larger than a man's head,
and studded with warts. One of these unfortunate objects had both legs
much swollen, especially about the ankle, where the skin was almost
obliterated by large scab-like warts, the other, besides the diseased
leg, had a huge tumour on the inner side of the right thigh.

WEAPONS.

The weapons procured at this place consist of spears, clubs, a wooden
sword, and a shield. Of the first there are several kinds, all larger and
heavier than those obtained at the Louisiade, but, like them, made of
hard, heavy, well-polished coconut wood. The spears vary in length from
nine to eleven feet, with a diameter, where thickest, of rather more than
an inch. From their great weight it would scarcely be possible to throw
them with effect to a greater distance than from fifteen to twenty yards,
and, j