the great projection and height of the cheek-bones and depression at the temples; the chin narrow in front, slightly receding, with prominent angles to the jaw; the nose more or less flattened and widened at the wings, with dilated nostrils, a broad, slightly arched and gradually rounded bridge, pulled down at the tip by the use of the nose-stick; and the mouth rather wide, with thickened lips, and incisors flattened on top as if ground down. Although the hair of the head is almost invariably woolly, and, if not cropped close or shaved, frizzled out into a mop, instances were met with in which it had no woolly tendency, but was either in short curls, or long and soft, without conveying any harsh feeling to the touch. In color, too, it varied, although usually black, and when long, pale or reddish at the tips [caused perhaps by the use of lime-water]; yet some people of both sexes were observed having it naturally of a bright-red color, 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. The color of the skin varies from a light to a dark copper-color, the former being the prevailing hue; individuals of a light-yellowish brown hue are often met with, but this color of the skin is not accompanied by distinctive features. The average stature of these Papuans is less than our own, being only about five feet four inches."[1]
In what manner the natives of Australia impressed the earlier voyagers is told by Dampier:—"They have great bottle-noses, pretty full lips, and wide mouths. The two fore teeth of their upper-jaw are wanting in all of them, men and women, old and young; whether they draw them out I know not; neither have they any beards. They are long-visaged, and of a very unpleasing aspect, having no one graceful feature in their faces. Their hair is black, short, and curled, like that of the negroes, and not long and lank like the common Indians. The color of their skins, both of their faces and the rest of their body, is coal-black, like that of the negroes of Guinea."[2]
The French who accompanied La Perouse said, after visiting the coast of New South Wales, that in their whole voyage they nowhere found so poor a country nor such miserable people; and yet how rich is the country! and how interesting are the natives that once peopled it! Until the white man invaded their shores they were happy.
Half-castes.
Many of the half-castes in Victoria present peculiarities that are of great interest. The complexion of the females is generally a pale-brown (usually called olive), and they do not often show much red on the cheeks, though there are marked exceptions to this. The boys, on the other hand, have, as a rule, bright, clear complexions, with red cheeks; and some could not be distinguished from children of European parents. There are ordinarily patches of light-brown hair mixed with the dark-brown hair of their heads; but I have never seen any peculiarities of color in the eye. Amongst Europeans we see occasionally persons having differently colored eyes—the iris of one eye being brown,
