Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.2): between the years 1826 and 1836 : describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagles's circumnavigation of the globe

548 PROPORTIONS — ATTIRE. NoV. are rounded, and smooth. They stride along in an imposing manner, occasionally recalling ideas of the giants of history. Although, generally speaking, they are taller than the Pata- gonians, they do not, to the eye, appear so large. This ocular deception must arise from the better proportion of the Otahei- tans. The native of Patagonia has a large, coarse looking head, with high cheek bones, and a 'mane-like' head of hair: his shoulders are high and square ; his chest very wide ; while to heighten the effect of these traits, each of which gives one an idea of size, a great rough mantle, made of the woolly skin of the guanaco, thrown loosely round his shoulders, hangs almost to his feet. But the Otaheitan head is singularly well formed ; and, if phrenology is not altogether a delusion, few men are more capable of receiving instruction, or doing credit to their teachers, than these islanders, so often described, yet by no means enough known. Their hands, and more especially their feet, have been said to be of the Papua form ; but the shape of the latter is owing, it appears to me, to their always going barefooted : and I observed their hands particularly with- out being able to distinguish any peculiarity whatever in the form. The young men frequently wear a wreath of leaves, or flowers, round the head, which, though becoming, has rather a Bacchanalian appearance. Some cut their hair short, others shave the greater part of their head, but solely from caprice not one could give me any reason beyond that which is implied in " it is the fashion." It is seldom that one meets a native entirely naked ; I mean naked excepting the girdle which is always worn : genei-ally they have a gannent, or a piece of one, obtained from a white man. These remnants, often tattered, and, among the lower classes, always dirty, disfigure them much. Those whom I saw, with only a native girdle, but whose bodies were tattowed in the old fashion, appeared to my eye much less naked than the yovmg men, not tattowed, and only half clothed. I shall not forget the very unpleasant impression made upon my mind, at first landing, by seeing a number of feniales, and children, with a few men, half dressed in the scanty, dii'ty, and tattered