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

570 COLOUR MANNER PRIDE. DcC. Few engravings, or paintings, show the real expression, fea- tures, or even colour of the Polynesian tribes. They give us a half naked, perhaps tattowed* manor woman ; but the counte- nance almost always proves the European habits of the artist. The features have a European cast, quite different from the original, and the colouring is generally unlike ; especially iu coloured engravings. The general complexion of both women and men is a dark, coppery-brown ; but it varies from the lightest hue of copper to a rich mahogany or chocolate, and in some cases almost to black. The natural colour of the skin is much altered by paint, dirt, and exposure. Before closing this slight description of the personal appearance of the Zealanders, I must allude to the remarkable shape of their teeth. In a white man the enamel usually covers all the tooth, whether front or double ; but the teeth of a man of New Zealand are like those of the Fuegians, and at a first elance remind, one of those of a horse. Either they are all worn down — canine, cutting-teeth, and grinders to an uniform height, so that their interior texture is quite exposed, or they are of a peculiar structure.-f* The New Zealanders"" salutation has often been talked of as ' rubbing noses,' it is, in fact, touching, or crossing them ; for one person gently presses the bridge of his nose across that of his friend. Mr. Darwin informed me that when a woman ex- pects to be saluted by a person of consequence, in the ' nose pressing' manner, she sits down and makes a droll grunting noise, which is continued, at intervals, until the salute has been given. The usual manner of the native is very inferior. Accustomed to a low, wretched dwelling, and to crouching in a canoe, his * Amoco is the native word for the tattow marks. + This apparent wearing away of the teeth is not found in the Zea- landers alone. The Fuegians, Araucanians, and Society Islanders show it more or less, and it is very remarkable among the natives of New Holland. 1 have also seen some white men (Europeans) with similar teeth, but they were all elderly ; whereas in some young savages I have noticed incisors shaped rather like those of a horse.