N ew H ov
LAND.
digioils widt^V But the teeth-white and* even. 0 Many had vëry pro-
mxnent jaws; and there was one man who; b u t for.’the gift -offpeech,
.might very well have paffed'for «n'tjhmg-outgog.*' H e was remkrkably
h a iry ; his arms appeared of an uncommon length ; in h is gait hgMwas
'not' perfectly upright ; \ and inhisrwhole mannef fefemed-to’h a v e m^re
o f the -brute,, and lefs o f'th e human fpecies, about him; than any,‘of: his
countrymen. . Thofe who have Been in that country will, from th is ^ u t-
line o f him, recoiled old We-rahng.*’ J -
T h e huts are moft rudely coriftru&ed o f the b a rk Öf frees, iix thê-ïof m
o f an oven, the fire being at the'entrance,* whirl-'within' are fm'pke and
naftinefs^ He re th ey fleep promifc’uoufly, ifih b t in te rru p ted h ^ tlfe ir
frequeht enmities and afiaflinations. ' Filh are killed, with a ‘k in d of
prong, or taken, by th e women, w ithA ifS s^o f bark and Jiböfcs o f mie
mother o f pearl oyfter,' rubbed"on a ftone till'th ^ p f b p k r f o rm be'pb-
■tained : th é fifK a t^ often broiled on a fire laid on' fancf in thc'cAnoe.
Béafts are taken in a k in d o f toils. 'Caterpillars and
wife articles o f fbod. T h e canoes a ^ tó a l^ o f - h a r k 'extended o h aMin-
ber frame.
Manners and
Cnftoms.
The gallantry of thefe favages towards’thé fair' fe-x Rotiffeau^giuld
doubtlefs have greatly admired. The comtfhip cöhfrfts id washing
the lady’s retirement, and then knocking#! down Wftft repeatedBl^Ws
of a ’club, or wooden fword; after v^fiich the t r u l y matrimonial fic-
tiffl is led'ftreaming with blood to her future hufband’s p a rty , \yhên a
fcene enfues too Ihocking to relate. The woman thus raviflied Mealed
a Wifeand polygamy is common^ Both fexes are naked ;' ^nd||he
girls firff learned from the Europeans that there was fnch a thing as
frame. Parturition is eafy, and a few hours after the mother walks
about her ufual bufinefs. The infant is for a few, days placed on a
piece of foft bark, but is foon removed to the mother’s flioulders, where
it fits with its little legs acrofs her neck, fecuring itfelf by. catching hold
of her hair. The name is transferred from fome bird, beaft, or fith.
The boys throw reeds and balls, and amufe themfelves with ftealing little
»iris whom they beat and abufe in imitation of the marriage ceremonies.
’T h e folenanity o f paying* the tribute- o f teeth feems to be per- New Hql.
forfnpd every‘four years, and is.reprefeUjteddn many plates publiflbed by LAMD*
MrV.Collibs,.being a ;tfu ly fingjilar delineation of,fayage life! In fome
parts o f this cerempny th e ^o rm -and character of man feem defpifed,
and,the fuperiority o f brutes, acknowledged, by walking like quadrupeds,
and th e ambitious imitation- o f a tail.. Power is however fuppofed to
be conferred, over the djag and the kangooroo, and the othet parts feem
an initiation in war and p a in iib u t the wholes is ftrangely degrading to
the dignity of' human nature,?5
,Thefe upon lavages arejalfo Haves o f fuperftition, believing, in magic
and witchcraft and^ghofts, the latter} jpeing the nightmare', they have
allpyptfls.’ againft thunder and lightning,*; ‘and pretend ho foretell events
byjthet meteors' called faUrng^ftirs. T h ey arg nmgoaf, to ’* a difeafe* re-
lembling a violent itc h ; b u t for fh e ir’venereal complaints they feem
indebted to Europeans. Th ey have not p n ly perfonal property in their
weapons and filhing tackle, hut ■fame arosfuppofed hereditary proprietors
of-certain fpots, perhaps a lig n ed 'as rewards for pqblid fervices, of
a&s^ef great bravery. Th ey have names for the fqn and moon, fome
few^liars, the Magellanic clouds, and the m ilk y way. Y'duhg people
are buried, b u t t^iofe who have palled the middle age are b u rn t; a rude
tumulus beings erected by way o f tomb.
O f the language Mr. Collins has-given an ample vocabulary, and it' Language,
is reported to b,e grateful to the ear, ^xpreffive, and fonorous, having no
analogy with any other known language-; b ut the dialedts o f the various'^
regions feeimentirely different. Whether thefe people be remains
of abofiginaktribes from the moft fouthern extremities o f Alia,' or have
palfedTrorri Madigaicar and the eaftlrn, ffiorek o f ’Africa, are matters o f
future 'difeovery and inveftigation.
From its lituation o n tKe,fduthern fide o f the equator, th e fealbns are Climate and
like thofe o f the .fouthern part o f Africa a n d America, , the reverie o f Seafons‘:
thofe in Europe; the fummercbrrefpondihg with o u t winter, and th e
fpring with autumn. Mr. Collins fohnd the w eather in Decfember very
*. “ Is man no more than this ? Confider him well,—Thou art tke Uilng itfetf: unaccommodated
man -is no more but fuch a poor, bare, forked animaf as thou art.” Shakfpere’s Lear,
aflt l-iiS fcene iy.
3 P 2 f.y]';