We were occasionally visited by parties of natives, chiefly coming from the northward, probably from some of the large rivermouths known to exist there.  Although in bringing their women and children off to see the ship they indicated little suspicion or fear, yet on one occasion only could we induce any of the men to come on board, and the two who did so would not be persuaded to go below, and made their stay very short.  As I had better opportunities of making observations upon these natives than during our former visit, some additional information regarding them may be given here.  The inhabitants of Redscar Bay, judging from what was seen alongside the ship, are rather smaller in stature than those seen at Dufaure and Brumer Islands and the Louisiade, but perhaps more frequently show handsome features and good expression.  Neither were there any men exceeding the rest in height by even three inches, as had often been the case in other places.  They are usually of a very light copper colour, but one man was of a very pale yellow and much resembled a Chinaman in hue; although it may at first appear strange, yet this pale-skinned individual by his very colour excited feelings of disgust in the minds of some of us, such as would be created by the sight of a person whose body was covered with a loathsome eruption and who still publicly exposed it.  And why should not our pale faces be regarded by these savages in a similar light?  Some had perfect Malayan features, but none seen on this occasion appeared to practice betel-chewing—­a remarkable circumstance, since the men who on our former visit came off to the ship, then only about fifteen miles to the north-west, had their teeth discoloured.

PIGTAILS AND TATTOOING.

None of the natives had any hair upon the face; various ways of dressing that of the head were practised, the most singular of which has already been described in Volume 1.  The hair was usually of its natural dark colour at the base, with the remainder dyed reddish brown and frizzled out into a mop with long-toothed combs of wood or tortoise-shell.  One child had the head so shaved as to leave a long tuft on the forehead, and another on the back of the head—­precisely in the same manner as is sometimes practised in Java.  Nor must I omit noticing a singular appendage formerly alluded to—­analogous to the pigtail once in vogue—­worn by many of these people; it is formed of human hair wrapped round with twine, and ends in one or more bunches of shells, dogs’ teeth, and tails of pigs—­the longest one which I saw measured twenty-one inches in length.  Among numerous ornaments the most common is a large round concave portion of melon shell, sometimes beautifully inlaid with filagree work of tortoise-shell, worn on the breast.  Fillets of cassowary feathers, fur of the spotted bare-tailed opossum, or woven stuff studded with shells, were often seen.