a small brownish cod, spotted with white, and a red fish of the same size, which some of our people said they had seen in the strait of Magalhaens, besides another differing little from the hake. There are also considerable numbers of those fish called the chimara, or little sea-wolves, by some, which is akin to, and about the size of, the pezegallo, or -elephant-fish. Sharks, likewise, sometimes frequent the Sound, for the natives have some of their teeth in their possession; and we saw some pieces of ray, or scate, which seemed to have been pretty large. The other marine animals that ought to be mentioned here, are a small cruciated medusa, or blubber, star-fish, which differ somewhat from the common ones, two small sorts of crabs, and two others which the natives brought, one of them of a thick, tough, gelatinous consistence, and the other a sort of membranaceous tube or pipe, both which are probably taken from the rocks. And we, also, purchased from them once a very large cuttle-fish.

There is abundance of large muscles about the rocks, many sea-ears, and we often saw shells of pretty large plain chama. The smaller sorts are some trochi of two species, a curious murex, rugged wilks, and a snail, all which are, probably, peculiar to this place, at least I do not recollect to have seen them in any country near the same latitude in either hemisphere. There are, besides these, some small plain cockles, limpets; and some strangers, who come into the Sound, wore necklaces of a small blueish volute or panama. Many of the muscles are a span in length, and some having pretty large pearls, which, however, are both badly shaped and coloured. We may conclude, that there is red coral in the Sound, or somewhere upon the coast, some thick pieces, or branches, having been seen in the canoes of the natives.

The only animals of the reptile kind observed here, and found in the woods, were brown snakes two feet long, with whitish stripes on the back and sides, which are harmless, as we often saw the natives carry them alive in their hands; and brownish water-lizards, with a tail exactly like that of an eel, which frequented the small standing pools about the rocks.

The insect tribe seem to be more numerous. For though the season, which is peculiarly fitted to their appearing abroad, was only beginning, we saw four or five different sorts of butterflies, none of which were uncommon, a good many humble-bees, some of our common gooseberry moths, two or three sorts of flies, a few beetles, and some musquitoes, which, probably, may be more numerous and troublesome in a country so full of wood, during the summer, though at this time they did little mischief.

As to the mineral substances in this country, though we found both iron and copper here, there is little reason to believe that either of them belong to the place. Neither were the ores of any metal seen, if we except a coarse, red, earthy, or ochry substance, used by the natives in painting themselves, which probably may contain a little iron, with a white and a black pigment used for the same purpose. But we did not procure specimens of them, and therefore eannot positively determine what are their component parts.

Besides the stone or rock that constitutes the mountains and shores, which sometimes contains pieces of very coarse quartz, we found amongst the natives, things made of a hard black granite, though not remarkably compact or fine grained, a greyish whetstone, the common oil-stone of our carpenters, in coarser and finer pieces, and some black bits which are little inferior to the hone-stone. The natives also use the transparent leafy glimmer, or Muscovy glass, a brown leafy or martial sort, and they sometimes brought to us pieces of rock-crystal, tolerably transparent. The two first are, probably, found near the spot, as they seemed to be in considerable quantities; but the latter seems to be brought from a greater distance, or is very scarce; for our visitors always parted with it reluctantly. Some of the pieces were octangular, and had the appearance of being formed into that shape by art.

The persons of the natives are, in general, under the common stature; but not slender in proportion, being commonly pretty full or plump, though not muscular. Neither doth the soft fleshiness seem ever to swell into corpulence; and many of the older people are rather spare or lean. The visage of most of them is round and full, and sometimes also broad, with high prominent cheeks; and, above these, the face is frequently much depressed, or seems fallen in quite across between the temples; the nose also flattening at its base, with pretty wide nostrils, and a rounded point. The forehead rather low, the eyes small, black, and rather

rather languishing than sparkling; the mouth round, with large round thickish lips, the teeth tolerably equal and well set, but not remarkably white. They have either no beards at all, which was most commonly the case, or a small thin one upon the point of the chin, which does not arise from any natural defect of hair on that part, but from plucking it out more or less; for some of them, particularly the old men, have not only considerabie beards all over the chin, but whiskers or mustachios, both on the upper lip, and running from thence toward the lower jaw obliquely downward. Their eye-brows are also scanty, and always narrow; but the hair of the head is in great abundance, very coarse and strong, and, without a single exception, black, straight, and lank, or hanging down over the shoulders. The neck is short, the arms and body have no particular mark of beauty or elegance in their formation, but are rather clumsy; and the limbs in all are very small in proportion to the other parts, and crooked or ill-made, with large feet badly shaped, and projecting ancles. Their last defect seems in a great measure to arise from their sitting so much on their hams or knees, both in their canoes and houses.

Their colour we could never positively determine, as their bodies were incrusted with paint and dirt; though, in particular cases, when these were well rubbed off, the whiteness of the skin appeared almost to equal that of Europeans; though rather of that pale effete cast which distinguishes those of our southern nations. Their children, whose skins had never been stained with paint, also equalled ours in whiteness. During their youth, some of them have no disagreeable look, if compared to the generality of the people, but this seems to be entirely owing to the particular animation attending that period of life; for, after attaining a certain age, there is hardly any distinction. Upon the whole, a very remarkable sameness seems to characterize the countenances of the whole nation; a dull phlegmatie want of expression, with very little variation, being strong. ly marked in all of them.

The women are nearly of the same size, colour, and form with the men, from whom it is not easy to distinguish them, as they possess no natural delicacies sufficient to render their persons agreeable; and hardly any one was seen, even amongst those who were in the prime of life, who had the least pretensions to be called handsome.

Their common dress is a flaxen garment, or mantle, ornamented on the upper edge by a narrow strip of fur, and, at the lower edge, by fringes or tasseis. It passes under the left arm, and is tied over the right shoulder, by a string be

fore

rica are naturally beardless, I should think that the common opinion on that subject had been bastily adopted; and that their appearing thus at a mature age, was only the consequence of an early practice, similar to that observed among the Sumatrans. Even now, I must confess, that it would remove some small degree of doubt from my mind, could it be ascertained that no such custom prevails." - Marsden's History of Sumatra, p. 39, 40.

-D.

fore and one behind, near its middle, by which means both arms are left free, and it hangs evenly, covering the left side, but leaving the right open, except from the loose part of the edges falling upon it, unless when the mantle is fastened by a girdle (of coarse matting or woollen) round the -waist, which is often done. Over this, which reaches below the knees, is worn a small cloak of the same substance, likewise fringed at the lower part. In shape this resembles a round dish-cover, being quite close, except in the middle, where there is a hole just large enough to admit the head, and then, resting upon the shoulders, it covers the arms to the elbows, and the body as far as the waist. Their head is covered with a cap, of the figure of a truncated cone, or like a flower-pot, made of fine matting, having the top frequently ornamented with a round or pointed knob, or bunch of leather tassels, and there is a string that passes under the chin, to prevent its blowing off.

Besides the above dress, which is common to both sexes, the men frequently throw over their other garments the skin of a bear, wolf, or sea-otter, with the hair outward, and tie it as a cloak near the upper part, wearing it sometimes before and sometimes behind. In rainy weather, they throw a coarse mat about their shoulders. They have also woollen garments, which, however, are little in use. The hair is commonly worn hanging down loose; but some, when they have no cap, tie it in a bunch on the crown of the head. Their dress, upon the whole, is convenient, and would by no means be inelegant, were it kept clean. But as they rub their bodies constantly over with a red paint, of a clayey or coarse ochry substance, mixed with oil, their garments, by this means, contract a rancid offensive smell, and a greasy nastiness; so that they make a very wretched dirty appearance, and what is still worse, their heads and their garments swarm with vermin, which, so depraved is their taste for cleanliness, we used to see them pick off with great composure and eat.

Though their bodies are always covered with red paint, their faces are often stained with a black, a brighter red, or a white colour, by way of ornament. The last of these gives them a ghastly, disgusting aspect. They also strew the brown martial mica upon the paint, which makes it glitter. The ears of many of them are perforated in the lobe, where they make a pretty large hole, and two others higher up on