The Malay archipelago : the land of the orang-utan ... - Wallace Online

;I332 THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO. [chap.race, were much more reserved and taciturn tlian those of Ke.This is probably because I only saw them as yet among strangersand in small parties. One must see the savage at home to knowwliat he really is. E^en here, however, the Papuan cliaractersometimes breaks out. Little boys sing cheerfully as they walkalong, or talk aloud to themselves (quite a negro characteristic)and, try all they can, the men cannot conceal tlieir emotions inthe true Malay fashion. A number of them were one day inmy house, and having a fancy to try what sort of eating tripangwould be, I bouglit a couple, paying for tliem with such an extravagantquantity of tobacco that the seller saw I was a greencustomer. He could not, however, conceal his delight, but ashe smelt the fragrant weed, and exhibited the large handful tohis companions, he grinned and twisted and gave silent chucklesin a most expressive pantomime. I had often before made thesame mistake in paying a Malay for some trifle. In no case,however, was his pleasure \4sible on his countenance^a dulland stupid hesitation only showing his surprise, which wouldbe exhibited exactly in the same way whether he was over orunder paid. These little nioral traits are of the gi-eatest interestwhen taken in connexion with phj^sical features. They do notadmit of the same ready explanation by external causes whichis so frequently applied to the latter. Winters on the races ofmankind have too often to trust to the information of travellerswho pass I'apidly fi'om country to country, and tlms have fewopportunities of becoming acquainted witli peculiai'ities ofnational character, or e^"en of ascertaining what is really theaverage physical conformation of the people. Such are exceedinglyapt to be deceived in places where two races have longintermingled, by looking on intermediate forms and mixedhabits as evidences of a natural transition from one race to theother, instead of an artificial mixture of two distinct peoples;and they will be the more readily led into tliis error if, as in thepresent case, writers on the subject should have been in thehabit of classing these races as mere varieties of one stock, asclosely related in physical conformation as from their geograpliicalproximity one might supjiosc they ought to be. Sofar as I have yet seen, tlie 5lalay and Pajiuan ajjpear to be aswidel}^ separated as any two human races that exist, being distinguishedby physical, mental, and moral characteristics, all ofthe most marked and striking kind.Feb. 5th.—I took advantage of a very fine calm day to pay avisit to the island of Wokan, which is about a mile from us, andforms part of the "tanna busar," or mainland of Aru. This is alarge island, extending from north to south about a hundredmiles, but so low in many parts as to be intersected by severalcreeks, which run completely tlirough it, offering a passage forgood-sized vessels. On the west side, where we are, there areonly a few outlying islands, of wliich ours (Wamma) is the principal;l)ut on the east coast are a great number of i.slands,