Volume 14 Australasia - dana ward's homepage

324 AUSTEALASIAPolynesian are intermingled with Papuasian forms in the Solomon Islands, which lieon the borders of the two zoological domains. According to native report anthropoidapes still survive in the large islands of Malaita, Guadalcanar and SanCristobal ; but they have never been seen by any European zoologists, who havemot no indigenous mammals except the pig, the dog, and a small species of rat4Of birds the pigeon is the most common and the chief agent in the dispersion ofplants. Powell asserts that in the volcanic islands the megapodius (brush turkey)often lays its eggs in the fissures of the rocks emitting hot vapours.The reptiles, so poorly represented in most oceanic islands, are somewhatnumerous in the Solomons, and several species are even peculiar to the MelanesianArchipelagoes. Specially noteworthy are the enormous toads, which wereformerly worshipped with snakes in the island of Yzabel. Crocodiles, stillvenerated by the islanders, abound on the coastlands, and live both in salt andfresh water. They are little dreaded, and according to the local legend aredangerous only to unfaithful wives. The Solomon Archipelago marks theeasternmost limit in the range of these saurians, which are not met again tillthe American continent is reached.Inhabitaxts of North Melanesia.The Melanesians belong undoubtedly to the same stock as the New GuineaPapuans, although representatives also occur amongst them both of the Malayand Polynesian types. A Micronesian enclave is also found in the littleExchequer group, consisting of some fifty isles and islets. San Cristobal, in theSolomon Archijielago, is probably the land pointed to as the cradle of their racein the legends of the South-Sea Islanders. This land of Pure, which was indicatedto the pilot Queiros as the original home of the Oceanic tribes, and whichHale sought to identify with the island of Buru in the Moluccas, would seemmuch more probably to have been Baura, that is, the island whose name theSpaniards afterwards changed to San Cristobal.But however this be, the prevailing features amongst the inhabitants of theseaboard in the Admiralty, Bismarck, and Solomon groups are those of theMelanesian or Papuan type. The tribes of the interior, often spoken of as bushmen,are very little known ; but certain indications would seem to imply that theNegrito element is largely represented amongst them. The legend of tailed mensaid to live in the interior of New Britain is widespread. A great variety ofidioms prevails throughout the archipelagoes, although, so far as is known, allwould appear to be derived from a common source.The North Melanesians are for the most part of mean height and well-proportioned,with a deep brown or blackish complexion and abundant frizzly or crisphair. The finest group are those of Bougainville, who surpass all the others instature and strength, but who are also of a darker colour and distinguished by theirbrachycephalic or round heads. The same form of the skull, however, prevailsamongst many other Melanesians, a fact first placed beyond doubt by Miklukho