Page:Williams and Calvert, Fiji and the Fijians, New York, 1860.djvu/107

 THE PEOPLE. 81 Fiji. Adding therefore to the above considerations my own personal observation and inq^uirj, I must regard Wilkes's number as too low. and am persuaded that, whatever necessity had to do originally with the selection of the inland districts,- the. tribes dwelling there remain now from choice. Native tales about the great size and ferocity of the mountaineers, and of their going naked, deserve no credit ; the chief difference be- tween them and the rest of the people being that they bestow less care on their persons, and are more rustic in their manners. On visiting these highlanders, I always found them friendly, nor do I remember that they ever used me unkindly, though their opportunities of doing so were many. Both on the coast and inland, the population has diminished, within the last fifty years, probably one-third, and in some districts as much as one-half. The Chiefs do not migrate, as it is said was formerly the custom with the Hawaiians ; so that every town ruined in war is a proof of a minished population. Another strong evidence is the large quantity of waste ground which was once under cultivation, — more than can be accounted for on the principle of native agriculture. Ex- cept where the smaller islands have been entirely depopulated, the larger ones show the clearest signs of decrease in the number of inhab- itants — a decrease which has been very great within- the memory of men now living, and the causes of which, beyond doubt, have been war and the murderous customs of heathenism. Those who have thus passed away, if we may judge from their posterity, were, physically, a fine race of men. Some familiarity is needed to picture a Fijian justly ; for strangers camiot look on him without prejudice. They know that the history of his race is a scandal to humanity, and their first contact with him is certainly startling. Fresh from highly civilized society, and accustomed to the well-clad companions of his voyage, the visitor experiences a strange and not easily described feeling, when first he sees a dark, stout, athletic, and almost naked cannibal, the weird influ- ence of whose penetrating glance many have acknowledged. To sensi- tive minds the Fijian is an object of disgust ; but as this feeling arises from his abominable practices only, personal intercourse with him sel- dom fails to produce at last a more favourable impression. The natives of the group are generally above the middle height, well made, and of great variety of figure. They exceed the white race in average stature, but are below the Tongans. Men above six feet are often seen, but rarely so tall as six feet six inches. I know only one reliable case of a Fijian giant. Corpulent persons are not common, but