e only to observe
upon that of the natives of the distant interior with whom no white man
had ever before come in contact.

If I except the tribe upon Cooper's Creek, on which they are numerous,
the natives are but thinly scattered over the interior, as far as our
range extended. The few families wandering over those gloomy regions may
scarcely exceed one hundred souls. They are a feeble and diminutive race
when compared to the river tribes, but they have evidently sprung from
the same parent stock, and local circumstances may satisfactorily and
clearly account for physical differences of appearance. Like the tribes
of the Darling and the Murray, and indeed like the aborigines of the
whole continent, they have the quick and deep set eye, the rapidly
retiring forehead, and the great enlargement of the frontal sinus, the
flat nose and the thick lip. It is quite true that many have not the
depression of the head so great, but in such cases I think an unusual
proportion of the brain lies behind the ear. In addition, however, to the
above physiognomical resemblances, they have the same disproportion
between the upper region of the body and the lower extremities, the same
prominent chest, and the same want of muscular development, and in common
with all the natives I have seen, their beards are strong and stand out
from the chin, and their hair the finest ornament they possess, only that
they destroy its natural beauty by filth and neglect, is both straight
and curly. Their skins are nearly of the same hue; nor did we see any
great difference, excepting in one woman, whose skin was of a jet black.
Two young women, however, were noticed who had beautiful glossy ringlets,
of which they appeared to be exceedingly proud, and kept clean, as if
they knew their value. Both Mr. Browne and myself observed a great
disparity of numbers in the male and female children, there being an
excess of the latter of nearly two to one, and in some instances of a
still greater disproportion.

This fact was also obvious both to Mr. Stuart and myself in the tribe on
Cooper's Creek, in which the number of female children greatly exceeded
that of the male, though there were more adult men than women. The
personal appearance of the men of this tribe, as I have already stated,
was exceedingly prepossessing--they were well made and tall, and
notwithstanding that my long-legged friend was an ugly fellow, were
generally good looking. Their children in like