arked characters. Whether
these characters place the peoples under the head of varieties,
or whether, indeed, the black tribes of the South Sea, spite of all
differences, are to be traced back to one single primitive stock,
that is a question of prehistory for whose answer the material
is lacking. Were it possible to furnish the proof that the black
populations of the South Sea were already settled in their present
homes when land bridges existed between their territory and Africa,
or when the much-sought Lemuria still existed, it would not be worth
the trouble to hunt for the missing material. In our present knowledge
we can not fill the gaps, so we must yet hold the blacks of the Orient
to be separate races.

[Hair as a race index.] The hair furnished the strongest character
for diagnosis, in which, not alone that of the head is under
consideration; the hair, therefore, occupies the foreground of
interest. Its color is of the least importance, since all peoples of
the South Sea have black hair. It is more the structure and appearance
which furnish the observer convenient starting points for the primary
classification. Generally a two-fold division satisfies. The blacks,
it is said, have crisped hair, the Polynesians and light-colored
peoples have smooth hair. But this declaration is erroneous in its
generality. It is in no way easy to declare absolutely what hair is
to be called crisp, and it is still more difficult to define in what
respects the so-called crisp varieties differ one from another. For
a long time the Australian hair was denominated crisp, until it was
evident that it could be classed neither with that of the Africans
nor with that of the Philippine blacks. Semper, one of the first
travelers to furnish a somewhat complete description of the physical
characters of the Negritos, describes it as an "extremely thick,
brown-black, lack-luster, and crisp-woolly crown of hair." Among
these peculiarities the lack-luster is unimportant, since it is due
to want of care and uncleanliness. On the contrary, the other data
furnish true characters of the hair and among them the crisp-woolly
peculiarity is most valuable.

On the terms "wool" and "woolly" severe controversies, which have not
yet closed, have taken place among ethnologists during the last ten
years. Also the lack of care, especially the absence of the comb,
has here acted as a disturbing cause in the decision. But there is
yet a set of peoples, which