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Cook's Descriptions of Places

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King Georges Island (continued) Superiors again who spend most of their time in thier Houses under shelter are not browner than people who are born or reside long in the West Indias nay some of the Women are almost as fair as Europeans. Their hair is almost universaly black thick and strong this the women wear short cropt round their ears.   the men on the other hand wear it different ways.   the better sort let it grow long and some times tying it up on the top of their heads or leting it hang loose over their shoulders but many of the inferiors and such w[h]o in the exercise of their profession fishing &Ca are obliged to be much upon or in the water wear it cropt short like the women. They always pluck out a longer a part of their beards and keep that that remains neat and clean. Both sexes eradicate every hair from under their armpits and look upon it as a mark of uncleanliness in us that we do not do the same. They have all fine white teeth and for the most part short flat noses and thick lips, yet their features are agreable and their gate gracefull.   and their behavior to strangers and to each other is open affable and courtious and from all I could see free from threachery, only that they are theives to a Man and would steal but every thing that came in their way and that with such dexterity as would shame the most noted pickbocket in Europe. They are a very cleanly people both in their persons and diat always washing their hands and mouth immediatly before and after their meals and wash or bathe themselves in fresh water three times a day, morning noon and night; the only disagreeable thing about Voyaging Accounts © Transcribed from National Library of Australia Manuscript 1 page 82, 2004 Published by South Seas To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/cook_remarks-016