_Description from Durville._--"We have already said that the inhabitants of Vanikoro belong to the black race of the Great Ocean. They may be considered as a variety of that race of blacker colour than others, and of a conformation approaching more nearly to that of proper Negroes. They are generally small and rather meagre. What is most remarkable in their shape is an appearance of lateral compression of the temples, produced by a very arched forward protuberance of the middle part of the forehead. The hair does not advance low on the forehead, and the care taken to throw it back renders all these parts very visible. The cheek-bones being salient give the face a greater developement than that of the cranium. Another character not less remarkable is the small projection of the nasal bones, which gives the nose an appearance of being flattened at its root, and to the countenance a singular resemblance to that of the orang utang. Owing to this the orbital arch, itself prominent, appears still more projecting. The nostrils are wide, and are rendered still more so by the custom of wearing a stick fixed transversely through the septum narium. The lower jaw is not remarkable. The form of the forehead causes the facial angle to be not particularly acute. The lobes of the ears are perforated by a hole large enough to pass the hand through it. The eyes are large, oval, and deeply set; the balls salient, round, and resembling in form and colour those of the Negro. The lips are large, the chin small. The lower extremities are in some instances very lean, but tolerably fleshy in others. The calf is rather high, and the heel is in many individuals remarkably projecting, a character not existing in the Polynesian race to the same extent. This is another approximation to the Negro. The hair is crisp, but although not cut, it never becomes bushed and matted. They are nearly naked. The use of the betel-nut destroys their teeth, and gives them a red tinge round the mouth. The women are horribly ugly; the old men are bald." The position of Nitendi and Vanikoro gives them interest. _a._ Although not lying due south-east of the Solomon Isles, and due north-east of the next Archipelago, they form the insular continuity between the two groups. _b._ Vanikoro is the Kelænonesian Island, which, by its vicinity, gives to[71] Tikopia, which is Polynesian, its peculiarity of distribution. Lastly, although the fact be not ethnological, the Vanikoro cluster is the locality where La Perouse perished. THE NEW HEBRIDES. Particular islands-- ISLE OF LEPERS. _Synonym._--Australia del Espiritu Santo. MALLICOLLO. For each of these islands we have special evidence--that of Bougainville and Cook--to the general Negrito character of the natives. In the voyages of the latter the ill-favoured monkey-like appearance of the Mallicollese is prominently mentioned. API. _Direction._--Continuation from Mallicollo to-- SANDWICH ISLE.