with the autochthones.. Again, it is provable that Nikunau, which lies only twenty-eight miles east of Beru, was dominated at a very early date by settlers from the latter island. Lastly, among he inhabitants of both islands to this day are to be seen types which more nearly approach the Melanesian than others in the Group. It seems not unwisely venturesome to infer that the ancestors responsible for the exceptional types were also responsible for the exceptional marriage by rape.