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diff --git a/old/66773-0.txt b/old/66773-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b36871e..0000000 --- a/old/66773-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6646 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Two Years among New Guinea Cannibals, by A. -E. Pratt - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Two Years among New Guinea Cannibals - A Naturalist’s Sojourn among the Aborigines of Unexplored New - Guinea - -Author: A. E. Pratt - Henry Pratt - -Release Date: November 19, 2021 [eBook #66773] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team - at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWO YEARS AMONG NEW GUINEA -CANNIBALS *** - - - - - TWO YEARS AMONG NEW - GUINEA CANNIBALS - - -[Illustration: - - TWO NEW GUINEA DANDIES. - - They are natives of Dinawa. Notice their tight-laced waists and the - nose ornaments (chimani) of polished shell. -] - - - - - TWO YEARS AMONG NEW GUINEA CANNIBALS - A Naturalist’s Sojourn among the Aborigines of Unexplored New Guinea - - - By - A. E. PRATT - - Gill Memorialist, Royal Geographical Society, 1891 Author of “To the - Snows of Tibet through China,” etc. - - - With Notes and Observations by his Son - HENRY PRATT - And Appendices on the Scientific Results of the Expedition - - - _With 54 Illustrations and a Map_ - - - PHILADELPHIA - J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY - LONDON: SEELEY & CO. LTD. - 1906 - - - - - Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. - At the Ballantyne Press - - - - - TO - - _MY WIFE_ - - THE COMPANION, PRESENT OR ABSENT OF MY MANY WANDERINGS - - - - - PREFACE - - -This record of two years’ scientific work in the only country of the -globe that has still escaped exploration purposely avoids the dry detail -of a Natural History Report, such as might properly be submitted to a -learned society, and is intended rather to set forth to the general -reader the vicissitudes of the traveller’s daily life in unknown New -Guinea, or Papua as I prefer to call it. Every hour brought a new -interest, and it was with the intention of trying to communicate some -impression of that wonderful land in which we sojourned, that the -present account has been undertaken. If the result is disappointing to -the reader, the fault must lie with the writer and not with Papua. - -During my brief residences in the known parts of New Guinea, I received -much kind assistance and furtherance in my marches into the wilds from -officials, missionaries, and settlers, and I would here especially -acknowledge my indebtedness to his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, -Mr. G. Ruthven Le Hunte, Mr. A. Musgrave, C.B., Captain Barton, the Hon. -D. Ballantine, Mr. Robert Hislop, and Mr. James Wood; His Grace -Archbishop Navarre, Coadjutor Bishop de Boismenu, both of the Sacred -Heart Mission; Dr. Laws and the Rev. H. Dauncey of the London Missionary -Society. - -The Dutch officials to whom I am under deep obligations are Mr. Kroesen, -the Resident of Merauke, Mr. M. C. Schadee, the Controller, and also the -captain of the gunboat _Neas_. - -For permission to reprint the section on the Lakatois and several other -passages I am indebted to the _Wide World Magazine_, and the chapter on -“British Trade Prospects in New Guinea” is given by consent of the -_British Trade Journal_. - -My particular acknowledgments are due to Messrs. G. H. Kendrick, Mr. G. -T. Bethune Baker, F.L.S., and Miss Wilmott, without whose help the -expedition could not have been undertaken, and I must also mention Mr. -S. H. Soper, F.R.G.S., another friend whose interest and assistance was -of the greatest value to me. - - A. E. P. - - - - - CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER I - - BREAKING THE GROUND - - PAGE - - The Author’s many Journeys—New Guinea more Interesting than all— - The Second Largest Island in the World, and the last to Guard - its Secrets from Man—Its Vast Possibilities to the Trader and - the Man of Science—Great Riches in Birds and Insects—770 known - Species of Birds—The People—Their Many Dialects—A Geographical - Reason for this—Toilsome Travel—Razor-like Ridges in Endless - Succession—The Author’s Camps—Journeys Outlined—In Unexplored - Country—Gorgeous Scenery—Variations of Temperature—The Chief - Bugbear, Transport 17 - - - CHAPTER II - - DISAPPOINTMENTS IN DUTCH NEW GUINEA - - Dutch New Guinea—The Coast—Unsavoury Mud-banks—Merauke—The Dutch - Settlement described—Its Wonderful Modernity—A Fierce Tribe, the - Tugeri, now described for the first time—Their Appearance and - Habits—Their Continual Murderous Raids—The Fearful Bamboo Knife— - Scientific Work here impossible owing to Danger of going beyond - Settlement Boundaries—Outbreak of a Mysterious Disease at - Merauke—Its Swift Deadliness—The Symptoms—Determine to leave - Dutch New Guinea and prepare for a March into the Unexplored - Interior 37 - - - CHAPTER III - - CHANGES AND STRANGE SCENES - - We sail to Thursday Island—A Rough Voyage in a Cattle-boat—A - Glimpse of Thursday Island—The Wonderful Colour of its Waters—We - reach Port Moresby—Contrast to the Scenery of Dutch New Guinea— - Magnificent Mountains—Evidences of Drought—Vegetation burnt up— - The British Government Post of Port Moresby described—A Good - Second to Hades or Aden—The Great Sight of Port Moresby—A - Community of Hereditary Potters—The Pottery Trading Fleet—The - Strange Vessels called Lakatois—Their Structure—Native Orgies - before the Expedition starts—A New Guinea Ballet on Deck— - Seclusion of Women after the Young Braves depart with the Fleet— - My Inland Expedition fitted out—Official Courtesy—Details of - Baggage—Transport procured after Immense Trouble 59 - - - CHAPTER IV - - WE STRIKE INLAND - - We start Inland—Friendly Natives but Hostile Mosquitoes—Bioto - Creek—Bioto—Guest Houses—A splendid Game Region—Daily Migration - of Flocks of Pigeons—Greedy Coast Natives—Carriers Inadequate—A - Double Journey in Relays—We meet the Chief Mavai, a great Papuan - Character—Mavai’s Way of Life—His Harem—His Western Notions—His - Trousers—His Red Coat—His Severe Discipline—As we proceed, - Construction of Native Houses more elaborate—On to Ekeikei and - Dinawa—March through Wet Vegetation—Tortured by Leeches and an - Abominable Parasite, the Scrub-Itch—A Gloomy Forest—Magnificent - Orchids—Carriers stimulate Laggard Comrades with Nettles—The - Aculama River—I discover a New Fish 81 - - - CHAPTER V - - THE FIRST CAMP - - Journey continued—A Glorious Scarlet Creeper—Dinawa—Site for Camp - selected—Building Camp—Native Assistance—Organisation for - Scientific Work—Daily Routine—Teaching the Natives how to Catch - and Handle Entomological Specimens—Sudden Affluence leads one of - my Native Boys to Desert—He is Caught and Reformed—My best - Native Assistant and his Wife—Female Influence a great Asset - with other Women—The Day’s Work—Collecting at Night—Photography— - A Dark Room in the Wilds—Native Interest in Developing 105 - - - CHAPTER VI - - VICISSITUDES AND A DIGRESSION - - The Drought affects our Work—Butterflies begin to Fail—Forest - Fires—We descend to the St. Joseph River—A Temporary Camp—A - Wonderful Native Suspension Bridge—River Scenery—Native Methods - of Fishing—Dull Weather and Little Success in Collecting—A Comic - Incident—A Native besieged by a Wild Pig—War—Native Hostility—A - Chief threatens to Cook and Eat our Heads—Strict Guard kept on - Camp—The Bird of Paradise—Papuan Game Laws—Natives’ Interest in - Writing—Further Stay at the St. Joseph impracticable—A Flood - destroys our Bridge—A Visit to a Native Village—Curious Means of - Ingress—Return to Dinawa—My Cingalese Headman’s Experiences—He - evades Native Treachery—Sudden Growth of New Township 125 - - - CHAPTER VII - - GOOD-BYE TO DINAWA - - A Beautiful New Orchid discovered and described—Drought continues— - Sufferings of the Natives—I practise as a Physician—Queer Native - Diagnosis—Gaberio, an Intelligent Native, goes collecting on his - own account—How we kept touch—The Wireless Telegraph of the - Wilds—We determine to take our Specimens to the Coast—Methods of - Preservation and Packing—Gaberio returns—He tells of the Murder - of one of his Boys—Hardships of Camp Life—Food and Ammunition - fail—We try Cockatoo Soup—A Visit from a Fine Hill Tribe, the - Ibala—They brighten the Last Days of our Stay—Gorgeous Sunsets - at Dinawa—The Ibala People return according to Contract to act - as Carriers—We depart—Trials of the March to the Coast—A Mishap - at Sea—Our Fine Herbarium ruined with Salt Water—Port Moresby - once again 141 - - - CHAPTER VIII - - INACTION AND AN EXCURSION - - Period of Inaction at Port Moresby—Christmas in New Guinea—A - Scratch Dinner—A Christmas Privilege for Cingalese to obtain - Spirits—Curious Effect on One Individual—A Noteworthy Character— - An Excursion to Hula—A Fisher Community—A Piebald People— - Picturesque Night Fishing by Flare Light—Fishermen often Killed - by Gare-Fish—Hula Houses—Various Traits of Native Life—A Walk - round Hood’s Bay—Traces of Initiatory Rites at Kalo—The Kalo - Houses described—On to Kerapuna—A Shooting Expedition—We lose - the Trail—Class Distinctions at Kerapuna—Return to Port Moresby - by Sea—A Perilous Voyage in a Little Canoe—Tragic Death of - Flood, the Naturalist 165 - - - CHAPTER IX - - TOWARDS THE UNEXPLORED - - Beginning of Furthest Journey into Unexplored Interior—The - Everlasting Question of Carriers—Difficulties and Delays—Epa - again—Curious Method of Water Supply—Mavai welcomes us back—He - provides a Dubious Treat—Ekeikei—The Building of a Permanent - Camp—An Elaborate Undertaking—House-building on a Large Scale— - Ingenious Papuan Methods of Thatching—The Chief Kafulu proves - Unneighbourly—He does not fulfil his Engagements—Ow-bow’s - Embassy—My Deputy is robbed—Precautions in Camp against Attack—I - go down to Kafulu and deal faithfully with him—He relents, and - restores Ow-bow’s Goods—An Earthquake and Hurricane at Ekeikei 183 - - - CHAPTER X - - UPS AND DOWNS - - My man Sam goes to the Kebea to collect—We go to the Coast again - with our Specimens—A Dreadful Night in Bioto Creek—A Crocodile - River—A Tempestuous Voyage to Thursday Island—Fever—Return to - Port Moresby—Adrift for Three Days in a Heavy Sea—A German - Captain’s Thrilling Story of the Storm—We return to Ekeikei—A - New Trouble—Epidemic of Measles among Native Followers—Harry - goes off alone among Cannibals—Adventurous Journey of a Boy of - Sixteen—Description of Native Village on a 15–inch-wide Ridge 201 - - - CHAPTER XI - - A BOY OF SIXTEEN ALONE WITH CANNIBALS - - Further into the Mountains—A Murder—The Settlement of the Blood - Price—A Pig for a Life—Harry’s Further Adventures alone among - Cannibals—Various other Murders—The Village of Amana—A Tree - House—The Lunatic at Amana—Foula—A Pretty Village 221 - - - CHAPTER XII - - THE UNEXPLORED: AMONG PAPUAN PEAKS - - Still Higher in the Owen Stanley Range—The Road to Mafulu—Beauties - of the Forest—The Hill Step—Curious Habit of Walking acquired in - Abrupt Ground—Cold at High Altitudes—A New Camp built—Alpine - Signs in Insects and Flowers—Routine Work—Food runs low again— - Native Thieves—Followers discontented—They fear the Hostile - Mafulu People—Daily Threats of Desertion—Strict Watch—My Rule - for Night Visitors—Compulsory Carrying of Torches and Disarming— - Weirdly Picturesque Night Scenes—Further Privations—Bird of - Paradise Soup—Ugh!—Decide to depart—Natives burn down Camp to - ensure our going 241 - - - CHAPTER XIII - - LAST JOURNEY TO THE COAST - - A Dangerous Stream-Crossing—Babooni—Sunshine once more—Successful - Work—Poor Fare—Messengers to Ekeikei—The Tree-Cabbage—Method of - Cooking Tree-Cabbage—A Great Curiosity—Spiders’ Webs as - Fishing-Nets—Dancing Festivals—Back to the Kebea—Our Bean Crop—A - Papuan Parliament—We obtain Credit—A Wife-Beater—My only Act of - Perfidy—The Journey to Ekeikei—Back to the Land of Plenty—Last - Visit to Epa—Mavai unfriendly—He is talked over and supplies - Carriers—Example better than Precept—The Coast again—An - Accident—The Natives drink Sea-Water—Good-bye to the - Mountaineers 259 - - - CHAPTER XIV - - A FORTY-MILE TRAMP BY THE SHORE - - A Comfortless Voyage—A Forty-Mile Tramp along the Coast—Wonders of - the Beach—Armies of Soldier-Crabs—A Crocodile River—A Dangerous - Canoe Voyage—At Port Moresby—A Pathetic Incident—Last Days of - our Stay in New Guinea 279 - - - CHAPTER XV - - NATIVE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS - - The Papuan at Home—His Good Points—Physical Characteristics— - Ceremonial Dress—Coast and Hill Tribes—Differences—Local - Distribution of the Rami or Petticoat—Its Decrease in Length in - the Mountains—Its Disappearance at Epa—Dandyism—The Priceless - Chimani—The Shell Armlet—Household Constitution—Rudimentary - Government—Courtship and Marriage—The Price of a Wife—Position - of Women—Six Ways of Carrying an Infant—Meal Times—Weapons— - Clubs—Their Manufacture the Monopoly of One Tribe—Weird Tribal - Dances 289 - - - CHAPTER XVI - - BURIAL, WITCHCRAFT, AND OTHER THEMES - - A Short-lived Race—An Aged Man a Curiosity—Burial Customs—The - Chief Mourner painted Black—Period of Mourning brief except for - the Chief Mourner—No Belief in Natural Death—Poison always - Suspected—Religion all but absent—Vague Belief in Magic—Fi-fi, a - Form of Divination—How practised—Its Utter Childishness—No Idea - of Number—Forest Warnings—“Wada,” another Form of Sorcery— - Mavai’s Hideous Magical Compounds—A People seemingly without - History or Legends—Pictures understood—Fear of the Stereoscope— - The “Bau-bau” or Social Pipe—How Made and Smoked—Incidents of - Travel—The Stinging Trees—Ideas of Medicine—Sovereign Remedies— - Bleeding—How practised—Hunting—The Corral—A Strange Delicacy— - Story of Native Trust in Me—A Loan of Beads—Children and their - Sports—Thirty Ways of Cat’s-Cradle 309 - - - CHAPTER XVII - - A NOTE ON BRITISH TRADE PROSPECTS IN NEW GUINEA - - Sandalwood—The Sea-Slug—Copra and Cocoa-Nut—Coffee—Cocoa—Chillies— - Rubber—Stock-Raising—Gold—Tobacco—Imports—German Enterprise—Our - Lost Coaling Station 333 - - - CHAPTER XVIII - - NOTES ON SOME BIRDS OF NEW GUINEA - - The Birds of Paradise—Remarkable Species observed—Native Names— - Play-Places—Curious Habits—The Bower-Bird: Artist, Architect, - and Gardener 345 - - - APPENDICES 351 - - - - - LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - TWO NEW GUINEA DANDIES _Frontispiece_ - - PAGE - LAKATOIS PREPARING TO SAIL 21 - - THE BOWER-BIRD 27 - - GUARDING THE WORKERS 33 - - TUGERI NATIVES 41 - - THE NATIVE METHOD OF TREE CLIMBING 47 - - A LAKATOI AND A HOUSE ON PILES 55 - - SAM AND HIS WIFE 63 - - HANUABADA GIRLS DANCING 69 - - GIRLS DANCING ON A LAKATOI 75 - - EPA VILLAGE 85 - - EKEIKEI NATIVES 91 - - THE CAMP AT EKEIKEI 97 - - NATIVE COLLECTORS 101 - - HILL NATIVES AT DINAWA 109 - - DOBOI, OUR NATIVE COOK 115 - - THE NATIVE VILLAGE OF DINAWA 121 - - FISHING ON THE ST. JOSEPH RIVER 131 - - A ROUGH BRIDGE 137 - - NATIVE WOMEN AT DINAWA 145 - - THE WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY OF NEW GUINEA 149 - - NATIVES OF ENUMAKA 155 - - VEGETATION AT DINAWA 161 - - A PIEBALD PEOPLE 169 - - A HOUSE AT KALO 177 - - THE VILLAGES OF ELEVADA AND HANUABADA 187 - - NEW GUINEA HOUSE-BUILDING 193 - - THE PRIMEVAL FOREST 197 - - POLLING LAKATOIS 205 - - HOUSES AT HANUABADA 209 - - A DESERTED VILLAGE 215 - - HARRY PRATT 225 - - CAMP IN THE OWEN STANLEY RANGE 231 - - TWO VIEWS OF A NATIVE BRIDGE 237 - - CAMP IN THE OWEN STANLEY RANGE 245 - - UNKNOWN SPECIES DISCOVERED BY THE AUTHOR 251 - - THE AUTHOR AND SOME NATIVE COLLECTORS 255 - - A SPIDER’S WEB FISHING-NET 263 - - FISHING WITH SPIDERS’ WEB NETS 269 - - A WEIRD TRIBAL DANCE 275 - - A SEA-COAST SCENE 283 - - HANUABADA WOMEN WEARING THE RAMI 293 - - BUYING A WIFE 299 - - NEW GUINEA WEAPONS AND IMPLEMENTS 305 - - YOUNG NATIVES AND WOMEN CARRIERS 313 - - SMOKING THE BAU-BAU 319 - - A NEW GUINEA HUNT 327 - - HAULING UP A LOG 337 - - - - - CHAPTER I - _BREAKING THE GROUND_ - -The Author’s many Journeys—New Guinea more interesting than all—The -Second Largest Island in the World, and the last to guard its Secrets -from Man—Its Vast Possibilities to the Trader and the Man of Science— -Great Riches in Birds and Insects—770 known Species of Birds—The People— -Their many Dialects—A Geographical Reason for this—Toilsome Travel— -Razor-like Ridges in Endless Succession—The Author’s Camps—Journeys -Outlined—In Unexplored Country—Gorgeous Scenery—Variations of -Temperature—The Chief Bugbear, Transport. - - - - - TWO YEARS AMONG NEW GUINEA CANNIBALS - - - - - CHAPTER I - BREAKING THE GROUND - - -In the course of thirty years of almost continuous journeyings in both -hemispheres, it has been my fortune to stray far from the beaten tracks -and to know something of the spell and mystery of the earth’s solitudes. -My work in quest of additions to the great natural history collections, -both public and private, of England, and to a less extent of France, has -led me to the Rocky Mountains, the Amazons, the Republic of Colombia, -the Yangtse gorges, and the snows of Tibet; but it is safe to say that -none of these has aroused my interest and curiosity in so great a degree -as the scene of my latest and my next expedition, the still almost -unexplored Papua, second largest of the world’s islands, and almost the -last to guard its secrets from the geographer, the naturalist, and the -anthropologist. - -Fifty years ago, schoolboys, looking at their map of Africa, blessed the -Dark Continent for an easy place to learn. A few names fringed the -coast: inland nearly all was comprehended under the cheerful word -“unexplored.” Such in great measure is the case with New Guinea to-day. -Its 300,000 square miles of territory, held by Great Britain, Germany, -and the Netherlands, and now lying fallow, are destined in the course of -the next half-century to enrich the worlds of commerce and of science to -a degree that may to some extent be forecast by what is already known of -very restricted areas. What New Guinea may become to the trader is -outlined later in the present volume, merely, be it noted, from the -outside observer’s point of view, but this of course has in it a large -measure of uncertainty, contingent on conditions of - - “Labour and the changing mart and all the framework of the land.” - -Be this as it may, one thing remains sure, the extraordinary value of -Papua to the man of science, particularly to the entomologist and the -ornithologist. In the department of ornithology alone, we already know -of 770 different species of birds inhabiting the mainland and the -islands, which places it in this respect far above Australia, which, -with a superficial area nine times greater, possesses less than 500 -species in all. - -[Illustration: - - LAKATOIS PREPARING TO SAIL. -] - -The ethnologist, too, has in Papua a happy hunting ground; for the -tribes on the fringe of exploration present wonderful varieties of type, -and as the mountain fastnesses of the interior are gradually opened up, -there can be no doubt that rich material for the propounding of new -problems and perhaps the solution of old ones will come to light. -Language is curiously diversified: here you meet a tribe with a distinct -speech, and camping near them for a time you learn the common currency -of their tongue; a few miles further on appears another people, perhaps -not greatly differing in type, but with another language altogether. -Thus at Dinawa, where we were encamped for five months on the foot-hills -of the Owen Stanley range, the native phrase for “Make up the fire” was -“Aloba di”; while at Foula, only eighteen miles away as the crow flies, -but far further on foot, the phrase ran “Aukida pute.” It is in the -statement “far further on foot,” of course, that the main reason of this -linguistic variation is chiefly to be found; for travel in the Papuan -highlands is extraordinarily toilsome, owing to the exceeding abruptness -of the configuration, and the endless succession of almost razor-like -ridges. Thus the tribes are confined to narrow areas. Long rough ascents -and descents and devious windings are the portion of the wayfarer who -wishes to reach some spot that may even be visible from his last -halting-place. This experience, and our entire dependence on native -carriers to transport our heavy baggage, with the various _contretemps_ -and difficulties besetting the conduct of such a caravan, tempted me at -one time to call this book “Ups and Downs in Papua,” as being at once -literally and metaphorically true and descriptive. - -Despite the difficulty of migration, however, it is certain that had our -mission been one of exploration pure and simple we could, during our two -years’ sojourn, have traversed a far more extensive region than we did. -But our first concern was the examination of the butterflies, moths, and -birds of the Owen Stanley range, and that within particular and somewhat -restricted areas, so that our work necessitated encamping sometimes for -months at a time at one particular spot, in order that the collection -and preservation of our specimens might be carried on under the most -advantageous conditions possible in such a wilderness. To this end we -built two permanent camps, one at Dinawa, and the other at Ekeikei, at -altitudes of 3600 and 1500 feet respectively. From these bases we made -short expeditions in various directions, and established temporary camps -on the St. Joseph River, Mount Kebea, and finally at Mafalu, our highest -point of attainment, 6000 feet above the level of the sea among the -fastnesses of the Owen Stanley range. But even that altitude is -comparatively insignificant in the magnificent highlands of Papua. The -higher we rose it was only to catch sight of still loftier ranges that -piled peak on peak as far as the eye could reach. The only one of these -that has as yet been trodden by the white man is Mount Victoria, which -rises to a height of 13,000 feet. This was made the objective of a -special expedition by Sir William Macgregor, who recently crossed -British New Guinea, a journey which took him fifty-one days to -accomplish. Sir William has also explored the Fly River tentatively, and -D’Albertis followed its course for 600 or 700 miles; but when these -achievements are mentioned, one has exhausted nearly all the serious -efforts that have been made in Papuan exploration. Within the last year -the Netherlands officials have issued a map that makes many valuable -additions to our knowledge of the topography of the coast-line of their -territory. - -It may make for clearness in following my journeys if the reader will at -this point submit for a moment to the drudgery of a brief examination of -the map, for my trail exhibits various doublings backwards and forwards, -and consequently exposes the narrative to the risk of confusion, unless -the main outline of the itinerary be followed. It had been my intention -to work first in Dutch New Guinea, but various accidents, and the -hostility of a warlike tribe, brought these plans to an untimely end, -and I had to spend the greater part of my time within the borders of the -British possession. Port Moresby, the British Government station, -consequently became my main base of operations, and it was in a -north-westerly and south-easterly direction from that settlement that my -journeyings lay. On the first of these I went by sea from Port Moresby -north-west to Yule Island, separated from the mainland by Hall Sound, -and then I struck up the Ethel River as far as Oo-fa-fa, where we began -our march into the interior. The chief points of the route as noted on -the map were Epa and Ekeikei, Madui, and then on to Dinawa, where we -established our first camp, and settled down for five months’ work, -which included a short expedition to the St. Joseph River. Returning to -Port Moresby, and having some time to spare, I and my son went down the -coast 75 miles to the south-east, partly on foot, partly by boat, by way -of Tupeselae, Kappa-kappa, Kalo, and Kerapuna, as far as Hood’s Bay, a -journey rather of observation than of exploration, for the region is -within the sphere of missionary enterprise, and cannot be regarded as -altogether unknown, although the geographer has not yet by any means had -his last word upon it. Reaching Port Moresby by a reversal of the same -route, we returned once more to Yule Island, and struck inland by way of -Mekeo and Epa to Ekeikei, where we built our second and most elaborate -camp, which served us as the base for our furthest journey to Mount -Kebea, and thence inland by way of Googoolee, Cooloo-coolu, Babooni, -Amana, Foula, and Avola, to Mafalu, our highest point. - -It may be worth while noting that as soon as we had passed Bioto Creek -on the Ethel River, existing maps ceased to be of use to us, and with -the exception of a few vaguely indicated mountains, presented a complete -blank. Such outlines of topography as we have filled in give in every -case the native name of the place. The fashion of rechristening -localities, although often complimentary to European explorers and their -friends, pastors, masters, and disciples, and probably commemorative of -a discovery, seems to me always to sever an interesting link with the -country under examination. For this reason I prefer the melodious native -name Papua to its western supplanter New Guinea. - -[Illustration: - - A FEATHERED ARTIST, THE BOWER-BIRD, WITH HIS HOUSE AND GARDEN. - - He distinguishes between colours, lays out his garden in alternate - rows of white and mauve flowers. -] - -Our chief movements inland may comprehensively be taken to lie within a -region bounded by a radius of 50 miles around Delana on Hall Sound. On -entering the unexplored region we found ourselves at first in a flat, -swampy country, intersected by a few tiny creeks, some not more than two -feet wide, running through grass. We next passed the eucalyptus belt and -then came the forest proper, in which the trees were at first set in -isolated patches. Undergrowth there was, but it did not attain any -density, and at intervals we could trace the trails of the sandalwood -cutter. Not long after leaving Oo-fa-fa we found a rocky eminence, from -which we enjoyed a lovely view of the entire Bioto Creek winding between -a dense border of mangroves, the vivid green of which marked the course -of the inlet, even when the shimmer of the water in the sunlight was -entirely veiled by the overhanging vegetation. Beyond lay the broader -waters of Hall Sound, bounded by the wooded shores of Yule Island, and -to the west we could descry Nicora, a small village on a hill of red -clay. The vista was closed by the sea, and in the clear atmosphere the -picture was one to be remembered. We then entered a flat tract, an -apparent plateau, at a height of 1000 feet, and for a time travelling -was over comparatively easy ground, but at Epa the forest and our -difficulties began in earnest. Henceforward we had to depend on one or -two trails very difficult to follow, and hills and valleys became -continuous. Fifteen miles inland lay before us a line of rugged peaks, -whither we were bound, but many more miles than fifteen would have to be -covered before we reached them. Further off still towered Mount Yule, -our first glimpse of the Papuan Alps. Passing Ekeikei we entered the -region of ridges, often scarcely twelve inches wide, and affording only -the most precarious foothold. The path as we rose became still more -rugged, and was crossed by numerous creeks. Then the character of the -forest changed, and we traversed damp and gloomy tracts, where the thick -vegetation excluded the sunlight. The track at this point skirted vast -and threatening precipices. At Madui we encountered peaty and spongy -ground, thickly interwoven with roots, which impeded our progress and -made the advance peculiarly toilsome, and the last stage to Dinawa was a -long dip and a longer ascent. Once there, however, we were rewarded by a -delightfully bracing climate and a glorious panorama of mountain -scenery, a delight we often longed for at Mafalu, our furthest and -highest point, where all view, save through an opening we ourselves cut -in the trees, was denied us. Even that was generally obscured, so -incessant was the rain and wetting mist. At favourable moments, however, -we would see through our clearing the sunlight in the valley far below -us, although we ourselves, dwelling as we did among the clouds, were -denied that boon. - -Such then, in brief outline, were the changes of scenery through which -we passed. The alternations of climate were not less varied. In Dutch -New Guinea it was very hot and humid, often 150° F. in the sun and 110° -in the shade. On “cool” nights we had temperatures varying from 75° to -80°. At Port Moresby 160° was no uncommon temperature, and this was -rendered worse by the lack of shade and the stony, arid country. The -great heat begins to be felt about 11 A.M., and lasts until 3 P.M. -during the season of the N.W. monsoon. The atmosphere is, however, -fairly dry at times, and the highest temperature is not nearly so -unendurable as I have found 90° in the shade at Manaos, at the -confluence of the Amazon and the Rio Negro, where the air is saturated, -and one sits mopping oneself continually and praying for sunset, -although even that brings but slight relief. This never happens at Port -Moresby, where there is sometimes a pleasantly cool evening. Towards -nightfall the S.E. monsoon dies away, and the same holds good for Yule -Island and Hood’s Bay. For some distance inland these conditions -prevail, but after Ekeikei (1500 feet) there is a decided change. -Considerable humidity prevails in the forest, and although at midday the -heat is scarcely less oppressive than on the coast, yet the traveller is -sustained by the prospect of relief, for the evenings are deliciously -cool. The average day, too, was not unbearably hot at these higher -altitudes. In the neighbourhood of the Deeanay precipice, owing to the -dense forest and the plentiful streams, it is quite cool all day, and at -Dinawa (3600 feet), although we have recorded noon temperatures of 120° -in the sun, the average at 4 A.M. was from 63° to 65°. Winds were -infrequent, but at night there was a brief land breeze from the higher -mountains. - -On the Kebea the climatic conditions are very similar, but there is more -mist, and in the morning the valleys are filled with great masses of -white rolling cloud, which rise and disappear as the sun gains power. -These vapours sometimes assume a perfectly level surface, so that they -resemble an ocean or a vast plain of snow, through which the higher -peaks rise like islands. At Mafalu the average temperature was down to -59° F. at nights, and highest in day 80° under the leafage of the -forest, and mist and rain were almost continual from 11 A.M. to 3 P.M. -As the sun sank the heavens would clear, and the mist floated past in -thin wreaths, or lay still in long, ghostly trails if no wind blew. The -nights were often cold, and these altered conditions were not without -their visible effect on animated nature, for at Mafalu the insects -changed, and we secured a fine selection of Lepidoptera we had not met -with before. - -This brief sketch of the configuration and conditions of the country -through which we travelled may, I trust, serve as a key to the more -detailed account of our journey, and with the directions and altitudes -thus succinctly placed before him, the reader may possibly find it -easier to follow us up hill and down dale. There is one more point I -would venture to impress upon him, a point which will recur again and -again—he may fancy _ad nauseam_—the difficulties of transport in Papua. -But that was the main crux of our experience, and its importance can -hardly be realised by one who has not undergone similar troubles. You -are entirely in the hands of the natives, without whom you cannot stir a -foot. All your impedimenta, your food, stores, scientific implements, -and “trade” (material for barter, the equivalent of ready money) must go -on the backs of your cannibal friends, a people without organisation, -who are hard to collect and hard to persuade to follow you. It is -necessary to rely on yourself to secure followers, though here and there -a chief may aid you. One such, the greatest “character” we encountered -in Papua, will be introduced to the reader at the proper place. On the -march continual apprehension besets the traveller lest his carriers -bolt, for if this happened in the interior he would be done for, and he -would have a terrible business to get out of the country, if indeed he -got out at all. Hence the reason why I have dwelt on our perpetually -recurring difficulties with carriers, for the natives were veritably our -staff and scrip; and had these failed us at a crucial moment, our -expedition would have broken down utterly, to the great loss of those -who had risked much on the undertaking. - -[Illustration: - - GUARDING THE WORKERS. - - Cultivated ground is generally some distance from the villages. It is - tilled by young women, who are guarded by young natives armed with - spears. -] - -On the commission of several friends, all scientific enthusiasts, whom I -have named elsewhere, I and my son Harry, a lad of sixteen, left England -in January 1901, and sailed eastward on board the _Duke of Sutherland_ -to Thursday Island, whence we proceeded on board the Netherlands gunboat -_Neas_ to Dutch New Guinea. My brief stay there, and the disappointments -that led to my seeking a different field of operations, form the subject -of the following chapter. - - - - - CHAPTER II - _DISAPPOINTMENTS IN DUTCH NEW GUINEA_ - -Dutch New Guinea—The Coast—Unsavoury Mud-banks—Merauke—The Dutch -Settlement described—Its Wonderful Modernity—A Fierce Tribe, the Tugeri, -now described for the First Time—Their Appearance and Habits—Their -Continual Murderous Raids—The Fearful Bamboo Knife—Scientific Work here -impossible owing to Danger of going beyond Settlement Boundaries— -Outbreak of a Mysterious Disease at Merauke—Its Swift Deadliness—The -Symptoms—Determine to leave Dutch New Guinea and prepare for a March -into the Unexplored Interior. - - - - - CHAPTER II - DISAPPOINTMENTS IN DUTCH NEW GUINEA - - -As we approached the shores of Dutch New Guinea, we first descried -low-lying tracts of marshy land. To the water’s edge came tall trees -loaded with orchids of the most brilliant hues and of many varieties, -notably the Dendrobium. The mangrove swamps, elsewhere so common in New -Guinea, were here entirely absent. Under the trees, close even to the -water’s brink, could be seen a dense tangled undergrowth. There was no -beach, only muddy shores. At low tide the water recedes, probably for a -quarter of a mile, leaving hard mud flats capable of sustaining men -bare-foot. During the winter monsoon a heavy surf would break on these -flats, but we arrived in fine weather, and the water was perfectly calm. - -Of course, the _Neas_ could not go inshore, but had to stand off to a -distance of at least ten miles, and we had to land by the boat. A -prominent feature of the landscape was a great spreading tree, which the -Dutch sailors had taken as their chief bearing for finding the mouth of -the Merauke River. Had the hostile natives only known how the access to -their jealously guarded territory depended upon that one landmark, it -would certainly not have been allowed to stand long. These -characteristic shores fringe the mouth of the Merauke River, which -empties itself through a small estuary about three times as wide as the -Thames at Greenwich. It is navigable for about six miles, and at the -furthest end it so narrows that the vessel could be put about only by a -clever manœuvre, during which her bow and stern all but touched the -banks. With a small survey boat, however, such as the _Neas_, drawing -from 10 to 12 feet of water, the river may be navigated for about 160 -miles. From larger vessels lying in the river off the new Dutch -settlement of Merauke, which was our point of arrival, it was usual to -land in a small dinghy. - -A row of a few yards brought us to a primitive staging, built on piles, -supporting a floating platform of logs, very slippery with the slime -left by the river at high tide. These treacherous logs were far enough -apart to permit of a man’s slipping easily between them into the -unsavoury stream. Unsavoury indeed it was, for the waters of the Merauke -are blue with a greasy alluvial deposit, closely resembling the “blue -slipper” so well known to geologists in the Isle of Wight. The Dutch -Settlement lay close to the landing-stage. It presented a rough -collection of houses and barracks for the Netherlands troops. The -largest building was the barracks, a fairly well-built structure of -wood, capable of accommodating all the Dutch troops, a force of about -150. The house of Mr. Kroesen, who was at that time the Resident, was -quite an attractive building, with a glass roof and thin bamboo walls -hung with a few curtains. It contained ten apartments, all on the ground -floor. Next in importance was the house of the Comptroller, Mr. Schadee, -which had only one apartment, with a large projecting roof and a fine -verandah, under which the Comptroller entertained his friends. A little -distance away were the open sleeping sheds of the Javanese convicts who -had been brought there to build the Settlement and to drain the marsh. - -[Illustration: - - CURIOUS DRUMS OF THE TUGERI (DUTCH NEW GUINEA). - - The body of the drum is cut and hollowed from a solid trunk, and - curiously carved. The drumheads are of lizard skin. -] - -It is curious that the Dutch always choose low-lying spots for their -settlements. Some instinct of home seems to draw them to the flat lands, -and better sites at a loftier elevation are neglected. Merauke, however, -was chosen for another reason. The Dutch had been good enough to make -their Settlement here to prevent the Tugeri from making raids on to the -British territory. The thoroughness of the Dutch character, however, -appears in the equipment of their station. When I arrived at Merauke the -Settlement was only two months old, but it was already furnished with -every accessory of civilisation, even including iron lamp-posts from -Europe. It offered, in this respect, a striking contrast to the old -British Settlement of Port Moresby. Merauke was built in a forest -clearing, and the Dutch had already laid out gardens after the -Netherlands pattern, and were raising vegetables in the coffee-coloured -soil—the result of centuries of alluvial deposit—a soil so rich and -productive that beans may be gathered three weeks after being sown. The -gardening is carried on entirely by the civilians, the officers and men -confining themselves exclusively to their military duties. As the -Settlement had been established in the centre of a dangerous and -turbulent district, it was protected with barbed wire defences and with -a ring of block-houses on the landward side. The state of unrest then -prevailing prevented me from carrying on my scientific work. I had come -to Merauke to explore and collect in new territory, but the -long-standing difficulty with the warlike Tugeri tribe was still acute, -and the very day after I landed we had abundant proof of how unwise it -would be to penetrate into the interior. On that day three or four -Javanese convicts who were working on the edge of the clearing were -heard to shout as though in distress. In five minutes an armed guard was -on the spot, but all the convicts were found decapitated by the -head-hunting Tugeri. The heads had been taken off with the bamboo knife -so cleverly, that the doctor on board our ship told me that no surgeon -with the latest surgical instruments could have removed so many heads in -so short a time. - -This bamboo knife of the Tugeri is a very remarkable weapon. It is -simply a piece of cane stripped off from the parent stem, leaving a -natural edge as keen as the finest tempered steel. - -Nor was this the only outrage. A Chinese woman had died, and had been -buried in the graveyard near the Settlement. The next morning the grave -was found to have been violated, the head taken, and all the clothing -removed. The Tugeri never showed themselves all this time, but it was -known that they were watching Merauke from the dense screen of -undergrowth which came down to the edge of the clearing. - -British settlers on the western boundary of British New Guinea have for -a long time been harassed by Tugeri raiders from the Dutch side, and the -Lieutenant-Governor’s report for 1899–1900 contains an exhaustive -account of the negotiations between the British and Dutch authorities -for the suppression of these outrages and the indemnification of -sufferers. In 1896 Sir William Macgregor undertook a punitive expedition -against the Tugeri, and at the time believed that he had finally driven -them out of British territory; but during a murderous raid on the Sanana -tribe, shortly before 1900, many persons were killed and carried away. -The chief result of the negotiations, apart from the settlement of -indemnity and the undertaking of search for missing persons, was the -Dutch decision to appoint a resident official for that part of their -territory which adjoins the British possessions. Hence the establishment -of the Merauke Settlement, and the appointment of Mr. Kroesen to take -charge of it. The Netherlands Government has guaranteed a special sum -for the administration of Merauke, and the Dutch officers there have -also been authorised to correspond directly with the British officers in -the western division on matters requiring their mutual attention, -instead of, as the Blue Book says, “by the circumlocutory channels of -their respective Governments.” - -My opportunities for observing the Tugeri were, therefore, necessarily -limited, but I am, I believe, the first person who has made any study of -this remarkable tribe, and, as far as I am aware, they have remained -hitherto undescribed. They are a very numerous people, inhabiting a -tract of country extending as far west as the Marianne Strait, and as -far east as the Fly River at longitude 141°. Inland their boundaries are -unknown, but it is probable that they extend a considerable distance -from the coast. They are known to have co-terminous boundaries with the -Kewi people, from whom the British draw their police, and who are first -found at the mouth of the Fly River. - -The first to visit the Tugeri was a renegade missionary, who had -absconded with some of the mission funds. He came upon the tribe by -accident. They captured him, took away his boat, his clothes, and all -that he possessed. Curiously enough they did not kill him, but gave him -a house and food. He stayed with them on very friendly terms for about -six months, and was at length taken off by a schooner which chanced to -touch on the coast. - -The second white man who observed them was Captain Pym, who is said to -have been the discoverer of the Merauke River, and who was certainly one -of the first traders there. - -The Tugeri are a fine race, very fierce, and absolutely unspoiled by -European vices. The men stand about 5 feet 8 inches on an average, and -are clean-limbed, powerful fellows, capable of any amount of endurance. -As a race, they are broad-shouldered, sinewy, and of enormous strength. -No European can draw their bow. This weapon is made of a longitudinal -section of the bamboo. Near the grip the diameter is about 3½ inches, -and the wood tapers at each end to a diameter of ¾–inch. The string is -of twisted fibre, and the arrow, which is made of a reed, carries to a -distance of at least 300 yards. Like all savages, they are admirable -marksmen. - -[Illustration: - - THE NATIVE METHOD OF TREE CLIMBING. -] - -In the typical Merauke Tugeri the head is rather conical, and the -forehead high but receding. The hair is sparse, beginning well up on the -cranium, and falling in long strands to the middle of the back beyond -the shoulder blades. The hair is plaited with grass and string, and from -the plait at the back rises a single osprey feather. The eyebrows are -straight and meeting, the eyes black, large, and heavy. The nose is -broad and flat, but with a prominent bridge, the mouth degraded and -fatuous, but the lips neither so thick nor so protruding as the negro’s. -The ears lie fairly flat to the head, and are not abnormally large. The -men wear an enormous ear ornament of bamboo bent into an open ring. -Round the periphery of this ring the flesh of the lobe of the ear, -previously perforated, is stretched in infancy, and as the individual -grows the natural spring of the bamboo stretches the flesh more and -more, until in manhood a loop is formed big enough to hold a ring of at -least 4 inches in diameter. It is extraordinary how the tribesmen -contrive to move amidst the tangled forest without hindrance from this -abnormal expansion of the lobe, the most unusual flesh decoration to be -found amongst mankind. When the bamboo is out the loop hangs like a long -pendant, a perfect skein of flesh, a peculiarly hideous accessory of -savage adornment. Some of the Tugeri wear an apology for a beard, or -rather two scraggy tufts of hair depending from each side of the chin. -The use of pomatum in any form is unknown. The teeth are strong and -fairly regular, but perfectly brown, owing to the habit of chewing the -betel-nut. - -For personal adornment the Tugeri wear two crossed straps of dogs’ teeth -strung together with grass. Each strap is about 3 inches wide, and is -formed of nine parallel rows of teeth. The strap that rests on the left -shoulder passes under the right armpit; that over the right shoulder -passes outside the left arm above the elbow. The straps are lightly -fastened at the point where they cross the breast. Round the right arm, -just above the elbow, they wear a curious armlet. In the case of the -richer tribesmen this is of shell, decorated with grass, or of grass -decorated with shell. The breadth is from 5 to 6 inches. On the stomach -to the right are two or three horizontal scars made by cutting or -burning. These are self-inflicted for superstitious reasons. The lower -part of the stomach is tightly drawn in (often extremely tight) with a -coil of finely plaited fibre. This seems to be worn for elegance alone, -and tight-lacing is a ruling fashion among the Tugeri dandies: the -tighter the lacing the greater the dandy. From fifteen to sixteen years -of age the young men are hopeless victims to fashion. The Tugeri go -bare-foot, but wear grass anklets adorned with shells, which rattle like -castanets as they walk. I observed, however, no dances, although these, -I understand, are performed in their villages. For decency’s sake they -wear a shell after the manner of the statuesque fig-leaf, and their -costume is completed by a necklace of dogs’ teeth and small pieces of -bone, such treasures as a savage prizes. - -Despite the natural ferocity of the Tugeri, the tribe is not without -some rudimentary notions of courtesy, and they paid the Dutch on their -arrival a similar compliment to that paid to Captain Cook, that is to -say, they were good enough to offer to provide wives for the sailors -from among their own women. Certain traders in British New Guinea are -not above accepting this civility, for the possession of a native woman -is often a valuable business asset. Some sandalwood cutters, for -example, frequently make these left-handed marriages, for the mistress -is influential in obtaining workers for her husband from among her own -people. One sandalwood cutter, a Malay, who has made a large fortune at -his trade, could always obtain double the number of labourers procurable -by any other trader on account of his _liaison_ with a native woman, by -whom he has a large family. His numerous Papuan blood-relations stand -him in good stead in his business. - -The houses of the Tugeri are built of grass and bamboo. The walls rise -to a height of about ten feet and are covered with a span roof. I -observed their villages only from a distance, however, and never -accompanied the Dutch soldiers on any of their expeditions. Some of the -villages are very large, consisting of two or three hundred houses. Near -the townships immense cocoanut plantations invariably occur, and these -seem to form the chief wealth of the Tugeri. - -A strange part of the Tugeri’s paraphernalia was their extraordinary -drums. The body of these, shaped like a dice-box, was hewn out of a -solid log, hollowed, and curiously carved. Midway at the narrowest point -was a clumsy handle, also hewn from the log. The drum heads are of -lizard skin. The performer carries the instrument by the handle in the -left hand, and beats with his right. The noise is prodigious. - -The tribe domesticates the gaura. This bird has frequently been -described by naturalists, but a short account of it may not be -inopportune here, as I was fortunate in obtaining many good specimens of -it. The gaura is half as large again as the guinea-fowl, and weighs from -five to ten pounds. The beak is longer than that of the ordinary pigeon, -but is not large in proportion to the bird. It has the ordinary -characteristics of the pigeon beak. The head is small, the neck short, -the body full and fleshy, and remarkably fine eating. The back is broad -and rounded, the legs brightish red and characteristically those of the -pigeon breed. The plumage of the head is a bluish silver grey with a -fine crest of a lighter shade. The crest feathers are very open in their -branching. When erected, the crest spreads out like a fan and makes a -noble display. The breast feathers are a rich maroon, the wings and back -a bluish slate colour. There are white patches on the wings, which are -tipped with maroon. The tail feathers continue the shade of the back -until within two inches of the extremity, when they are graduated into a -lovely grey, almost matching that of the crest. For all its fine looks -it is a silly bird, short and heavy of flight, and easily killed when -once found. The sportsman locates the gaura by its booming sound. - -My ten days’ stay at Merauke was a time of strange misfortune, and while -there I had the unenviable opportunity of observing a very serious -outbreak of a mysterious disease, which was said to be that deadly -beri-beri, which has lately been occupying the minds of men of science. -For some time there had been isolated cases among the Javanese convicts, -but about the second week in April the Dutch authorities became greatly -alarmed by the spread of the disease. Cases were reported daily, and all -proved fatal. At last the deaths reached the terrible figure of 160 in -ten days. The victims were all Javanese, the officials and natives went -unscathed. The doctors of the Dutch Colony were very able men, but no -relief could be given to the patient beyond administering anæsthetics. I -question whether it was rightly styled beri-beri, for in South America, -at Manaos on the Rio Negro, I have seen cases of the disease among the -Portuguese rubber gatherers, but these bore no resemblance to the -sickness at Merauke. The sufferers in South America were generally men -who led isolated lives in the vast forests of the Amazons, gathering the -sap of the _hevea braziliensis_, and living for long periods on bad -food. Victims of this type of beri-beri generally live for nine months, -and those of strong constitution and in whom the swelling had not risen -above the knees recovered. If the patient lives the old life and -continues the old diet in the forest, the disease gradually ascends -until it gets above the knees, and then its course becomes very rapid -until it reaches the heart. - -I myself caught beri-beri on the Rio Branco, and first noted its -presence by the discovery of a numb spot about the size of a halfpenny -on each ankle. The Brazilian medical men assured me that nowhere in -South America could I hope to get better, and I was ordered to quit the -country at once. Before I reached Havre the numbness was greatly -reduced, the affected patch being then the size of a farthing, and two -months after I reached home, it vanished. In Columbia I have observed -exactly the same form of the disease as on the Amazons. - -In Merauke, however, sufferers from the so-called beri-beri had no -seizure of paralysis in the lower extremities. It was always in the -abdomen, and was accompanied by the most excruciating agony. Death -usually came in four hours. There was no relief from pain; the -intestines seemed to be knotted, the patients face was pale and -agonised. He continually moaned, strained forward and doubled his body. -He held his stomach with both hands, and occasionally lay down and -rolled, and as the end approached, the intestines seemed to be forced -upwards towards the thorax, and there was great swelling. The doctors -tried poultices and fomentations in vain. They also administered castor -oil without affording any alleviation of the suffering. Perfect -consciousness remained until the very end, and the last thing the -patient always asked for was fruit. Five minutes after making this -request, he was dead. - -One evening we spent with Mr. Schadee on his verandah, there was with us -his Javanese clerk (not a convict), who was enjoying his cigarette and -apparently in the best of health. The next morning he was dead. Our -carpenter on board the _Van Doorn_ was carried off with equal -suddenness, and he, curiously enough, had never been on shore all the -time of the epidemic. The victims were always buried within five hours. -As to the communication of infection, it is doubtful whether the disease -was due in each case to external causes, or whether once having broken -out it spread from man to man. The bad rice,[1] on which the Javanese -live, may have been the cause. At the same time it may be noted, that -the convicts were working in the abominable blue mud of the river. -Another article of diet supplied to the Javanese was dried fish, very -ill cured, or rather not cured at all, and most offensive to European -nostrils. - -Footnote 1: - - Since these lines were written an eminent medical man, a specialist on - beri-beri, has publicly advanced this view.—E. A. P. - -[Illustration: - - A LAKATOI (SAILING RAFT OF CANOES) AT ANCHOR AND A DWELLING-HOUSE - BUILT OVER THE WATER. -] - -The epidemic was very costly to the Netherlands Government. The _Van -Swoll_, a Dutch merchantman, laden with the necessary plant for -establishing a settlement, was at that time lying at Merauke. After the -beri-beri broke out, there was no labour available to unload the vessel. -Mr. Kroesen accordingly decided to ship the surviving convicts on board -the _Van Swoll_, and send her back to Amboina. There she placed the -convicts in a sanatorium, and went on to Timor to procure a fresh batch -of convicts, who were to return with her to Merauke and unload her. The -delay to the _Van Swoll_ alone cost the Dutch Government 800 guilders a -day. - -No doubt a settlement in a low miasmatic country is in itself -unfavourable, but I am inclined to attribute the disease to bad diet. -This so-called beri-beri occurs also in the native princes’ prisons in -India, where the food is very bad. I am disposed to believe that the -Javanese were rendered liable to attack, because their blood had been -impoverished by several years of poor feeding before they came to -Merauke, and that the climate and worse food than they had had in Java -made them ready to receive the germs of the disease. - -Such was my visit to Dutch New Guinea. The hostility of the Tugeri and -the prevalence of disease rendered scientific work out of the question, -and accordingly after ten days I returned to Port Moresby, there to -secure means of transport for an expedition into the interior of British -New Guinea, where I proposed to continue my studies of the Lepidoptera -peculiar to that region. - - - - - CHAPTER III - _CHANGES AND STRANGE SCENES_ - -We sail to Thursday Island—A Rough Voyage in a Cattle-boat—A Glimpse of -Thursday Island—The Wonderful Colour of its Waters—We reach Port -Moresby—Contrast to the Scenery of Dutch New Guinea—Magnificent -Mountains—Evidences of Drought—Vegetation burnt up—The British -Government Post of Port Moresby described—A Good Second to Hades or -Aden—The Great Sight of Port Moresby—A Community of Hereditary Potters— -The Pottery Trading Fleet—The Strange Vessels called Lakatois—Their -Structure—Native Orgies before the Expedition starts—A New Guinea Ballet -on Deck—Seclusion of Women after the Young Braves depart with the Fleet— -My Inland Expedition fitted out—Official Courtesy—Details of Baggage— -Transport procured after Immense Trouble. - - - - - CHAPTER III - CHANGES AND STRANGE SCENES - - -While I lay at Merauke on board the _Van Doorn_, the steamship _Moresby_ -was signalled. On this I obtained a passage to Port Moresby, the seat of -government in British New Guinea, so I accordingly bade farewell to -Captain De Jong of the _Van Doorn_, and in due course we weighed anchor -for Thursday Island, at which the steamer was to touch on her voyage. -The _Moresby_ could not approach Merauke nearer than twelve miles, so we -went out to her on a small petrol launch. There happened to be a -tremendous swell on at the time, and when we came alongside the -_Moresby_ we found that the deck of the launch was often ten feet from -the companion, and we had to watch our opportunity to get on board. It -was quite half-an-hour before we succeeded. - -We found our steamer by no means attractive. She was most unsavoury on -account of the cattle carried for the ship’s use. The cabins were below -and very hot, for the vessel had been built for a cool climate, and was -not at all suited for tropical trade. She was an ordinary cargo boat, -and could not usually steam faster than eight knots an hour. - -A run of twenty-four hours’ duration brought us to Thursday Island, one -of the great centres of the pearl fishery, where many nationalities -congregate for the purposes of trade. The stores are kept for the most -part by Chinese, and Japanese and Chinese boats call there on their way -south to Sydney. The coasters also make it a point of call as they pass -from Brisbane and Sydney on their way to the Gulf of Carpentaria and -Normanton, the great centre of the Eastern cattle trade. - -Thursday Island, so small a dot in the Eastern Archipelago that the -tiniest mark a geographer can make on his map is widely out of -proportion to its size, rewards the traveller well for a visit. Although -one can walk round the island in an hour and a half, the locality is -full of interest, and the pearl fishery is very engrossing for the -observer. The boats of the fishing fleet afford a most picturesque -accessory to the scene, and the harbour is full of life. Small boats -dart about everywhere, and there is a continual coming and going. The -large Chinese and Japanese steamers, of from 6000 to 7000 tons burden, -are continually arriving at and leaving the Government wharf. The -Europeans are most agreeable and hospitable. The sea round Thursday -Island is a most wonderful colour—in parts emerald green and silver, -deep blue varied with light yellow and brown, and everywhere perfectly -clear. The tides, which at times flow with the rapidity of a mill-race, -have been studied, but are not yet understood. They are tremendously -erratic and very dangerous. Sometimes they run at the rate of seven -miles an hour, and against this steamers can make no headway. The Torres -Straits indeed, as far as Cairns, are the most dangerous seas in the -world. It is, of course, very warm in Thursday Island, but the heat is -tempered by the most delightful sea breezes. I could have enjoyed a -longer stay than twenty-four hours, but that was the limit of our -vessel’s call, and we left next day for Port Moresby, which we reached -after a two days’ run. - -[Illustration: - - MY CINGALESE LIEUTENANT, SAM, AND HIS WIFE AT THEIR HOME IN PORT - MORESBY. -] - -As we approached the coast we found that it presented a very striking -contrast to that of Dutch New Guinea. Here the mountains came close down -to the coast, which was rock-bound, but not cut to sheer cliffs. Inland -the mountain ranges ran parallel with the shore line, range towering -above range, as far as the eye could see, the whole prospect dominated -by the magnificent peak of Mount Victoria, which sprang aloft into the -azure to a height of 13,121 feet. Viewed from the sea Mount Victoria -appears to culminate in a plateau, but Sir William MacGregor declares -that it is really a mass of peaks. - -As we drew nearer to the shore we noted unmistakable evidence of the -drought, which had just set in, and which lasted for nine whole months. -The vegetation was entirely brown, and everything seemed barren and -burned up. The drought, it was said, extended as far west as the Fly -River, at the 141st degree of longitude. Even at an altitude of 6000 -feet, as I found afterwards, lycopodiums, orchids, and parasites were -falling off the trees, and this, too, within the zone of humidity for -New Guinea. - -The approach to Port Moresby is dangerous owing to the reefs that -encircle the coast, and accordingly great caution had to be used in -navigating the ship into the harbour. The course lies east, then west -along a certain known channel, and finally the navigator follows the -coast for a few hours, when, rounding a promontory on his right, he -catches his first glimpse of this anchorage. The Government post of Port -Moresby, although picturesquely situated among rolling hills which slope -down to the water’s edge, is in itself unpretentious enough—merely a -collection of houses and offices of bare, galvanised iron, -architecturally as insignificant as rabbit hutches. During the day the -temperature resembles Hades or Aden, whichever may have the priority. -Here the British official chooses to abide, although comfortable houses -of sago, with thick grass thatch, cool on the hottest day, offering a -delightful dwelling-place, might be had only a few miles distant. A -paternal administration, however, prescribes galvanised iron, and there -its servants swelter, patient and uncomplaining, after the manner of -Britons. - -Clustered about the Government buildings are various other buildings—the -jail, which more resembles a pleasure-ground, shipping offices, stores, -and the hotel. On an elevation at the farther end of the bay stands -Government House, a pleasantly situated bungalow raised off the ground -on five-foot posts. The best building in the place, as one might expect, -is the station of the London Missionary Society. - -Life at Port Moresby is not without its events, and one of the most -noteworthy of its public spectacles, and one which I was fortunate -enough to see on a subsequent visit, is the annual starting of the -_lakatois_ or huge sailing rafts, laden with pottery for trade in the -western part of the possession. - -Those who are familiar with the postage-stamp of British New Guinea -must, no doubt, have often wondered what manner of strange craft is -depicted thereon. The stamp, as will be seen from the accompanying -illustration, bears the representation of a boat, or rather a raft, -carrying two gigantic sails resembling the wings of some weird bird, and -the whole appearance of the vessel is one that arouses curiosity. This -is the _lakatoi_, the remarkable trading vessel of the hereditary -potters of Hanuabada, a little village not far from Port Moresby. The -hamlet, with its neighbour, Elevada, is built partly on land and partly -on piles in the water; but while the land part of Hanuabada stands on -the mainland, that part of Elevada which is not aquatic is founded on an -island. - -The inhabitants belong to the Motu tribe, and their numbers do not -exceed 800. Their long grass-thatched huts rise from sixteen to twenty -feet above land or water, and each has its little landing-stage on a -lower tier. The main poles supporting these structures are of rough-hewn -tree trunks driven down into the soft sand. At a height of from five to -six feet above the water the natural forks of the main poles are -retained, and across these logs are laid, forming a rude platform. -Ladders of very irregular construction give access almost at haphazard -from stage to stage. Looking through the village below the houses, the -eye encounters a perfect forest of poles, and between the dwellings in -this queer Venice of the East run little waterways just wide enough to -let a canoe pass along without grazing its outriggers. The houses -themselves each contain only one living apartment. - -In and out among the houses ply the dug-out canoes, and a very charming -feature of the village is its crowd of children, playing with toy -_lakatois_. The smallest of these toy craft are made of a section of -bamboo ballasted with stones, with a sail of the same shape as that of -the great rafts used by the grown-up people. The bigger children, -scorning the bamboo vessels, have a larger kind, in which the canoes are -real little dug-outs. These youngsters are wonderful swimmers, and as -they conduct their little regattas they jump about in the water, -swimming and diving fearlessly, and enjoying the merriest possible time. -The people of Hanuabada are an agreeable and rather comely race. They -are typical south-east coast natives, with shock heads of black wiry -hair. The women, who carry on the characteristic industry of the place, -the work in earthenware, are lithe picturesque figures in their long -_ramis_ or kilts of grass. - -It is a curious fact that, although the Hanuabada and Elevada people -live actually on waters that teem with fish, they are poor fishermen, -being, in fact, too lazy to follow that craft. They are accordingly -helped in this industry by the Hula people, whose fishing fleet presents -at night one of the most weirdly picturesque sights in Papua. Of this I -have more to say in a later chapter. - -For weeks before the annual trading expedition Hanuabada is full of -life. At every turn one comes upon women crouching on the ground, -fashioning lumps of clay into the wonderfully perfect pottery for which -the village is famous. The men-folk, although they do not condescend to -take part in the actual fashioning of the pots, are good enough to dig -the clay, which they take out of the ground with a stone adze—a flat -stone blade lashed to the shorter extremity of a forked stick, the -longer extremity forming the handle. - -[Illustration: - - HANUABADA GIRLS DANCING AND SINGING. - - Before the young braves sail on their annual pottery trading voyage, - which they make on board Lakatois (sailing rafts of canoes), they - have great rejoicing, and the young women dance on the decks of - their strange-looking vessels. -] - -There is a distinct organisation of labour among the potters, the women -being divided into “makers” and “bakers.” Several “makers” work together -in a group. They use no wheel, but seize a lump of clay with both hands, -and make a hole large enough to get the right hand in, whereupon they -gradually give the vessel its contour. After being roughly shaped, it is -smoothed off with flat sticks or the palm of the hand. The finished -article of Hanuabada ware is in the form of a flattened sphere with a -very wide mouth, and a neatly finished rim six or eight inches across. -Farther to the east, along the coast, the pottery is highly decorated, -but it is much more crude in form, and has no fine rim. The pots are -dried in the sun for several days, and then they are turned over to the -“bakers,” whose fires are blazing in every street. There are two methods -of baking. One is to lay the pot on a heap of hot ashes; the other to -build the fire right round it. The vessel is watched through the whole -process, and is continually turned on the fire with a little stick -thrust into the mouth. - -When many hundreds of pots have been completed, the Hanuabada people -begin to think about the disposal of their wares. Their great market is -at Paruru, a long way up the coast. They barter their pottery for sago -with the nations of that district, and it is very curious to note that -this extensive trading organisation on the part of an utterly savage -people has been in existence from time immemorial, and is no imitation -of European methods. To reach Paruru the potters must undertake a -perilous voyage, for which they are dependent on the tail of the -south-east monsoon. - -Then comes the preparation of the craft, the _lakatois_. Several hundred -large dug-out canoes are brought together, and are moored side by side -at the landing stages in groups of six or ten. While this is being done -many people are out in the forest cutting rattans and bamboos for -lashing the dug-outs together, and for the upper framework of the rafts. -Across the canoes, after they have been ranged at the proper distance -(amidships, about six inches apart, although their taper ends cause a -wider gap at bow and stern), are placed long bamboos, extending a -considerable distance beyond the port and starboard sides of the -outermost pair. Along the gunwales of each canoe, at regular intervals, -stout bamboo uprights are erected, and to these the horizontal cross -bamboos are strongly lashed with fibre and cane, until the whole -framework is perfectly rigid. To the cross framework the potters fix -down a floor of split bamboo, and all round the outer edges they wreathe -dried grass to prevent slipping as one steps on board. This platform -overlaps all round the raft fore and aft, and the cross-pieces are very -strong and firmly lashed. Openings are left in the floor above each -dug-out to enable the pottery to be stored in the holds of the canoes. A -clear space is left on the platform, extending about six feet from bow -and stern, and on the whole of the intervening space houses are erected -in skeleton bamboo framework. These can be entirely covered in with mats -to afford a shelter in stormy weather or in rain. The roofs as well as -the sides are formed of mats. Wooden masts are now stepped amidships and -held in place with stout stays of fibre, and then the _lakatoi_ is ready -to receive its sails. These resemble vast kites, and were formerly made -of native matting stretched upon an outer frame of bamboo, but are now -made of calico. It is difficult to describe their form, and they can -best be understood by a study of the accompanying illustration. - -Why the strange segment should be cut out of the upper part, leaving two -great wings, I have never been able to discover. The sails of the -_lakatoi_ are of themselves—things apart. Being stretched on a frame -they cannot bulge, but swing like boards. Their points rest on the deck -and work freely in a socket. The sails are hung lightly to the masts by -braces, and there is no clewing up. In spite of their comparative -rigidity they are quite manageable, and in case of sudden squalls can -easily be let go. The _lakatoi_ is now ready for use—perhaps the most -remarkable-looking craft that ever went to sea—and has only to be -tested. From the rigging and the sails float long streamers of Papuan -grass decorations, and the fleet of eight or ten _lakatois_ now lying -off Hanuabada affords, as the sun strikes the brown sails, a really -charming spectacle. - -Before they proceed to sea the careful people institute a trial trip, -and celebrate a regatta with several days of extraordinary festivity. -The fleet is sometimes augmented by some _lakatois_ from other villages. -These sail up to Port Moresby from the east to join the main expedition. -About eleven o’clock in the morning, if the wind be strong enough, the -people of Hanuabada and Elevada begin to test each vessel in the -harbour, trying how the ropes run, how the sails work, and how the -lashings hold together. Everything is thoroughly overhauled, for the -lives of the men-folk of the village depend upon the fitness of their -queer craft. The crew go on board and take up their positions. At the -bow stands the professional pilot, a man thoroughly acquainted with the -coast, and behind him, stretching in Indian file down the gunwale on -port and starboard, stand his crew, each man handling a long pole. The -steering is done from behind with two poles slightly flattened at the -ends, and forward, for certain emergencies, they use a small Chinese -sweep. The crew pole gently out from land until the breeze strikes the -sails, and then far away they go merrily down the harbour, tacking about -in every direction with wonderful dexterity, for the _lakatois_, clumsy -although they appear, are quick “in stays.” - -[Illustration: - - GIRLS DANCING ON A LAKATOI (A RAFT OF CANOES). -] - -At last comes the day when the Hanuabada people say, “If the wind is -favourable, we will start tomorrow.” Vast quantities of farinaceous food -are brought on board, and the small dug-outs are busy darting out from -the village to the fleet, bearing the stores that are to last the -voyagers for their two months’ trip. Then the festivities begin. The -damsels of the village deck themselves most artistically with finely -woven garlands that lie in close cinctures round their brows. In most -ravishing _ramis_ they go on board and celebrate the departure of the -young braves by the wildest dances on the platforms fore and aft—dances -that would put a _première danseuse_ to shame. They spin round with such -dizzying rapidity that, when I photographed them, although I used a -shutter snapping at a hundredth of a second, the image of the dancers -was somewhat blurred, as will be seen from the annexed picture. As an -accompaniment to the dances, they sing the appalling and discordant -songs of the coast native, and the merriment and motion cease only for -the intervals of feasting on yams, taro, and fish. The dancing is for -the most part independent, but occasionally there is some attempt at -rudimentary figures, and the little girls, with arms interlaced after -the manner of a “lady’s chain” in the Lancers, form a ring in the -centre, while the bigger girls circle around. - -Some of the young braves sleep on board the last night, and the next day -at dawn, if the wind should be favourable, a start is made. The last -good-byes are said, the small canoes dart to and from the shore with -final messages, and as the great _lakatois_ slowly get under way, the -girls crowd upon the beach, shouting and waving to their young heroes, -until the last odd-shaped sail has disappeared round the farthest -promontory. The men of the village will not be seen again for two -months, and some perhaps not at all, for the voyage is long and beset -with divers perils, and not every _lakatoi_ weathers the sudden -treacherous squalls and storms of the Papuan coast. - -Their captains, of course, have no knowledge whatever of the science of -navigation, and sail their vessels by cross bearings, or—when out of -sight of land—by sheer instinct. - -During the whole time that the traders are absent, gloom reigns in -Hanuabada. At nightfall the desolate women bar themselves into their -houses, and remain in the most jealous seclusion until the daylight -reappears. It is a most unflattering reflection that this custom has -only arisen since Europeans first came to Papua. - -From Port Moresby I intended to go sixty miles westward to Yule Island, -and thence push into the interior of British New Guinea, where I -proposed to pursue the special scientific work for which my expedition -had been undertaken. The point which I intended to use as my centre of -operations would require a journey up country of at least three weeks’ -duration, through an almost unknown region, where only native paths -existed, or, at the best, a missionary road extending for a short -distance. Wheeled traffic was, of course, impossible, and everything -would have to be transported by carriers. The first necessity was, -therefore, to procure transport, a work of infinite difficulty; but at -last, chiefly through the great assistance and courtesy of Mr. Hislop, -then resident magistrate of the district of Mekeo, sixty miles west of -Port Moresby, I obtained a sufficient number of carriers. Mr. Hislop -then took the trouble to go as far inland with me as our first -halting-place, Epa, in order to help me and to use his influence to -persuade the natives to give me their services. The gross weight of the -baggage to be carried must have been, at least, 2000 lbs., and it -consisted first and foremost of what is technically known as “trade,” -that is, beads, axes, 18–inch knives, 9–inch knives, 6–inch knives, -tobacco, looking-glasses, red calico, bright-coloured cotton prints, -plane-irons for axe-heads, Jew’s-harps—for which a Papuan will do almost -anything—and, most valued of all, dogs’ teeth. In addition to this, I -had to carry the whole of my apparatus for collecting—100 nets, 60 to 70 -cyanide bottles and enough cyanide of potassium to poison the whole -population of New Guinea, store boxes, pins, cork bungs, and lamps. I -had also a complete photographic equipment. - -For our own sustenance we carried a great quantity of tinned provisions, -and enough rice to feed our carriers for the journey both ways. I ought -not to omit to mention our tents, another heavy item of transport. For -arms we had our 12–bores, our revolvers, one Winchester repeating rifle, -and one Winchester repeating shot-gun, with sufficient ammunition. We -also carried a store of empty cartridge cases, recappers, loose powder, -shot, and caps, extractors and refillers. Before setting out it was -necessary to make bags of stout canvas, sewn with twine and fortified -with two coats of paint. Into these all our baggage was packed, and each -bundle was duly numbered. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - _WE STRIKE INLAND_ - -We start Inland—Friendly Natives but Hostile Mosquitoes—Bioto Creek— -Bioto—Guest Houses—A Splendid Game Region—Daily Migration of Flocks of -Pigeons—Greedy Coast Natives—Carriers Inadequate—A Double Journey in -Relays—We meet the Chief Mavai, a great Papuan Character—Mavai’s Way of -Life—His Harem—His Western Notions—His Trousers—His Red Coat—His Severe -Discipline—As we proceed, Construction of Native Houses more elaborate— -On to Ekeikei and Dinawa—March through Wet Vegetation—Tortured by -Leeches and an Abominable Parasite, the Scrub-Itch—A Gloomy Forest— -Magnificent Orchids—Carriers stimulate Laggard Comrades with Nettles—The -Aculama River—I discover a New Fish. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - WE STRIKE INLAND - - -We left Yule Island at 10 A.M. in a small boat, accompanied by two -Mission Fathers. Our baggage came on with us at the same time in a rough -boat. We reached the mouth of the river at noon, and found some natives -there fishing. They were very friendly and gave us some fish. At that -point the entrance to the river was about half a mile broad, but across -it there was a big bar. At 2 P.M. we had entered the Bioto Creek, where -we suffered tremendously from mosquitoes. Here, in fact, they are quite -a terror, and this is believed to be the very worst place for mosquitoes -in all New Guinea. During the first night that we halted there I had not -fixed my net properly, so I slept very little owing to the annoyance of -these insects. It is an unhealthy spot, and fever rages. The village is -very small, containing only nineteen houses for the regular inhabitants, -and two houses, one at each end, for visitors. This provision for the -stranger within their gates is a general custom in every Papuan village. -Despite this form of hospitality, however, the Bioto people are not very -amiable, and I found them extremely greedy. The region is a perfect one -for game, especially for duck and pigeon. Every evening one sees clouds -of pigeons flying over the sea from the mainland to Pigeon Island. In -the morning they return. This migration is to secure safety, as Pigeon -Island is uninhabited, and in its mangrove swamps the birds know that -they can sleep unmolested. After a night’s rest, such as it was, we -prepared to start again, but found the natives somewhat unwilling to go -on. At length they agreed to take us by canoe as far as the path to Epa, -about ten miles from the Bioto Creek, and from that place they would -take us five miles by road to Jack’s camp, which was six miles distant -from Epa. For this journey they demanded an absurd price—each carrier -wanted a 16–inch knife, a tomahawk, or a pearl-shell—and in this -extravagant rating of their services they showed themselves typical -coast natives. The mountain people would have done the same work for one -stick of tobacco. Before we had come to terms the day had worn away, and -it was necessary to remain another night at Bioto. Next morning we were -up early, and by the time we had breakfasted, the carriers, fifteen in -all, who had come from their gardens the night before, were ready to -take up their burdens. The number available was still inadequate, but as -no more were to be had we had to make up our minds to a double journey. -We stayed the night at Jack’s camp, sending on a messenger to Epa to ask -the chief Mavai to bring his people down the next day. By ten o’clock -the next morning Mavai had not arrived, so we decided to walk to Epa and -see him, at the same time hoping that we might meet him by the way. We -took Sam (my Cingalese servant) with us, and as there were two tracks, -he took one and I the other, each arranging to fire a gun if either -should meet Mavai. As it happened we met Mavai most opportunely just -where the two tracks met, and Sam, who had only gone a few yards, was -with us in a minute. Mavai explained that, as it was already late in the -day, he would not call his people together, but would make arrangements -for them to carry for us on the following day. - -[Illustration: - - EPA VILLAGE, MAVAI’S CAPITAL. -] - -Mavai, the chief of Epa, is a magnificent autocrat, and is proud to be -the white man’s friend. He was credited with powers of sorcery—hence his -extraordinary influence. He overshadowed me with his favour, and -commanded his entire village to “carry for Parki”—the Epan attempt to -pronounce my name. Thus I obtained the force I required to take me -onwards, and I went, one might almost say, on the shoulders of Epa—men, -women, and children. The chief himself shouldered a load, without loss -of dignity, and with great advantage to his royal pocket. - -My princely benefactor was no ordinary man. He stood about six feet -high. His features were of Roman type, his bearing active and alert, his -frame strong and wiry. Keen eyes looked out of a dark copper-coloured -visage, which gained by contrast with a scarlet coat—a discarded British -uniform, his only ceremonial garment, donned on occasions of great -gravity. Such an occasion was the issuing of his command to carry for -me. With due ceremony he mounted a platform erected near his house, and -assuming the red coat he addressed his assembled people with magnificent -oratory, emphasising his speech by actions. Mavai is a strict -disciplinarian, and I have seen him administer personal chastisement to -recalcitrant villagers. He is a mighty hunter, a fact attested by his -crushed right hand, which was maimed by a bite from a wild pig. Our -friend is a great polygamist, and formerly had fifteen wives. When we -were there at Epa he possessed only five, to whom he was extremely kind, -although he made them work pretty hard. One of them was specially -appointed to wait upon her lord at his meals. On the death of another he -was deeply affected, and cut off his mop of hair. He kept up -considerable state, and at meal times sat in his house in a different -apartment from that in which he slept. He was not above taking food with -us, and used to ask for tobacco in a very lordly way. He smoked a -European pipe, of which he was particularly proud, and when it was -between his lips he used to touch the bowl consequentially and say, -“Parki,” thus signifying to me that he was no small beer. He would pay -the deepest attention throughout a long story, looking steadily at you, -and when you had finished he would tell you what he thought, giving -elaborate reasons. In the centre of his house hung a hurricane lamp, -which he had got from Jack Exton, the sandalwood trader. He understood -the working of the lamp quite well, and kept a supply of kerosene in the -house in a tin. He was also indebted to Mr. Exton for a further adjunct -of civilisation, viz. a pair of trousers very unfashionably big at the -knee. His Highness used European spoons, forks, and knives. - -Mavai had adopted a coloured orphan, whom he kept under very strict -discipline. This youth refused to go with Sam to Oo-fa-fa, and when the -chief found out that his express orders had been disobeyed, he cut off a -stick and thrashed the boy indoors for all he was worth. The boy -received ten cuts, but neither moved nor howled, although the women of -the village set up a dolorous wailing while the punishment was going on. -As soon as the castigation was finished, Mavai seemed to be seized with -sudden shamefacedness, for he ran at top speed to his sago plantation, -and remained in retirement for a considerable time. - -At Epa the native houses begin to be beautifully constructed. They are -on a raised platform, and look like inverted boats, the roof being -formed by bending over long sticks, so as to form an arch that is -thatched with sago leaf. The floor is particularly good, and at Epa -there is an admirable guest-house, with a fine level floor of split -sago, the pieces being 1¼ inches wide, neatly laid and bound together. - -Mavai’s guest-house, which adjoined his dwelling-house, was open at both -ends. The house poles are very substantial, for they are driven into the -iron ground, which is very stony, and radiated great heat, so that one -could not go comfortably without boots, although in this respect the -natives seem to be pachydermatous. - -We saw Mavai’s son build a house, neither asking nor requiring -assistance. Single-handed he brought up his poles, peeled off the bark, -and drove them in. - -One evening during our stay there was a terrific wind storm, a heavy -north-wester, which tried the architecture of Epa severely. One slender -house began to heel over, and it was accordingly tied to a tree with -strands of cane, and a large gang of men held these stays until the -worst of the storm was passed. Even Mavai’s substantial house gave way a -little under the tempest. - -It was about 9.50 when we started on our journey from Epa to Ekeikei. We -sent twenty-five carriers on with their loads, and we ourselves followed -with the remainder of the baggage. Of course we could not carry -everything on this trip, and it was my intention, when we finally -reached our destination at Dinawa, to send back mountain men to bring -the rest of the material up the forty miles’ tramp from Epa. - -At first the path led downwards, and very soon we came to a small river, -over which—as the existing bamboo bridge was unsafe owing to a freshet— -we had to be carried by the natives. We always took great care to avoid, -as far as possible, getting our clothes wet, as this accident renders -the European traveller particularly liable to fever. In this case, -however, this precaution proved futile, owing to the oncoming of a -downpour of rain—the last we were to see for nine months. - -[Illustration: - - EKEIKEI NATIVES. -] - -At times the brushwood was very dense, and we had to cut our way, but -where the forest was closely matted above, forming a thick canopy which -excluded the light, nothing, of course, could grow beneath. At points -where the light penetrated, the undergrowth was immediately thick again. -The path, such as it was, was stony and hard. As we trudged along in the -wet, we made the acquaintance of a new discomfort. This manifested -itself in the presence of a leech, a little creature about ¾–inch long, -with a slender body, very much smaller than the European variety, but -inflicting the same sort of three-cornered bite. The native carriers -offer the easiest victims, for the leeches fasten upon their bare heels -in great numbers, and they had constantly to stop and brush them off -with little switches which they carried in their hands. Sometimes, when -the leeches had bitten very deep, the carriers had to lay down their -loads and pull them off with their fingers. They would endure them until -they became too bad, say, when a dozen or so had adhered to each foot. -At this time we did not suffer much, but later on, in the journey from -Faula to Mafulu, they got over the tops of our boots and socks and -attacked our ankles. The bite was not actually painful, and the presence -of our enemy was not revealed until we realised that our feet were wet -with blood. The chief haunts of the leech are wet stones and moss and -low herbage. - -Another discomfort which we experienced at this point of our journey was -the abominable attack of the scrub-itch, a nasty little parasite that -the wayfarer brushes from the low herbage as he moves along. This -hateful microscopic creature, which is of a bright red colour, gets -under the skin and causes terrible irritation. The affection spreads, -and if one is so unwise as to scratch the place, there is no hope of -relief for at least three weeks. The only satisfactory remedy is to -bathe the part in warm salt and water. Scrub-itch, leeches, and -mosquitoes at times render life in the forest anything but blissful, yet -Nature, according to her law, offers her compensations, even in the -primeval forest. - -About the elevation that we were traversing there grows a particular -kind of palm, peculiarly grateful to the native when he is hungry—a not -infrequent occurrence—and at such moments of stress they discard their -loads, search out this palm and cut it down. At the top, just below the -crown of the palm, the last shoot, about six feet long, remains green. -It is opened lengthways, and is peeled until the inside layers are -reached. These layers are straw-coloured, like asparagus, and to the -taste are sweet, slightly dashed with acid. Europeans, as well as -natives, can eat great quantities of this wholesome and enjoyable food -with impunity. It is excellent also for quenching thirst, for which it -is often most convenient, as it grows in waterless regions. - -The gloom of the forest was diversified by the colours of its -extraordinary orchids. One of these (_grammatophyllum speciosum_), which -had made its home on a lofty tree, was of almost incredible luxuriance, -and could the whole plant have been secured, it would not have weighed -less than half a ton. I despatched one of my native boys to climb the -tree to see if he could secure a specimen. He went about his task in the -native fashion. The climber stands with his face to the trunk, which, as -well as his body, is encircled with a hoop of rattan cane. This hoop he -holds in each hand, and his ankles are tied together. First, he leans -back until his body has purchase on the hoop, and then at that moment, -by the leverage of his ankles, he makes an upward movement of about a -foot. Then, falling backwards against the hoop, and pressing his feet -against the trunk, he is supported for the next spring. This operation -is repeated with marvellous dexterity and rapidity, and with this -contrivance the youth makes his way to the top. There is no tree in New -Guinea that a native cannot climb thus. - -In the present instance, my man was not destined to have any luck, for -the network of roots round the tree formed such a wide-spreading dome -that he could not make his way over to the crown to secure a specimen of -the orchid, and the attempt had accordingly to be abandoned. - -We pressed on along the rough track, which was everywhere beset with -precipices and ravines that compelled us to take the greatest care. The -road was fairly practicable, however, for transit, and there were no -very serious obstructions at this stage of the journey. My people were -in good spirits, and we plodded on as gaily as might be, occasionally -stopping and giving the men a smoke. Despite the toils of the road, -these halts in the forest were perfectly delightful, for we had in the -improvement of the air a foretaste of the pleasant freshness that was to -make life in the mountains of New Guinea so tolerable and even -attractive. - -After five hours’ march we arrived at Ekeikei, rather tired and ready -for slumber, but here, alas! there was no rest for us. The native -carriers had to lodge, some in our hut, some under it, and their method -of spending the night was not favourable to repose. Their idea is to -sleep for half-an-hour, and then light their pipes and spin yarns, -which, to judge by their uproarious laughter, must have been extremely -diverting. After the story-telling, they obliged us with songs, and the -music wooed them again to a brief period of slumber. It did not woo us, -for the coast natives have no ear, and their music is very unlike the -soft and flowing song of the mountaineers. This performance went on -until daybreak, when we rose. In order to make a satisfactory day’s -journey it was necessary to start at 5 A.M. We had to prepare our own -breakfast and give the natives theirs, and then we set out for Madui. - -Again, the path wound past high precipices and deep ravines until we -came to our first resting-place, Bamboo Camp, so called from a clump of -bamboo that formed a natural shelter. Here the forest trees were so high -and thick that scarcely any sun or light could penetrate. It was gloomy -in the extreme, and very depressing, the silence broken only by the -drip, drip of the rain, and the only sound of life was the “wauk,” -“wauk” of the bird of paradise. - -For two hours the track skirted the Deeanay precipice, and our way led -under enormous overhanging boulders which would reach out some distance -overhead. These were the more impressive in that they seemed to have no -hold, and the imagination made teasing suggestions as to what would -happen if one of them were to topple over. From the crevices little -springs issued, and in these damp nooks there was a luxuriant growth of -lichens and begonias in flower. While accomplishing the long -circumvention of the crags, it was impossible to obtain a view of the -Deeanay, but as we broke out into more open forest, close to Madui, one -could form some idea of its rocky magnificence. - -[Illustration: - - THE CAMP AT EKEIKEI. -] - -Close to the Deeanay precipice we noted an extraordinary sight. Under a -large tree that rose to a height of some 150 feet, were huge mounds, -quite five feet high, of veritable sawdust, that seemed to proclaim the -presence of man. On a nearer approach the wonder became greater, for the -heaps were being continually augmented by a constant rain of sawdust of -different grains, some finer than others. No human sawyer, of course, -was there, but the tree, to a height of at least 100 feet, was riddled -by coleopterous larvæ. Several families of these were represented. The -tree, which was about five feet in diameter, and had a thin bark, was, -as might be expected, dying. It must have possessed some strange -attraction, for it was most unusual in New Guinea to find beetles thus -congregated. The distribution is usually very scattered. The holes were -probably made at first by small beetles of various families, but chiefly -anobiadæ, followed as a rule by brenthidæ, later probably by -longicorniæ. One species follows the other into the same hole, each -succeeding species bigger than its predecessor. Sometimes the -lepidoptera make borings, but this sawdust was much finer. Only a few -living branches remained on the tree, which was a mere shell. It was, -however, so well protected from winds that it still stood. Close by we -saw a native hut, uninhabited, of very rude construction. This point of -our journeyings is otherwise memorable, for it was here, near a creek, -that we found some of our finest butterflies—lycenidæ, papiliosidæ, -satyridæ, and ornithoptera primus. - -We were glad to continue the ascent to Madui, where once more we emerged -into the welcome light of the sun. When we were two hours’ distance from -Madui, one of our carriers struck work and refused to go any farther. -There was only one way of persuasion, to which I was greatly averse, but -his comrades considered it necessary, and their method, which was, after -all, not very harsh, had the desired effect. The other carriers picked -the leaves of a gigantic nettle, and with these they gently whipped the -reluctant one until he was fain to “jog on the footpath way, and merrily -hent the stile a’.” A little later, he tried to desert, but his comrades -brought him back, and when we halted he was kept in the centre of the -camp under strict surveillance. When he had had a good rest and a hearty -meal, however, he went on as cheerfully as the others. - -We reached the foot of Madui Hill at 3.30 P.M., and a climb of -half-an-hour brought us to the summit, which commands a fine view. On a -clear day Hall Sound is visible on the coast side, and inland there is a -grand prospect of mountain scenery. All the way up it had rained -incessantly, and we were drenched to the skin. Our journey over rocks -and precipices, watercourses and ravines, had completely tired us out, -and, fortunately, the natives were too fatigued to sing. Accordingly, we -contrived to get a good night’s rest, and did not leave Madui until 9.25 -A.M. next day. - -[Illustration: - - THE RETURN OF MY COLLECTORS WITH BIRDS OF PARADISE AFTER A FEW HOURS’ - SHOOTING AT EKEIKEI. -] - -Getting under weigh again, we descended from Madui into a ravine, where -we passed a delightful waterfall, far away up on the precipices of the -river Aculama, which we were to know better during our stay in New -Guinea. The waterfall was on one of the tributaries of a little river, -which we could see far below us rushing over its rocky bed in small -cataracts that alternated with still blue pools. The trees in the ravine -were loaded with lycopodiums and ferns, and, in their season, a few -rhododendrons. The cluster of flowers was like a golden ball the size of -a man’s head. On a later journey I secured the root, but it died before -I could get it down to the coast for shipment. These rhododendrons did -not grow alone, but attached themselves to tree trunks. - -Another curiosity of the Aculama was a large fresh-water prawn, of which -I got wind from the natives’ talk. As soon as I heard it mentioned, I -told my boys that if they could bring me a specimen I would pay well for -it, and also for examples of the fish of the Aculama. They accordingly -went in quest of the crustacean, and before long they brought me a -specimen. The prawn haunts the eddies under the large boulders, around -which the natives draw their net so as to lie close to the shape of the -stone. They then pull it out of the water gradually, and occasionally -find that they have caught one or two specimens. The variety is about 5 -inches long, of a transparent brown when caught, very much like our -British prawns, and when cooked of a rich red. The pincers and legs are -longer than those of the marine species. They make delightful morsels, -and are a welcome addition to the explorer’s larder, which provides -changes none too many. - -In the waters of the Aculama I had also the good fortune to discover an -entirely new fish, the _rhiacichthys Novæ Guineæ_, which has been -described by Mr. Boulenger, and I am permitted to print his account in -the Appendix. - - - - - CHAPTER V - _THE FIRST CAMP_ - -Journey continued—A Glorious Scarlet Creeper—Dinawa—Site for Camp -selected—Building Camp—Native Assistance—Organisation for Scientific -Work—Daily Routine—Teaching the Natives how to Catch and Handle -Entomological Specimens—Sudden Affluence leads one of my Native Boys to -Desert—He is Caught and Reformed—My best Native Assistant and his Wife— -Female Influence a great Asset with other Women—The Day’s Work— -Collecting at Night—Photography—A Dark Room in the Wilds—Native Interest -in Developing. - - - - - CHAPTER V - THE FIRST CAMP - - -To return, however, to our journey. We crossed the Aculama by a -missionary bridge, a rough structure made of two trees placed about a -couple of feet apart, and laid with cross strips of wood. At once we -began our climb to Dinawa up a winding forest path—the last stage of the -march which was to bring us to our permanent camp. I was always on the -look-out for natural treasures, and when we got to the top of the ridge -just beyond the Aculama, I was fortunate enough to see in a ravine just -below a magnificent example of D’Alberti’s creeper. D’Alberti had -discovered it on the Fly River. The one I found here in the mountains -was of the variety named _Macuna Bennetti_. It ran up its supporting -trunk on a stem which was about 6 inches thick at the base. At the -height of 200 feet it found light, threw out slender arms, and then -dropped down bunches of festoons 20 feet long, a magnificent blaze of -scarlet blossom. The flowers of the _Macuna Bennetti_ are distinguished -by a calyx covered with short hairs, some short and pliable, a few -stiff. When we reached the top of Dinawa Hill we found patches of grass -growing, which did not occur anywhere on the lower slopes. - -We at once set about selecting a piece of ground for our camp, and found -a level, grassy space, which required only the cutting of a few trees to -make it clear enough for our purpose. There was, however, very little -brushwood to cut. Pending the building of a more permanent home, we -pitched our tent and settled down for the first night at our base of -operations. Dinawa village was fifty yards away, and the native men came -timidly out to look at us. They were very suspicious, and their -womenkind so shy that it was a considerable time before they would -venture to approach our camp. - -The day after our arrival the carriers went back, and it was to the -Papuans of the vicinity that we had to look for the labour that was to -build our house. My Cingalese servant, Sam, spoke the language, and he -made the overtures to our dusky neighbours. We were careful to let them -get some inkling of the “trade” we carried, and this seemed to encourage -them to greater boldness. Occasionally we would open a box in front of -our visitors and show them an axe or a knife, whereat they would say -“lo-pi-ang,” that is, “good,” the first word, probably, that a European -would hear from the lips of a Papuan. A little present of tobacco would -help matters greatly, and in return for this the beneficiary would say -with the ingratiating guilelessness of a child, “Parki lo-pi-ang” (good -Pratt). In time the neighbouring villages, hearing of the vast wealth -that had arrived at Dinawa, came in too, and I was able to engage a -force of workers, whose numbers varied from ten to fifteen, and who -commenced immediately to build my house. These were to be paid when the -house was finished; but during the ten days that the building was going -on they were given occasional supplies of tobacco as a gratuity. The -average wage per day was three sticks of tobacco, or one rami, which -would mean about 1¼ yards of scarlet calico. At the end of the time each -man was to receive a large 18–inch knife, or an axe, and a certain -number of sticks of tobacco. - -[Illustration: - - HILL NATIVES AT DINAWA. -] - -For our house, we first drove into the ground two stout poles 18 feet -apart. These carried the main beam of the roof. At a distance of 6 feet -on each side of these poles we placed the corner supports of the house, -each 12 feet high. The framework was then joined up with poles of -unsplit bamboo tied with split cane, and the framework of the walls -consisted of upright pieces of split bamboo set in the ground 1 foot -apart. We then wattled these uprights with smaller pieces of split -bamboo, the sides and gables of the house forming a complete -basket-work. From the ridge-pole we dropped bamboo rafters extending far -beyond the walls, so as to give very wide eaves, and throw the drip of -the rain as far out as possible. We were now ready to thatch the roof, -and for this we required large quantities of grass. The natives by this -time had gained sufficient confidence in us to allow their women to work -for us, and accordingly I employed ten women as grass-cutters, and kept -them for several days at work cutting with 6–inch knives, which we -supplied. They had no distance to go to find sufficient grass for our -purpose, but the procuring of heavier poles and bamboo was a different -matter. The wood had to be cut at a point some distance down the hill, -and it took quite three hours to bring up each of the heavier logs. When -the roof was on we nailed down our floor, which was made of bamboo fixed -to cross-pieces 6 inches off the ground. The material was not ideal, for -the joints were never closed, and small articles used to fall down into -the cracks. We made our door frame of axed wood and covered it with -thick canvas. - -We had also to build our collecting verandah, which we placed on the -edge of a precipice not far from the house. It had a 20–foot frontage, -and was 12 feet wide, with a division down the centre at the ridge-pole -of the roof, which made it, properly speaking, two verandahs placed back -to back, so that when the wind was unfavourable on one side, we could -find shelter on the other. The whole of the structure was raised off the -ground on poles, and the boys had their quarters beneath. - -Such was our establishment at Dinawa. When we had finished it we began -to settle down, and were able to organise the camp for work. A native -boy called Doboi, from near Dinawa village, was engaged as cook, and we -had also a water-boy, Matu, whose duty was to go down the hill, a tramp -of three-quarters of an hour, to a beautiful spring whence we derived -our supply. It was lovely water, for the declivity gave no opportunity -for decomposing vegetable matter to collect. The well always ran clear, -and, even at the worst part of the drought, did not fail us altogether, -although its trickle had sunk to the size of an ordinary lead-pencil, -and the boy had to wait quite a long time before he could fill the -billies. - -We built our fire outside the house in the open space, gipsy fashion, -and hung the billy, in which we did all our cooking, on a stick resting -on two forked upright sticks. Gradually our working day fell into a -regular routine. We awoke with the dawn, but had always to trust to -ourselves to make the first start, as your Papuan will not wake a -sleeping man. He has indeed a superstitious awe of the slumberer. If one -must be awakened, it must not be by a shake, and when Doboi had advanced -far enough to bring us a cup of tea in the morning, he would tread very -warily. - -When we were fairly astir, we found Doboi already about and the fire -going. Then he would make tea while Harry or I baked cakes. The bread -rises easily in New Guinea owing to the temperature, and we were never -at a loss for yeast; for I had brought with me a small quantity of hops, -and we kept our supply going by keeping back a piece of dough from every -batch. This fragment, no bigger than a pocket matchbox, we placed in an -ordinary pound tin, and by noon it had swelled right over the edges. We -breakfasted on bread and dripping of pig, when we had been able to buy -one from the natives, and sometimes we substituted coffee for tea. By -seven o’clock breakfast was finished, the boys having had theirs under -the verandah. It was then time for them to be off to their collecting, -but they were difficult to move. They wanted to sit and smoke. Once off, -they might do a day’s work, but on the other hand there was just the -chance that they would waste their employer’s time in the forest, -smoking and telling stories; or, if they had killed and caught anything, -they would immediately sit down and cook it. If this happened they would -come home empty-handed, quite shamelessly, saying “awpapoo achi” (no -butterflies). - -Each boy was supplied with a large butterfly net and collecting box. In -every box we stuck a certain number of pins, and told the boy that if he -filled his box with good specimens he would receive a stick of tobacco. -Bad specimens I always discarded in the culprit’s presence, so that his -iniquity might come home to him. I had, of course, to undertake the -training of the collectors myself, although Sam helped to explain the -method. - -First, I got a butterfly and showed how to handle it and pin it sideways -into the box. The crucial matter was the seizing of it once it was in -the net. It must be carefully taken between finger and thumb and the -thorax pinched on the under side. If it be pinched from above—as every -butterfly collector knows—the operator’s finger-marks would show on the -wings and betray slovenly handling. Some of the boys became very -neat-fingered after a time, but others would not learn at all, and were -so shameless that they would bring in part of a wing carefully stuck on -the pin—in fact, it was “anything to fill your box.” Occasionally the -less scrupulous would appropriate the pins to their own use. Of course -there was nothing for it but to pay off and send away such useless -fellows. - -[Illustration: - - DOBOI, OUR NATIVE COOK AT DINAWA. -] - -Making due allowance, however, for the fact that they were savages, the -general character of my collectors said a great deal for human nature. -Doboi was a really good fellow, and had only one reprehensible escapade -to his discredit. It was a case of the deceitfulness of wealth! He had -worked extremely well and had amassed a small fortune, a blanket, many -ramis, and a quantity of tobacco. With these possessions, he became a -small king in his village. One day he vanished with all his goods. Now -Doboi was under contract to remain with me while I was in the interior, -and although he had received much, he had not really worked off his part -of the bargain. Accordingly I had him pursued and brought back, and -thereafter for the rest of his time he was a good boy. He was fourteen, -but had attained to full manhood, and was a very capable fellow. - -My best mountain boy, however, was Ow-bow. He was my right hand, my -native first officer. I could send him anywhere, for he was quick and -alert, but he always stipulated that he must go armed, and believing him -to be justified, I invariably provided him with a weapon. He loved -firearms passionately, and to see Ow-bow enter a village with his gun -over his shoulder was to realise on a small scale what a Roman triumph -must have been! He understood the weapon—his fellow-tribesmen did not. -Therein lay Ow-bow’s power. He would fire a shot in the air and then lay -down the law to his comrades. If there were any possibility of getting -what you wanted, Ow-bow would get it. He would, indeed, have done well -on an American newspaper. He understood how to make the most of what -knowledge he had, and was fully conscious that it gave him superior -power, which he was not slow to wield. When he went to a village to -recruit carriers, he arrayed himself in his best, donned his finest -beads and feathers, and painted his cheeks in scarlet stripes. Thus -resplendent, with his gun over his shoulder, he entered the village, -strutting consequentially, and immediately made his presence felt. He -was a man who would not and could not be refused. He showed his wages -and told the tribesmen that they, if they carried for Parki, would -become rich in like manner. - -More subtle still was his dealing when he had been sent to engage women -for grass-cutting or similar employment. Ow-bow was a married man who -had permission for his wife to stay in camp with him, and this lady -proved his great advocate with her own sex. While Ow-bow waxed eloquent -and persuasive with the men, Mrs. Ow-bow would display to the womenkind -what wealth had also come to her, and as she reasoned, her sisters were -persuaded, and took service with the white man. But Ow-bow’s flourishes -with the gun were no mere vainglorious show. In two months’ time he had -become a really good shot, and after a morning’s sport would often -return to camp with five or six birds. He invariably accounted for his -empty cartridges, while other boys would return with spent cases and -never a feather to show for them. He grasped the method of aiming at -once and never showed any amateurish disposition to squint along the -barrel, but got his sights on the bird neatly and quickly and fired -without hesitation. He seldom missed. - -During the morning, while the boys were out at work, Harry and I would -also be engaged with our nets; or, as our collections increased, we -would be busy putting specimens together, tending them and seeing that -they were not suffering from damp. Sometimes, taking a couple of the -laziest boys with me, I descended to the Aculama and followed the stream -up its course, collecting as we went. As the boys’ skill increased, it -became possible to send them two by two so that several localities could -be worked simultaneously. Work, still further afield, fell to Sam, who -often went away with five or six carriers on collecting expeditions that -lasted a week or a fortnight. - -The best time of day for butterflies is from 8 A.M. till noon. The boys -returned to camp at times varying according to their luck or their -laziness, and in any case, we had all returned by three o’clock. Then -Doboi or Weiyah cooked a meal which varied in excellence according to -the state of the stores or our luck with the gun, and afterwards we took -our siesta. The late afternoon or early evening found us at work again -on the collections or putting the camp straight. Darkness descended -quickly, and when there was no moon we went to the verandah and began -collecting moths. On favourable nights we often continued at work till -daybreak. - -The boys did not care about night work and usually sat round the camp -fire smoking, spinning yarns, or crooning their charmingly plaintive -mountain melodies until about 1 A.M., when they curled up under the -verandah and went to sleep. Occasionally one or two very hard-up young -gentlemen, whose need of tobacco was urgent, would volunteer to assist -in the moth-catching, but for the most part they preferred free evenings -like the young working people of more advanced nations. Visitors from -Dinawa dropped in until the camp became a thronged resort. Then -unfortunately things began to disappear, and it was necessary to keep -the natives at a greater distance and restrict liberty of entrance. “No -admission except on business” became the rule for outsiders. On my own -boys, I found it was best to impose no cast-iron regulations. - -Nor were these all our occupations. Besides the lepidoptera, there were -ornithological and botanical specimens to collect and preserve. Of the -last, the more succulent required constant care and changing, and some -took three weeks to dry. Photography proved a pleasant change, and on -nights unfavourable for moths, we darkened the house with blankets and -had a spell of developing. At such times one realised poignantly the -limitations of a savage country, and the value of things that at home -are too commonplace to be remarked. Our chief lack was a good flat -shelf. Amateur photographers with luxurious equipment should figure to -themselves the discomforts of a ridgy shelf of split bamboo on which no -bottle will stand upright. Groping in the dim red light among one’s -materials on that crazy ledge was as productive of maledictions as the -royal and ancient game itself. - -[Illustration: - - THE NATIVE VILLAGE OF DINAWA. -] - -The natives were, at first, very much frightened at the camera, the -women especially, and some of them were never reconciled to it. I showed -them stereoscopic slides of Papuan views on Negretti and Zambra’s -veroscope. One fellow, on seeing his own portrait stand out in bold -relief, dropped the stereoscope and ran up a tree. I occasionally -allowed a few privileged natives to come into the dark room to watch the -developing. At first they were rather alarmed at the red light, but -gradually they became interested in the process, and as the image -appeared we heard the inevitable “lo-pi-ang.” - -Such was our daily life at Dinawa—very enjoyable in the crisp and -bracing mountain air that reminded one of an English October. But for -the unavoidable cares of camp management and fears for the endurance of -our food supply and the safety of our specimens, it would have been -altogether ideal. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - _VICISSITUDES AND A DIGRESSION_ - -The Drought affects our Work—Butterflies begin to Fail—Forest Fires—We -descend to the St. Joseph River—A Temporary Camp—A Wonderful Native -Suspension Bridge—River Scenery—Native Methods of Fishing—Dull Weather -and Little Success in Collecting—A Comic Incident—A Native besieged by a -Wild Pig—War—Native Hostility—A Chief threatens to Cook and Eat our -Heads—Strict Guard kept on Camp—The Bird of Paradise—Papuan Game Laws— -Natives’ Interest in Writing—Further Stay at the St. Joseph -Impracticable—A Flood destroys our Bridge—A Visit to a Native Village— -Curious Means of Ingress—Return to Dinawa—My Cingalese Headman’s -Experiences—He evades Native Treachery—Sudden Growth of a New Township. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - VICISSITUDES AND A DIGRESSION - - -As the days went on at Dinawa, there was no sign of any breaking up of -the great drought, which began seriously to affect the success of our -work. Butterflies grew scarce, and daily the catch fell off, for the -vegetation was getting very dry. Lycopodiums were dropping off the -trees, and often we could see, in the lower grounds, great forest fires, -which consumed the undergrowth throughout large tracts of country, miles -and miles being left blackened and burnt up. In these conflagrations, -millions of low-feeding and high-feeding larvæ must have been destroyed, -and there was a corresponding decrease in the insect life of the -district. Seeing that, for a time, there was not much more to be done, -we decided to quit our camp at Dinawa and descend to the St. Joseph -River; so, on July 22, we set out with thirty carriers, and went down -into a deep valley, whence we climbed a ridge which brought us to a -native village so strongly stockaded that we knew that the tribes must -be at war—village against village—and this unsettled state of affairs -made it very difficult to persuade the natives to pass with us through -the open country that lay between the hamlets. - -At this place we changed carriers, and, accompanied by the chief of the -village, we descended by an extremely rough native path to the St. -Joseph River, which we reached at 4 P.M., after a march of about six -hours. We found the river very low but beautifully limpid and very -rapid. For our camp we immediately chose a small patch of sand close to -the stream, the only clear space we could find; for the river bed and -the gorge itself were filled with enormous boulders piled one upon the -other in the wildest confusion. - -Our temporary dwellings were of the simplest. Harry and I occupied an -ordinary fly-tent, and another was pitched for our native followers. On -the day after our arrival we set about constructing a rough bridge for -our own convenience. This we did by felling a tree on one side of the -stream and letting it fall across the river bed as far as it would go. -We repeated the operation with a thinner tree, which we let fall from -the opposite bank, and the branches of the two intertwining in the -middle, gave the structure some sort of continuity. Along the two trunks -we could scramble without any very great difficulty. Our feat of -engineering, however, was as nothing compared to the one achieved by our -savage neighbours, for at a little distance up the stream the Papuans -had spanned the gorge with a most wonderful suspension bridge. Across -the ravine they had swung four main chains of bamboo. These were -fastened at each end to a rigid horizontal cross-piece, and this again -was braced on one side of the river to two trees, of no very great -thickness, but of tremendous sustaining power, while on the other the -chains were laid over the top of an enormous crag, then across a little -depression in the ground behind it, and so were made fast to trees at -the height of a few feet from the ground. The four main chains were -under-girt with loops of bamboo, forming a cradle, along the bottom of -which single bamboos were laid on end, affording a precarious footway. -The total length of the span was at least 150 feet, and it swung clear -of the tree-tops on the wooded sides of the gorge. At its greatest dip -the bridge must have been 70 feet above the river. The elasticity and -swing were tremendous, and I confess that the passage of the bridge was -no joke to one unaccustomed to its giddy eccentricities. On this -veritable tight-rope custom is everything, for I have seen fifteen -native carriers at one time dancing carelessly across it, regardless of -their heavy loads and of the tremendous increase in the oscillation that -their numbers caused. - -I crossed with some natives of the district, and having descended the -right bank of the St. Joseph for about a mile, we came to the mouth of a -small tributary, the bed of which we ascended for a distance of half a -mile. It was a toilsome ascent owing to the enormous boulders, to which -I have already alluded, and I found that the safest way was to take off -my shoes and stockings and clamber along bare-foot. At intervals among -these boulders occurred calm pools of exquisite deep blue water, and -these the natives choose as their fishing grounds. They favour the pools -with the narrowest outlets, and dam with leaves the little waterfalls, -or natural weirs over which the water rushes from one clear expanse to -another. - -My native companions, being very agreeable and obliging fellows, were -kind enough to send to their villages for the great fishing-nets, 30 -yards long and 6 or 7 feet wide. When the nets arrived, the natives -collected stones about the size of an orange, wrapped palm leaves round -them, and then tied them to the edge of the net, until it was evenly -weighted all along, at intervals of about 6 inches. They then lowered -their net into the water, so arranging it as to form a half-moon, and, -scrambling along the sides of the watercourse, they gradually drew the -mesh towards them, until they reached the upper end of the pool, where -natives, standing breast-high in the water, landed the fish, as they -were pressed towards the bank, in large dip nets. Some of the fish -jumped over the net, and some escaped down stream, and even managed to -plunge over the weir, for they were strong enough to take a leap of 6 -feet. We caught eight beauties, none under 2 lbs. in weight, and some up -to 4 lbs. They were, as far as I could make out, a species of -fresh-water mullet, and in the main stream of the St. Joseph similar -fish, weighing as much as 15 lbs., are no uncommon catch. - -These fish are wonderfully provided by Nature with an appliance which -helps them to combat the extraordinary current. At one moment you will -see them being swept down resistlessly, but suddenly they shoot off into -the quieter water and attach themselves to the rocks by a strong sucker -near the mouth. There they hang just outside the current, their tails -moving gently with the eddy; and when they have recovered their -strength, they make another dash through the swifter waters, coming to -anchor again when baffled—otherwise it would be impossible for them to -stem the stream. The fish we caught that day made a most welcome -addition to our larder, as they are delicious eating. - -[Illustration: - - FISHING WITH HAND-NET ON THE UPPER WATERS OF THE ST. JOSEPH RIVER. -] - -From a scientific point of view we did not gain much by our expedition -to the St. Joseph River. Every day the skies were leaden, and during the -whole time of our stay we saw no sun. Butterflies were scarcely more -plentiful than they had been at Dinawa, and once, after a whole -morning’s work, Harry had only secured two—fine specimens, no doubt, but -even at that an insufficient reward for the time spent. Every night we -kept the lamp going, but the moths were very scarce, although our camp -was in the heart of the forest. - -Our life at St. Joseph River, however, was not to be all tranquillity. -Once we had an alarm which fortunately degenerated into an incident of -pure comedy, although it might have been very serious. At nightfall, one -evening, a native boy, who had gone out shooting, had not returned, and -we began to grow very anxious about him. At eight o’clock, however, he -came into camp in a state of considerable agitation and bringing a -strange tale of a pig. He had shot a tusker with No. 9 shot, but had -only wounded it, and the animal charged him, whereupon he had thrown -away his gun and run up a tree. Then the pig sat down over against him -and laid siege to him, and our poor friend abode in the tree for several -hours. Finally, however, the pig’s wound, which was over his eye, so -blinded him with blood that he raised the siege in disgust and made off -to his fastnesses. - -As time went on the rumours of war increased, and one day three natives -came in from the village of Mi-Mi, six hours’ journey higher up the -mountains, on the top of a ridge. They came from the chief of Baw-boi, a -fierce warrior, who kept all the small villages round him in abject -terror. His emissaries conveyed to me a most agreeable message, that if -we and our followers should honour him with a visit at Mi-Mi, he would -kill my men, and have the pleasure of cooking and eating our heads—a -compliment, presumably, to the superiority of European brains. I had -fully intended to visit him, but after this token of cordiality I -refrained, so that the menu of the chief of Baw-boi’s regal banquet has -not yet included the tempting item, “braised brains of Pratt.” After the -chief’s intimation I kept fires going all night at both ends of the -camp, but it was not necessary to post a stricter watch than usual, for -three or four of my men always kept awake in their hammocks during the -dark hours. This precaution is, in fact, so natural to savages that they -never need to be reminded of its necessity. We heard that the chief of -Baw-boi had placed his village in a complete state of defence, had -excavated a trench 18 feet wide all round, and had erected a stockade. -The effect of these hostile preparations on the weaker villages round we -were to learn later from Sam, who was, at this time, a day’s journey -higher up the river carrying on collecting work for me. - -The days seemed very long from lack of occupation, and the nights also, -for we could not sleep for the roar of the St. Joseph River. -Occasionally there were amusing incidents. One of my men, Gaberio, had a -brilliant inspiration. He thought he would shoot fish with a rifle, and -was allowed to go and try; but not only were they too quick for him, -but, of course, the water deflected the ball, and the refraction of -light through water makes a true aim impossible. Gaberio, who had no -knowledge of natural science, covered his defeat by another excuse— -“Water too deep,” said Gaberio. - -We found here some indication of rudimentary game laws existing among -the Papuans. Round this region dwelt certain chiefs, in whose territory -grew the play-trees of the _raggiana_ or red bird of paradise. These -gentlemen intimated to us that any one who came to shoot the _raggiana_ -must pay them a fee, as the birds, by virtue of their coming to play in -their trees, were their property. - -As the natives had little to do in camp, they used to sit round Harry, -watching him with the greatest interest while he posted his diary, and -exclaiming at intervals, “mallelee lo-pi-ang” (good writing). It is most -singular that they should have had a word for writing, for I found no -trace among them even of picture writing, if we except the markings on -the “bau-bau” or pipe; but it is probable that they had some means of -communication by scratching on bark, otherwise the existence of the term -seems to be inexplicable. - -At length I saw that a further stay at the St. Joseph was impracticable. -A flood came down and washed away our bridge, and it was with no great -reluctance that we struck our camp and returned to Dinawa. On the way we -repassed the village of Fa-lo-foida, which stands on the top of a -conical hill surrounded by precipices. It was strongly stockaded, and we -had a stiff clamber to get to the top. To enter the stockade we had to -pass through the outer native house before gaining access to the centre -of the village, a sort of compound. The stockade was closely built, only -a few bars being left loose for ingress and egress, and the entrance -could easily be shut in case of attack. - -A march lasting from 6 A.M. till 12.30 P.M. brought us back to Dinawa, -where we found all well and in good order, except our plants and one of -the birds. A “magnificent,” a really beautiful specimen of that species -of paradise bird, which one of my boys had brought in, and which we had -hoped to keep in a cage, had died, probably because when its captor -brought it into camp he slung it head downwards from a pole, and kept it -in that position several hours. We were heartily sorry to lose so fine -an example of the _kellelo_, as the Papuans call that variety. - -Two days after our return to Dinawa camp, Sam rejoined us. He had much -to tell, for the times had been rather stirring with him. My head-man as -well as I had received the polite attentions of the Baw-boi chieftain, -who had sent in to say that he was not afraid of Sam and his gun, and -that he would cut off his head and eat him. After this overture Sam was -careful to camp at the bottom of the hill, but our adversary did not -give up hopes of a Cingalese dinner. A message came from another village -that if Sam would go there he would be presented with a pig; but he knew -the Papuan too well. He replied to the messengers that if they had a pig -they should bring it into camp. Of course no pig came. - -[Illustration: - - A ROUGH BRIDGE WE MADE AT THE ST. JOSEPH RIVER. -] - -From Sam we learned further that the Fa-lo-foida people, through fear of -the Baw-boi people, had cut the suspension bridge, and that the natives -farther up the St. Joseph River, on hearing of the tyrant’s warlike -preparations, had left their villages and had settled on the site of the -camp I had just quitted. Their object was, of course, to be near -friendly Fa-lo-foida, which would in time of stress be to them as a -fenced city. This incident led to the formation of quite a new township, -and before I left Dinawa for good my old camp on the St. Joseph had -become a considerable village. It was a curious example of the way in -which political necessity affected the _locale_ of village communities. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - _GOOD-BYE TO DINAWA_ - -A Beautiful New Orchid discovered and described—Drought continues— -Sufferings of the Natives—I practise as a Physician—Queer Native -Diagnosis—Gaberio, an Intelligent Native, goes collecting on his own -Account—How we kept touch—The Wireless Telegraph of the Wilds—We -determine to take our Specimens to the Coast—Methods of Preservation and -Packing—Gaberio returns—He tells of the Murder of one of his Boys— -Hardships of Camp Life—Food and Ammunition fail—We try Cockatoo Soup—A -Visit from a Fine Hill Tribe, the Ibala—They brighten the Last Days of -our Stay—Gorgeous Sunsets at Dinawa—The Ibala People return according to -Contract to act as Carriers—We depart—Trials of the March to the Coast—A -Mishap at Sea—Our Fine Herbarium ruined with Salt Water—Port Moresby -once more. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - GOOD-BYE TO DINAWA - - -Among the scientific specimens I brought back to Dinawa was a new -_phallonopsis_ which I had discovered near Fa-lo-foida as we returned -from our camp on the St. Joseph. This orchid is one of the superb -treasures that occasionally reward the seeker as he passes through the -wilds of New Guinea. It was found growing in the fork of a tree, where -it had plenty of shade and a rich damp bed of moss and leaves. The -leaves were a very brilliant dark green, and on the spray, which was -quite 3 feet long, grew thirty magnificent white flowers of exquisite -fragrance. Each specimen must have measured 2½ inches in diameter when -the sepals and petals were extended. Its whiteness fulfilled the most -rigid canons of the orchid fancier, for in judging orchids there are -whites and whites. The value is determined by substance. You may get a -white that is very satisfactory, but there is a thick waxiness of -blossom that gives to a plant the very highest value, and this -delightful specimen was as near the ideal as anything I have ever seen. -It had, of course, pseudo-bulbs, and did not live on the tree, which is -merely used as a means of support, and the plant draws its nourishment -from the humidity of the atmosphere. - -Once more we settled down to the routine life of the camp, but it became -plainer every day that, as there was no sign of the drought breaking up, -there was very little hope of satisfactory work until another year. The -skies were still brazen, and vegetation was failing more and more. The -sweet potato crop had utterly failed. Those in store had long been -consumed, and the natives were absolutely starving round us. It was no -use for them to plant another crop of sweet potatoes until the rain -should come, and they were wandering sadly all over the forest seeking -what sustenance they could. Their strength was failing, and their -privations were beginning to tell in terrible emaciation. It was pitiful -to see the starving creatures come into camp, most of them mere skin and -bone. Their children, of course, felt the pinch hardest, and there were -many deaths. To see their condition one could hardly believe that they -would ever recover, but they bore it all with a wonderful stoicism. -Occasionally they would try to catch a pig in their corrals. - -[Illustration: - - NATIVE WOMEN AT DINAWA. - - The background is the roof and side of the author’s house. -] - -The Dinawa people would also come to me for medicine, and would -constitute me their physician for small complaints, such as headache, -but I had to be very careful in this respect, for I found out that often -they wanted medicine when nothing was the matter. This recalls to me an -amusing incident of this period connected with my minor Æsculapian -dealings. One morning Doboi, Martu, and Ow-bow came in, saying that -Doboi’s mother was ill. On being questioned as to her symptoms, they -told me that she was aching all over her body, and her head was -particularly painful. Beyond these details we could not find out -anything, and as the woman was some distance off, and it was not -convenient to go that day, we gave them a headache compound and sent -them off with it. Later in the afternoon the boys returned and told us -that Ow-bow’s mother was dead, but the tidings were not so alarming as -at first appeared; for they added that “her head was dead but her -stomach was alive,” from which I understood that she was unconscious. -The neighbouring Roman Catholic missionary, on hearing this, said that -he would go over the following day. These cases were not new to him; in -fact, he told us that fainting was quite common. Obviously, the dead -head and the live stomach was a simple instance of swooning. - -During this time we had permitted our man Gaberio—whom I have already -mentioned as being with us at the St. Joseph River—to go off on his own -account collecting butterflies and birds. Gaberio was a Papuan whom I -had engaged at Port Moresby. He was very intelligent, capable, and -quick, and to his other qualities he added a knowledge of pigeon -English. I mention him chiefly because the fact of his absence brought -home to us with considerable force the value of that extraordinary -system of intercommunication prevailing among the Papuans, which may -well be called the wireless telegraphy of the wilds. For some time -Gaberio was, as one might expect in such a region, entirely beyond our -ken, and although we knew he could take care of himself very well, as -the days went on, and our departure was approaching, we felt that we -should like to have tidings of him. - -One morning, while we were writing home, we heard the natives calling -from hill to hill. In that pure air their voices carry magnificently for -a great distance, and village answers village with perfect ease from -ridge to ridge. A little later the natives came in and told us that -Gaberio was at a village called Kea-ka-mana, on the northern slope of -the hill beyond us. It appeared that he was coming back by the same -route as he had gone, and they told us that he expected to reach camp -the next day. We thought at the time that he might go from Kea-ka-mana -to the Kebea, but the natives said no, so we surmised that he must have -a good collection of butterflies and birds, for he had had fine weather— -finer, indeed, than Sam, who after all had got together quite a fine -number of specimens. This news set us quite briskly to the work of -preparation for our departure, for as soon as Gaberio should have -returned we determined to make all speed down to Epa. The next day we -were on the look-out for Gaberio, but he did not arrive, so we concluded -that he had either gone to the Kebea or was remaining at Kea-ka-mana -collecting. We filled up the day with active preparations for breaking -up the camp, and, of course, our chief care was our collections. - -[Illustration: - - THE WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY OF NEW GUINEA. - - The natives shout their news from hill-top to hill-top, thus conveying - it with amazing rapidity. -] - -The first precaution was to take measures for the preservation of our -moths and birds, so we made deep trays from the logs we had already sawn -and held over from our house-building, each tray being strong enough to -resist concussion, for as it would be carelessly carried, swung on a -long bamboo, and allowed to dash against trees and other obstacles, the -antennæ and legs of our specimens would be easily jarred, and very -probably shaken off. The butterflies did not require such care, for each -specimen was wrapped in paper and laid in sago boxes. Inside the wooden -cases we placed the moth boxes proper, and in other two cases we laid -our birds. Outside everything we pasted paper, treated with arsenic, to -keep out insects when we should come to the lower ground, for the tiny -ants at Port Moresby are legion and can penetrate the smallest aperture; -once the ants enter a naturalist’s collection, woe betide it! Our only -trouble during these packing operations was that we had not any nails -small enough, for the huge ones we had brought from the coast very often -split the wood. - -During our last fourteen days at Dinawa we had one small gleam of good -fortune in our collecting, for, curiously enough, we had quite a run of -good nights with the moths. The nights were dark and misty, and we very -often had sufficient success to encourage us to remain on the verandah -and work until the small hours. - -The second morning after the day we had our first news of Gaberio there -was more calling, and shortly we heard that our follower was still at -Kea-ka-mana, and that he had after all decided to go to the Kebea, and -would return that way. The next day, while we were hard at work on our -packing, we heard that Gaberio was on the Kebea—very pleasant news—for -he was right in the heart of the best locality for the blue bird of -paradise and for _heterocera_. There was another reason why this news -was encouraging, and that was that a native feast was pending at -Kea-ka-mana, and we had feared that Gaberio might be tempted to waste -his time there in savage orgies. According to the latest intelligence, -Gaberio would still be absent four or five days, and as he was in such a -fine collecting country we hoped he would stay out to the end of his -tether. Gaberio, however, did not fulfil our expectations in this -respect, for the next day, shortly after noon, we heard that he was not -at the Kebea at all, but that he was approaching the village on the -ridge opposite, about 500 or 600 feet above Dinawa. Three hours later -the intelligence department lied. It announced that Gaberio was at hand, -the fiction being invented, no doubt, out of the savage’s fondness for -creating a little pleasurable expectation. Unconsciously, however, -Gaberio himself disproved the story, for we heard his gun far away on -the heights, and we were able to locate him. Before nightfall we knew -that he was really at the village first mentioned, for we could clearly -distinguish his tent. - -The next morning, September 21, both Harry and I slept late, for we had -had an extremely heavy day. While we were still in bed we heard a shot -from Gaberio, whom we welcomed back about eleven o’clock. He brought a -really good collection, which included three blue birds of paradise and -four longtails. Gaberio’s news, however, was not all good, for he had to -report that one of his boys had been murdered. Whether the chief of -Baw-boi had a hand in it, or whether there was a private reason for the -crime, I cannot say. It was not on the Baw-boi side of the river, so -perhaps if it was not fortune of war it may have been misfortune of -love, for the eternal feminine is as potent in Papua for evil as she has -been in other lands since Eden or Troy was lost. Be that as it may, the -lad, a carrier from the village of Kowaka, about a day’s journey from -Dinawa, went out from camp at Ta-poo-a one night into the forest, and -there the adversary overtook him. It is probable that he was laid wait -for, or he may merely have fallen to the spear of some wandering -marauders. The natives in camp heard his cry and were speedily on the -spot, but it was too late. He had been speared through the cheek, and -his jugular vein had been severed. In a very few minutes he died. The -victim’s own kindred came in to take charge of the body, arriving even -before Gaberio’s messenger could reach their village, so swift and -mysterious is the communication of news in New Guinea. - -Now that Gaberio was back we were more than ever anxious to leave, for -our provisions were running very low, and we were living principally on -cockatoo soup. To make matters worse we had almost run out of -ammunition, and for some time not even a pigeon broke the monotony of -our poor fare. Occasionally we procured one or two sweet potatoes, but -the natives were naturally very unwilling to sell them. A further -difficulty stared us in the face, for the exhaustion of the natives -through famine was now so great that I did not know how we were to get -our baggage down to the coast, but relief dropped, if not from the -clouds, at least from the hills. - -One day we heard that the people of Ibala, who had heard of the white -men’s coming, had been sufficiently overcome with curiosity to make the -journey from their distant home to visit us. At that home of theirs, far -away on one of the greater mountain sides of the Owen Stanley range, I -had often gazed with wonder and all the explorer’s longing. Some five or -six days’ journey to the north towered a great and mysterious peak, -higher than Mount Yule, the northern slopes of which I imagine were in -German territory. Close to this mountain was a range of low foot-hills, -bare of trees, but clothed, as far as we could make out through our -glasses, with rich pasturage, and it seemed an ideal spot for some -future stock-breeder in New Guinea, for such open spaces for -grazing-grounds are uncommon in the island. From these foot-hills there -rose continually into the clear air countless columns of pale blue -smoke, telling of a numerous population. On the mountain the forests -hung dense to the summit, but the strangest thing of all was that -through these masses of trees there ran what seemed like a drive, rising -straight to the highest ridge, its sides as sharply and clearly marked -as though it had been cleared by the hand of man. There were no -straggling trees dotted here and there at irregular intervals from the -sides. The forest left off sharply in an ascending line, but the space -seemed to extend for at least 300 yards, and then the forest began -again, being as clearly defined as the side of a well-built street. On -the very summit we could make out through our glasses the presence of -giant araucarias, of which I obtained some specimens from Sam, who, -while absent on one of his short expeditions, sent a native up the -mountain for seedlings. I hoped that one of these might find a home in -some British collection, but, unfortunately, it died of the drought. - -[Illustration: - - NATIVES OF ENUMAKA IN THE OWEN STANLEY RANGE. -] - -It was from that region that the Ibala people hailed, and certainly, had -the difficulties of transport not been so great, I should long ere this -have visited them in their fastnesses. These fine northern men entered -camp very shyly, and sat down with great diffidence. In appearance they -were really handsome. Each man stood 5 feet 8 inches on an average; all -were of fine physique and of a rich copper colour. Their women, of whom -they brought a few, were not quite so tall. They were all in full -finery, the men decorated with feathers, their faces painted in regular -stripes with the juice of a scarlet berry. Between each red stripe ran a -line of charcoal to set off the colour. A few of them wore the -transverse pencil of tapering shell thrust through the septum of the -nose, a form of decoration much affected by Papuan dandies. The women’s -chief article of apparel was the customary dogs’ teeth necklace. - -At first our visitors did not ask for anything, but talked in a -desultory way through Ow-bow, who knew their language. Later in the -afternoon, however, they proffered a request for some tobacco. Here was -my opportunity. These admirable fellows, who had come from a region -where there was no famine and were in the pink of condition, were just -the very material I wanted for my journey. Accordingly, I said that they -should receive tobacco on condition that, on their being called by -wireless telegraphy, they would return and carry me to Ekeikei. They -gave me their word, and I took the risk of their keeping it. They -received their tobacco, but were in no apparent hurry to depart. In -fact, they stayed two whole days, got over their first shyness, and -cheered us up wonderfully—indeed, it was “roaring camp!” Growing bolder, -they pried into everything, and the house was always full. There was -great coming and going with the Dinawa people, with whom the Ibala -people were related by marriage, and the nights were musical with -unceasing mountain choruses. - -Nothing would content them but they must see everything that the white -men possessed, and it was very amusing to watch the men calling the -women’s attention to anything that particularly attracted them. They -felt our clothes and looked with curiosity at our photographs. In their -power of appreciating and understanding a picture, one could realise how -much higher in the social scale they were than their neighbours, the -Australian aborigines, to whom drawing was unintelligible. They would -pick out the portraits of Dinawa characters, and exclaim with great -delight, “Ow-bow—Doboi—Martu,” as the case might be. I gave some -additional tobacco to each man who would consent to stand for his -photograph, but they never quite got over their shyness of the camera. -Sometimes, when I had got everything fixed and ready, my sitter would -get up and walk slowly away; some of the women faced the lens, but even -when doing so, they would often cover their faces. Our visitors did not -understand guns, so we took care not to frighten them with firearms. - -On the third day, about ten in the morning, they announced that they -were going. They got together the bags in which a Papuan carries his -effects, packed up their new acquisitions, and did a little business -with the Dinawa people in small articles I had traded with the -villagers, such as matches, tobacco, or an axe, the greatest of -treasures—for “trade,” in the Papuan sense, had not reached Ibala. I -myself made a few purchases from them, chiefly of clubs, for which I -gave in exchange some small knives. To the Dinawa people they gave some -sugar-cane, which was greedily snapped up by our destitute neighbours. -Then they formed up, shook hands most cordially with us all, took the -route, and disappeared into the forest, a party of men in front, the -women in the centre carrying the loads, and another party of braves -bringing up the rear. For a long time their shouts came echoing back to -us through the trees. It was a most pleasant interlude, and when these -cheerful fellows were gone we felt the camp almost painfully quiet. - -One or two incidents occurred to break the monotony of the remaining -days. While I was collecting, close to the Aculama, I heard the -missionary dog barking in great excitement, and discovered that he had -seen a tremendous snake. This I shot in the head and brought into camp, -where, on measuring it, I found it to be 18 feet long and 4 inches in -diameter. It was of a non-poisonous variety—one of those snakes that -live on the small arboreal mammals. I still retain the skin and skeleton -as trophies. Even minor incidents of these dull days seemed worthy of -setting down, and I note in my diary that one day one of my native -carriers, who was going off to the river, demanded a gun. When I -explained to him that he could not have one, he remarked with great -nonchalance, “Maw-mo-na yow valeo dorka”—“Enough, I understand very -well,” and he went off contentedly without firearms. - -I must not conclude my account of Dinawa without mentioning what was -perhaps the greatest of its natural attractions—the almost overpowering -magnificence of its sunsets. From the ridge I have watched every variety -of colour, ranging from amber, gold, and orange, through purple and -violet, to delicate shades of mauve, green, and pink—in fact, every hue -of the prismatic spectrum was flung in magnificent profusion across the -sky from horizon to zenith. On certain nights the whole landscape would -be bathed in a glow of reflected crimson. It seemed as if the world were -on fire. Even the vegetation was dyed a vivid red, and as the rim of the -sun gradually disappeared, the tints melted to paler shades before they -vanished. A brief period of starless twilight succeeded, and then the -firmament was gemmed with a million sparkling points, and the tropic -night reigned serene in its marvel and mystery. Many and many a time I -have sat in rapt enjoyment of that gorgeous spectacle, watching the -constellations wheel westward until the dawn overtook and hid them. - -[Illustration: - - VEGETATION AT DINAWA. - - Some of the tree ferns grow to a height of 40 feet. -] - -The day for our departure now began to draw very near. All the specimens -were safely packed, but the question of transport pressed more and more -heavily. From the Dinawa people, as I have noted, little help was to be -expected. The fittest of the men were abroad in the forest on foraging -expeditions, and when we asked the women to carry for us, they replied -that they could not come while their husbands were away. We sent out our -boys to see what they could do in the surrounding country, but they -invariably came back to report that they could recruit very few men. We -ourselves, after a great deal of wearisome tramping from village to -village, managed to enlist a meagre band of five fairly able-bodied -assistants, but our party was still very inadequate. This was on -September 22. A few days earlier, in pursuance of the compact the Ibala -people had made with me, I had set the telegraph in motion, and told -Fa-lo-foida to call up Kea-ka-mana, Kea-ka-mana to call up Tapua, and so -on stage by stage to the distant home of my picturesque mountaineers, to -tell them that the time had come to redeem their promise and earn the -tobacco advanced on personal security alone. The calling accordingly -began, and in less than ten minutes Ibala of the five days’ journey had -received my summons. During the afternoon the answer arrived. Ibala was -willing and would come. Accordingly, close to the time fixed for our -departure—September 23—we were cheered by the return of our merry -friends, who came like the honourable gentlemen they were to discharge -their obligation. - -Even with this reinforcement we were still undermanned, and decided to -start with only half the baggage, leaving Gaberio behind to see to the -despatch of the other half when the bearers should be sent back. On -September 23, at 9 A.M., we started for Ekeikei. At twelve we halted at -Madui, where the natives wished to sleep; but this, of course, was out -of the question, so we pushed on. As far as Madui the drought still -prevailed. After that point it was damp, but not wet. In one way the -drought had served us well, for all the leeches had died and we were -saved from that pest; but the scrub-itch was worse than ever, especially -after we passed Ekeikei. We reached the Bamboo Camp after a hard march -at 7 P.M., and both we and our followers were thoroughly tired out. Next -day we went by way of Ekeikei to Epa, when our friends from Ibala went -back, having performed their undertaking. We found Epa terribly parched, -and it presented a very different aspect to that which we had seen three -months earlier. Thence we proceeded to Oo-fa-fa, where our old -acquaintance Mavai saw us through with our impedimenta. We travelled by -boat to Pokama, where we got on board a small cutter and set sail for -Port Moresby. Unfortunately, we encountered very heavy weather, and had -to beat up to our destination under a lashing south-east monsoon. We -shipped many seas, and thus lost our fine herbarium, all the plants in -which were blackened by salt water. This was an irreparable misfortune, -and most disheartening after the tremendous trouble we had taken in -collecting and drying our specimens of Papuan flora. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - _INACTION AND AN EXCURSION_ - -Period of Inaction at Port Moresby—Christmas in New Guinea—A Scratch -Dinner—A Christmas Privilege for Cingalese to obtain Spirits—Curious -Effect on One Individual—A Noteworthy Character—An Excursion to Hula—A -Fisher Community—A Piebald People—Picturesque Night Fishing by Flare -Light—Fishermen often Killed by Gare-fish—Hula Houses—Various Traits of -Native Life—A Walk round Hood’s Bay—Traces of Initiatory Rites at Kalo— -The Kalo Houses described—On to Kerapuna—A Shooting Expedition—We lose -the Trail—Class Distinctions at Kerapuna—Return to Port Moresby by Sea—A -Perilous Voyage in a Little Canoe—Tragic Death of Flood, the Naturalist. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - INACTION AND AN EXCURSION - - -As there was really nothing to be done until the beginning of the year, -we settled down at Port Moresby in some spare rooms which Sam, my -Cingalese head-man, let me have in his house. - -We occupied our time with the despatch of our collections. The -herbarium, of course, had perished, but the moths, butterflies, and -birds had come safely down from Dinawa. We did not disturb the boxes -already packed, but merely stowed them in large cases, packing them with -cocoanut fibre and straw to resist concussion. Each box was tin-lined, -and on receiving its full complement was soldered up. - -For the procuring of empty cases I was greatly obliged to the courtesy -of Mr. Ballantine, the Curator of the Intestate Office at Port Moresby. -This work occupied us in all over a fortnight, and finally we despatched -our collections to England by way of Australia. - -Thereafter the days were very dull and uneventful. Christmas was fast -approaching, but there was very little hope of its being a merry one—for -us, at any rate. The stores of provisions were running very short, and -our Christmas dinner was probably one of the queerest that was ever set -before an exiled Britisher. I left the task of preparing the meal -entirely to Sam, who managed somehow to procure some wallaby, a piece of -bacon, and biscuits. Instead of pudding we had a Cingalese plum-cake, -made by Sam’s daughter, and a glass of claret rounded off the banquet. -Harry and I dined together on the verandah, and remembered absent -friends, but we were not very festive. - -There is one curious observance of the Port Moresby Christmas which may -be worthy of mention here. At that season any Cingalese resident in the -place may, on obtaining a Government permit, be served with spirits at -the Stores. - -The effect of this privilege on one Port Moresby worthy was truly -deplorable. I saw him in the road, and I have little doubt that he saw -more than one of me, but then, of course, it was a year since he had -permission before. He was quite a character, and his residence was as -peculiar as himself. It was built entirely of flattened paraffin tins -and other oddments, a style of architecture which I have also noticed in -the West Indies. - -[Illustration: - - A PIEBALD TRIBE: THE MOTU-MOTU PEOPLE OF HOOD’S BAY, AND A TYPICAL - KALO HOUSE. - - The piebald people are one of the mysteries of New Guinea, and their - origin is unexplained. The spear in the warrior’s hand is made of - hard redwood, sharpened, and has no metal. The house is built on an - open wooden framework, and the flooring of the dwelling-room begins - at the bottom of the closed-in gable. On this inflammable floor, - within the thatch of flag-grass, they actually have a fire on a mud - hearth. The slanting pole is a ladder for the inhabitants. In some - cases they have little ladders for the dogs. -] - -Another Port Moresby character was Weaver, the greengrocer; he has a -history, but no man knows it, and it is popularly reported that he has a -family in Australia. He has been in New Guinea for some years, and lives -quite alone in an isolated district where he built a house and took up -some land. He stands 6 feet 2 inches, and is a curious eccentric fellow -whom nobody understands. He does not care for visitors, and has even -been known to threaten distinguished personages with his gun when they -dared to knock at his door! Twice a week Weaver brings in his -vegetables, packed on two ponies, and sells them to Europeans at Port -Moresby. It is said that he is accumulating money. He is perfectly -independent, and quite a character; utterly illiterate, he has the -dogged opinions which usually accompany lack of education. He believes -in himself, has no one to help him in his work, and tells you quite -frankly that he thinks _he_ could run New Guinea better than any one. On -all subjects under the sun the opinion of Weaver is absolutely right and -that of the world absolutely wrong. - -As the days dragged on Harry and I thought we would vary the monotony of -our life, and obtain a change of diet, by taking a small excursion down -to Hula, the great fishing-place. By the courtesy of a trader, who was -going down in a whaleboat, we obtained a passage. A voyage of a few -hours took us down, and we found the village fairly large, built like -Hanuabada, only most of the houses stood in the water on piles. The -shore is thickly fringed with cocoanut plantations. The people, who -belong to the Motuan tribe, as those of Hanuabada do, live by supplying -the inland natives with fish. They go down to the fishing-ground, about -two miles from shore, in small dug-out canoes, and this industry affords -a very delightful touch of colour to the scenery of this part of the -Papuan coast. The fishing is done at night, and just as the sun sinks -the canoes come up past Hula in great crowds. In each boat are four or -five fishermen, who pole up the shallows and paddle when they come to -deeper water. As the darkness deepens the flotilla suddenly bursts into -flame, for their method of attracting gare-fish, which is their chief -quarry, is by burning huge flares of dried palm leaves. Each of these -flares is made up of a considerable bundle of leaves, and the men -brandish them about in their hands. The light lasts for a considerable -time. The effect of these many fires, reflected in long tracks on the -water, is extremely picturesque. The fishing lasts all night, and at -dawn the fleet returns with its catch. - -The work is not unattended with danger, for sometimes the gare-fish, -which are armed with a sharp sword-like projection of bone from the -front part of the head, will, as they leap in blind terror of the light, -strike the fishermen and kill them. The natives set up a stick in the -water where any one has been killed by gare-fish. - -Another interesting feature of Hula was the presence there of a piebald -people. For the most part their bodies were brown, but they were marked -with pinkish patches unevenly distributed. It is not improbable that -this marking might be due to a disease, contracted from a too constant -fish diet, but if it were a disease I could not discover that it gave -any discomfort. Against this theory must be set this fact, that I -observed one man in whom the light markings predominated. In fact, he -was quite fresh-coloured, like a European, and had light hair. These -piebald people were not a class apart from the rest of the Hula -villagers, but shared their life in every respect. - -The piles on which the Hula houses are built look quite insufficient to -support the superstructure. The pitch of the gables is not always -uniform in the same house, and in these cases the ridge-pole is not -horizontal. - -Before we came to Hula, however, we had paid a visit to Kappa-Kappa, one -of the very few localities in New Guinea that show any immediate result -of missionary effort and of a direct attempt to introduce the methods of -civilisation. There resides the agent of the London Missionary Society, -Dr. Laws, who has been perhaps longer in British New Guinea than any -other white man, for his stay now extends over thirty years. The -missionary has a fine house standing on a slight elevation and -commanding a magnificent view to the north and south. A remarkably fine -road leads up to Dr. Laws’ residence, and 300 yards away is the -Christian village, built in detached houses along the rise and forming a -regular street. We were very much amused to notice that the houses were -all numbered, and that many of them had Scotch names inscribed on a -little piece of wood fastened over the door. - -There were about sixty houses in all, and a really fine church and -school. This last we visited and heard the children sing. They gave not -at all a bad performance for coast natives, to whose discordant tones I -have already alluded, and if my good friends, the mountain people, with -their beautiful voices and their fine idea of music, had had the same -training, the effect would have been little short of charming. We saw -the place at a slight disadvantage, for the drought had greatly withered -the vegetation, and Dr. Laws’ fine orange trees were all dead. The -natives, I was glad to see, wore their ordinary dress, and no ridiculous -attempt had been made to thrust them into European clothes. Dr. Laws did -everything in his power to render our visit pleasant, and to him and his -wife we are indebted for much kind hospitality. There is much that is -enviable in his pleasant dwelling-place, and he seems to be on excellent -terms with the natives. As I have elsewhere had occasion to remark, it -is doubtful whether this generation of Papuans is capable of much -spiritual enlightenment at the missionary’s hands, but the seeds of -industrial progress at any rate are being sown, and the order and -apparent prosperity of Kappa-Kappa say much for the work of the pioneer. -There is no Paradise, however, without its serpent, and the scourge of -Kappa-Kappa is the black snake, which attacks the natives. - -The poison is most virulent, and Dr. Laws told me that if he could see -the sufferer immediately he could save him, but if only a few minutes -elapse before help is available death must inevitably ensue within an -hour. This snake also kills the missionary’s horses, which it invariably -bites on the instep. He keeps the horses for his little trap, in which, -at the close of our visit, he drove us down to the coast, a distance of -about four miles. - -Besides the things I have mentioned, we found little else to interest us -in Hula, and after a short stay we set off to walk round Hood’s Bay to -Kalo, the next village of any importance, situated a little way from the -coast. On the way we passed the little village of Babacca, the -headquarters of a copra trader called Joher. - -Formerly Kalo was the centre of strange ceremonial dances, connected -with the worship of the reproductive powers of Nature. - -Initiatory rites were celebrated, and the orgies taken part in by the -young men and women were often of the most indecorous character. By the -decree of a paternal Government these celebrations have now ceased to -exist. It is possible that they were accompanied by cannibalism, but I -am not aware that there is any proof of this. Descriptions are extant, -but it is doubtful whether these have been given at first hand, for the -natives would certainly not have admitted visitors to their mysteries. - -The houses at Kalo are the most substantial I saw in New Guinea. They -were built upon 9–inch posts and were raised 10 or 11 feet off the -ground. It was extraordinary to me how these posts were secured, the -soil seemed so loose and sandy; about one-third distance up occurred a -cross-piece, above which there were two others. The lower parallelogram -thus formed was crossed by two diagonal pieces of bamboo, the third and -upper parallelogram by one diagonal piece; these were the steps giving -access to the house, and their arrangements will be easily understood by -reference to the photograph. The third cross-piece, above which the -gable is enclosed, marks the level of the floor. There was an open -verandah at one end, and the house had only one room. The house was -eaved, and was thatched with flag-grass, and the whole structure -measured 30 feet by 15 feet. On the inflammable floor, within the -thatch, they actually have a fire on a mud hearth. The strangest sight -of all was the elaborate carvings hung up outside, and it was a singular -thing that no two houses at Kalo bore carvings of the same pattern. - -We stayed only a few hours at Kalo, and then went on to Kerapuna, where -we arrived about dusk after a long day’s march. At one point our advance -was barred by a small river, very still and muddy and fringed with rank -vegetation, the whole aspect of the place proclaiming it the haunt of -the crocodile. It would have saved time had we swum across, but the mere -look of the place obviously made it unwise to do so, so we fetched a -slight détour until we came to a little village where we were able to -hire a canoe. - -Kerapuna is a fairly large fishing village on the east side of Hood’s -Lagoon, just within the entrance. It possesses its missionary, Mr. -Pearce, who lives there with his wife in great isolation. It is many -years since he has been home, and it is not often that a European knocks -at his door. With him we found hospitality. He is pleasantly housed and -seems very comfortable and is on good terms with the natives, to whose -spiritual needs he ministers in a little hall. It is doubtful how far -the Papuan can be reached through theological channels at this stage of -his development. A great deal, however, can be done towards training him -in the simpler industries. - -From Kerapuna we went out for a short shooting expedition in the flat, -trackless forest that lies inland. The region is very gloomy; tall -Pandanus trees with aërial roots and thickly matted branches obscure the -daylight, but there is no dense undergrowth. There the gaura pigeon -abounds, and we were fortunate enough to shoot some. - -[Illustration: - - A HOUSE IN THE VILLAGE OF KALO. - - The floor of the house is on a level with the eaves. -] - -The little expedition, however, was rather uneventful, except at one -point, where we discovered somewhat to our anxiety that we had lost the -trail. The two natives we had brought with us went, one to the right and -the other to the left, searching for it, and we kept shouting to each -other all the time. At last, after a couple of hours’ search, we found -the track, which would have been visible only to a Papuan, as there was -no well-worn path. We required native guidance also to get us back to -the creek where we had left our canoe. - -If there were no division between the piebald people and the ordinary -inhabitants of Hula, at Kerapuna we noticed a curious class distinction, -founded not on any physical peculiarity, but upon the mere question of -occupation. One part of the village was occupied by the fisher tribe, -the other part by a purely agricultural people. The latter were -extremely lazy, and, as I have noted elsewhere, the lazier Papuan tribes -are never fishermen, and always employ some more active people to do -this work for them. The tillers of the soil and the spoilers of the sea -hold rigidly aloof from one another at Kerapuna, and only meet on the -common ground of an exchange of commodities—the fish being purchased for -bananas and cocoanuts. Yet, strangely enough, the more active tribe was -evidently there on sufferance, and was allowed to remain only because of -the fish they supplied. Another remarkable point was, that the fishing -populations dwelt on land and not on pile-built houses, as at Hula and -Hanuabada. In this district we could get on without any other “trade” -than tobacco. - -As there was nothing to tempt us to remain, and as Kerapuna, even at the -best, was a dull place, we did not stay longer than four or five days. I -was very anxious, too, to get back to Port Moresby to make my -preparations for a second journey into the interior to resume my work. -We determined to make the return journey by water, and accordingly hired -a little canoe from a native, who, with a companion, came with us to act -as our navigator. - -The little craft was hardly more than 18 inches wide, and just held the -four of us in a rather cramped position. We set our course, which lay -twenty miles across Hood’s Bay to Hula, and started about 10 A.M. in -fine weather. When we had got about half-way, however, the wind rose, -and a tremendous swell began to come in from the point where the reef -opens seawards, and very soon the dug-out was dancing like a cork and -was continually shipping seas, so that Harry and I had to bale -constantly. - -I must say, however, that our natives knew how to handle their craft, -and were very expert watermen. They kept the little square sail of -matting under excellent control, and steered with the flat of a paddle -from the side at the stern. Although they were very frightened, they did -their best, and kept the canoe’s head up to the seas very neatly. For a -time, I must confess, I myself was doubtful whether we should get -through safely. We were dripping wet and in rather a sorry plight, but -after rounding the point close to Hula we got into calmer water, and we -landed safely, but very stiff and cold. - -Two or three days later we bade good-bye to Hula, and the same whaler’s -trading boat that had got us down took us back to Port Moresby, where I -at once set about active preparations for my second journey inland. - -On my return to Port Moresby I heard, to my great regret, the news of -the death of Mr. Flood, the American naturalist. When I went up to -Dinawa, while on my first journey, I left Flood in Port Moresby. Some -time after he went up the Venapa River, seeking land shells. He was -foolish enough to go alone, and his folly was the greater because he was -very deaf. At length the authorities got alarmed about him, and Mr. -Ballantine headed a search party, but the only trace of the naturalist -was one of his camp fires. It is thought almost certain that he may -either have strayed away and died of hunger, or he may have been -devoured by a crocodile. It was not the first time that a party had gone -out to seek Flood after his prolonged absence had given cause for alarm, -and it was doubly absurd of him to go alone, because, even with Papuan -attendants, it is difficult—as I myself have found—to pick up the trail -when once it has been lost. I was much distressed about Flood, for he -was a most unselfish enthusiast in the pursuit of science. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - _TOWARDS THE UNEXPLORED_ - -Beginning of Furthest Journey into Unexplored Interior—The Everlasting -Question of Carriers—Difficulties and Delays—Epa again—Curious Method of -Water Supply—Mavai welcomes us back—He provides a Dubious Treat—Ekeikei— -The Building of a Permanent Camp—An Elaborate Undertaking—House-building -on a Large Scale—Ingenious Papuan Methods of Thatching—The Chief Kafulu -proves Unneighbourly—He does not fulfil his Engagements—Ow-bow’s -Embassy—My Deputy is robbed—Precautions in Camp against Attack—I go down -to Kafulu and deal faithfully with him—He relents, and restores Ow-bow’s -Goods—An Earthquake and Hurricane at Ekeikei. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - TOWARDS THE UNEXPLORED - - -On January 1, 1903, Harry and I left Port Moresby on board Captain Pym’s -vessel, the _Whaup_. This took us to Yule Island, and from that point we -proceeded to Pokama, on the mainland. There we were met and entertained -by Cavé, a hospitable Papuan woman, widow of Captain Williams, a trader. -She has a very comfortable bungalow at Pokama, and keeps a small store, -where she does business with passing traders, who are always welcome at -her house. She also owns a small light-draught cutter, which brings -sandalwood down from Bioto Creek, and this boat she is willing to let -out to travellers. She also keeps up the beautiful gardens and fine -mango trees planted by her husband, and she cultivates custard apples -and a delightful fruit known as Soursop. It is the shape of a kidney and -about the size of a pumpkin; within it is a mass of creamy pulp, -surrounding black seeds. This pulp is most cooling, and it is -accompanied by a pleasantly astringent acid juice, the whole fruit -forming an ideal refreshment for the tropics. - -From Pokama we went by canoe to Yule Island, where we halted at the -Sacred Heart Mission, and then went on to Aruopaka, where we stayed for -several days in the house of Mr. Russell. Mr. Russell himself was -absent, but we joined him later at Moa, one and a half hours’ row from -Aruopaka, a voyage which we made in our host’s whaleboat. From Moa we -passed by way of Inawee, Inawa, and Inawabia to Aipiana, the Government -station, where Mr. Russell entertained us for five days. In the -curiously-named villages just mentioned we tried to collect carriers, -and at this juncture I sent Harry back to Pokama to bring on the goods -we had left behind us, appointing to meet him at Bioto. During his -absence Mr. Russell and I went to the southward through other villages -Rarai and Nara, and picked up twenty more men. On our way through these -southern villages we met Captain Barton, then the head of the native -armed constabulary, and now the Administrator. With him I spent one -night, and then pushed on to Bioto with my thirty bearers, who, as yet, -had nothing to carry. To perform the journey adequately I really should -have had a force of seventy. At Bioto we enlisted a few, but our numbers -were still very insufficient. At 4 A.M. in the morning after my arrival -at Bioto, Harry rejoined me, and during that day we began sending the -baggage by relays to Epa. Harry had been enabled to bring all our -remaining goods with him through the kindness of the Rev. Mr. Dauncey, -who had lent him his whaleboat. With the help of the Chief Constable, -who gave us the use of his canoe, we got the baggage along to Oo-fa-fa, -from which point I was assisted by my old friend Mavai, who sent down -carriers from Epa to take the stuff up to Ekeikei. At Bioto the -mosquitoes were at this time a terror, and were so thick that one could -hardly put food in one’s mouth or take an aim with a gun. - -[Illustration: - - THE VILLAGES OF ELEVADA AND HANUABADA. - - The latter is built on piles in the water. Its inhabitants are the - potters of New Guinea. -] - -While we passed through Epa on this occasion, I noticed specially the -extraordinary method of water supply there in vogue. A spring which -supplies the community was distant some twenty minutes’ walk down-hill, -and twice every day, in the morning and just before dusk, the women went -down to draw water. This they carried in long bamboos, measuring at -least 12 feet. The partitions dividing the sections of bamboo had been -knocked out with a long, hard stick, the bottom one was allowed to -remain, and these light but unwieldy receptacles, capable of holding -about thirty-six pints each, were taken to the spring and filled. The -open end was plugged with a green leaf, and the women carried the -vessels up-hill held slantwise over their shoulder. The bamboo was set -up against a shady wall, beside the house door, and the method of -procuring a small supply of water was comical in the extreme. Whenever -you wanted a drink two people had to officiate; a native took hold of -the bamboo by the lower end and you proceeded to the other. It was then -gingerly lowered towards you, for the greatest care had to be taken not -to tilt it too far, otherwise more water than you wanted would have come -out with a rush and drenched you. - -On my reappearance at that village I was very heartily welcomed by the -chief. I found him busily engaged in hunting the cassowary and the pig, -and generally keeping up his reputation of a great sportsman. - -During this visit to Mavai, the excellent chief, who kept fowls, -presented me with two eggs; these we boiled with lively anticipations of -a treat, but we broke the shells only to discover that the eggs were of -a remote antiquity. We passed them on, however, to Ow-bow, who received -them with gratitude, for he regarded chicken in this form as a very -great delicacy indeed. - -I purchased some sago from the chief, and when we got bearers together I -started for Ekeikei. One day’s journey brought us to our destination, -which was situated 1500 feet above sea level, on the foot-hills of the -Owen Stanley range. This point I had already selected in my mind as the -scene of my future labours, and I at once set about building a permanent -camp. I chose the site in a part of the forest overlooking a fine -valley, and we set to work speedily, felling the forest trees to make -the necessary clearing. It was a big business, much bigger than founding -our establishment at Dinawa, but I intended to erect much more permanent -structures, which were to be built large enough not only to serve for -scientific work, but as a depôt for expeditions to other districts. The -house and two collecting verandahs were all in one building, one -verandah facing the forest and the other the valley, so as to permit of -work being carried on whatever the direction of the wind. The whole -structure was built on poles 6 feet 6 inches off the ground, so that my -natives could shelter, sling their hammocks, and take their meals below. -This work occupied us three weeks, and in it we were assisted by Mavai’s -people, who were helped by the villagers of the neighbouring chief, -Kafulu. These came in to lend a hand for the sake of tobacco and other -trade articles they needed. - -The best thatch to be obtained in Papua is the sago leaf, and of this -the natives make roofs that are water-tight and very durable. At Ekeikei -we adopted this method. Along the rafters of our house we ran horizontal -bamboos, and instead of a ridge-pole roof we had two of these bamboos -running from end to end a few inches apart. The frond of the sago leaf -which we used for this purpose is at least 4 feet long; it measures 6 -inches at the base, and tapers to a point. To begin the thatch, one -takes the leaf and bends it two-thirds away from the apex. One starts -from the bamboo horizontal that lies nearest the eaves, and hooks the -leaf over, laying the pointed end out. On the next higher bamboo one -hooks over another leaf, similarly folded, so that its long pointed end -far overlaps the other, and so on until the ridge of the roof is -reached. The operation is thus repeated until the whole roof is -thatched. The space between the two parallels which form the ridge-pole -is finally covered with grass laid thickly across and across. The sago -leaf is grooved laterally, and forms, as it were, a natural water-spout -for carrying off the rain. - -So durable is this roof that after an absence of five months we found -that our Ekeikei house was still water-tight. This thatch is, however, a -great harbourage for cockroaches, and there must have been millions of -them in our house. At night we could hear them rustling among the dry -leaves. I could not ascertain that they had done any actual damage, and -they had the grace not to fall down upon us. - -As soon as the camp was finished we settled down to our old routine of -work, very similar to that observed during our stay at Dinawa, and for a -time all went smoothly. But suddenly a cloud loomed upon our horizon in -the shape of our neighbour Kafulu. This worthy, whose village was an -hour’s journey off, had often visited the camp while the building was in -progress. He was a very low type of Papuan, with a receding forehead and -a face altogether ape-like. After his people, who helped me in my -building operations, had been paid off, I did a little business with the -chief himself, and ordered sago stalks for wattling the sides of the -house. For these I paid in advance, but the sago was not forthcoming. I -made no complaint at first, and this probably deceived him into thinking -I might be treated with further contumely, for he suddenly began to -threaten my boys, until at last they would no longer venture out into -the forest to collect. Accordingly, I sent my trusty advocate Ow-bow and -his wife down to Kafulu’s village to know the reason why he did not -deliver the sago, which was several weeks overdue. Ow-bow was allowed to -take a gun with him, but no cartridges, and his empty weapon evidently -was not impressive. My emissary’s experience was painful; Kafulu did not -take his life, but he took his effects. Now, every Papuan carries with -him as his most cherished possession a little net-bag, containing a -charming collection of oddments dear to the savage mind—his knife, -tobacco, bamboo pipe, matches, which he had earned, betel-nut and gourd, -and little trophies of the chase. All these Kafulu took from the -unfortunate Ow-bow, as well as his blanket, his dogs’ teeth necklace, -and other adornments. Thus bereft, Ow-bow executed a strategic movement -to the rear, and returned to camp with his tale of wrong. Kafulu then -sent in a polite message informing me that he had no intention of -sending the sago, and further, that I was not to shoot bird, kangaroo, -wallaby, or any game around my camp, for they were his animals; -otherwise he would burn the camp and kill us all. - -[Illustration: - - NEW GUINEA HOUSE-BUILDING. - - Our house at Ekeikei under construction. -] - -As matters stood thus, I considered that greater precautions were -necessary, especially as I knew that Kafulu had recently broken into and -robbed the mission-house at Ekeikei, for it was more than likely that a -treacherous spear might, in the darkness, penetrate the thin sago walls -of our house, and perhaps find its billet. We accordingly built around -our beds an inner screen of 1½–inch bamboo poles, and even though a -missile had penetrated the thin sago walls, it would have been stopped -by this barricade. - -Matters did not improve, and accordingly, taking Harry and Sam with me, -I determined to go down and try what a little plain personal dealing -could accomplish with our agreeable neighbour. I found him in his -village, sitting apart, smoking the bau-bau, and extremely surly. He -gave us no greeting, in fact, took not the slightest notice of us, and -continued to smoke stolidly. We sat down, and I at once opened the -affair, Sam and Harry acting as my interpreters. I told Kafulu that -unless he sent the sago at once, and returned Ow-bow’s goods, it would -be necessary for me to bring pressure to bear on him. This was continued -for three-quarters of an hour, entirely on my part, for it was not until -that time had elapsed that Kafulu deigned to reply. He then remarked -that he did not want me in the neighbourhood, and that he could not -answer for it that his villagers would not wipe us out. At the end of an -hour he showed some signs of relenting, but the victory was not yet won. -The parley still continued, and Kafulu resumed his pipe, whereupon I -gave him some tobacco, which he took without thanks. At the end of three -hours certain arguments, which I thought proper to use, prevailed, and -he produced some of Ow-bow’s goods. Ow-bow remarked that that was not -all, whereupon Kafulu promised to send everything, to deliver the sago, -and also that he would not frighten our collectors any more. With this -assurance we shook hands upon it and I returned to camp. - -Two days after the sago arrived, and in four days the whole of Ow-bow’s -possessions were returned. They were brought in by some of Kafulu’s -villagers and handed to their owner without comment. Thereafter, as far -as I could see, Kafulu lived a sober, righteous, and godly life. I am -not sure, however, although he committed no overt act of hostility, that -he was not the instigator of some trouble which I had at a later period -with the Madui people. - -[Illustration: - - IN THE PRIMEVAL FOREST. -] - -During our stay at Ekeikei we experienced an earthquake shock, not great -but sufficiently alarming. There were two distinct shocks, which shook -the house violently, and the phenomenon was peculiar inasmuch as it was -not heralded by any preliminary rumblings as is usually the case. Many -of the other atmospheric signs usually accompanying an earthquake were, -however, present. There was a tremendous and oppressive heat with -death-like stillness; the skies were inky black, and there was a perfect -deluge of rain, so heavy that it could easily have been described as -pouring down in bucketfuls. Then the heavens opened with what seemed to -be rivers of lightning, for the discharges resembled great main streams -with thousands of fiery affluents, and all around us the thunder crashed -terrifically, seeming at times as if it were inside the house. For -three-quarters of an hour there was no cessation of the din. A tree just -below our verandah was struck and split from top to bottom, but -fortunately no one was injured. - -After the worst of the storm had passed, a fierce hurricane came, -tearing up the valley which our camp faced. We heard its roaring long -before we felt its force. When it came it blew off some of the thatch of -one of our buildings. We were to a certain extent protected from its -full force by the large trees around us, and at the same time we were -saved from the danger of falling trees, because, with a view to the -emergencies of such storms, we had taken care to fell all the larger -trees for a considerable distance around our camp. The effect of the -oncoming wind heard at a distance had another weird parallel in the -onset of rain storms, for we heard the rush and patter of a distant -shower long before it was actually raining at our camp. - -At Ekeikei were swarms of wasps that haunted the low bushes, and -concealed themselves under the leaves so cunningly that the traveller -did not perceive them till he was actually upon them. Their bodies are a -dark yellowish brown. At the least disturbance they all rise together in -a buzzing cloud and take vengeance. The sting is severe, but the pain -fortunately does not last long. It dies out in six or seven minutes, -leaving a red lump which gradually subsides. - - - - - CHAPTER X - _UPS AND DOWNS_ - -My man Sam goes to the Kebea to collect—We go to the Coast again with -our Specimens—A Dreadful Night in Bioto Creek—A Crocodile River—A -Tempestuous Voyage to Thursday Island—Fever—Return to Port Moresby— -Adrift for Three Days in a Heavy Sea—A German Captain’s Thrilling Story -of the Storm—We return to Ekeikei—A New Trouble—Epidemic of Measles -among Native Followers—Harry goes off alone among Cannibals—Adventurous -Journey of a Boy of Sixteen—Description of Native Village on a -15–inch-wide Ridge. - - - - - CHAPTER X - UPS AND DOWNS - - -The day after I had settled the business with Kafulu, I sent Sam on to -the Kebea to collect Lepidoptera, so that we might be working two -different localities and elevations at the same time. On April 26 Harry -left Ekeikei to fetch Sam back with the collections he had made, for we -had decided to go back to Hall Sound and send home our specimens, which -the humid atmosphere was threatening to spoil. In due time they -returned, and after I had examined the results of Sam’s labours, I -arranged with him to return to Foula, where he had been collecting, -while my son and myself went down to the coast. - -The journey down was not very eventful, but one night we spent at Bioto -Creek will always remain memorable to us. At Bioto we put all our cases -on board a canoe, and set out with two natives to navigate the overladen -craft to Pokama. As we did not leave until late we were forced to spend -the whole night in the creek. In our crazy vessel, weighed down almost -to the water’s edge, for she had only three inches of free board, we lay -close inshore, under dense mangrove trees. Sleep was impossible, for we -were assailed by mosquitoes and other discomforts; added to this we had -to endure the stench of mud, the hoarse cry of the mound-builder, the -clacking of myriads of bivalves as the tide receded, the incessant rain, -the inky blackness of the night, and the unmistakable presence of -innumerable crocodiles. Fortunately we did not know then that only a -short time before, near this place, two natives had had a desperate -fight with a crocodile, which lifted one of them right out of their -canoe; the other fought the crocodile gallantly, and managed to get his -companion back into the boat, when the saurian, nothing daunted, -returned to the attack, and seized the poor fellow again, dismembering -him. - -Although we had not the knowledge of this accident to add to our -troubles, that night in Bioto Creek, which we spent cramped up in the -most uncomfortable position, was probably the most unenviable I have -ever passed. Darkness fell at 6.30; at 3.30 A.M. we were very glad to -welcome the moonrise, and saw the light gradually silhouette the dense -matted branches of the mangrove. About 4 A.M. we left our anchorage, and -the dawn saw us well on our voyage to Pokama. It was wonderful on our -arrival there how soon, under the influence of a good bath, clean -clothes, a white table-cloth, and a decent meal, we forgot the horrors -of the night that had just passed. - -[Illustration: - - POLING LAKATOIS (RAFTS OF CANOES) OUT FROM THE SHORE. -] - -From Pokama we went on to Hall Sound, where we were fortunate enough to -find the ketch _St. Andrew_ about to sail, and on board that boat we -secured a passage. Setting out on the 4th May, we were often badly -becalmed, and on the third day we lay ten miles off the coast for the -whole twenty-four hours. On the 9th we sighted an islet thirty miles -from Thursday Island. This we passed safely, but at 1.30 a strong tide -from the leeward set us to windward of the next island, where there is a -bad reef, and at 4 P.M., when we were running before the wind at the -rate of six knots an hour, we ran right on to it. As morning broke we -found we were on a shelving reef, and in a very undesirable predicament -indeed. We threw out stone ballast, and after bumping about for four -hours, and making many unsuccessful attempts to get the boat off, losing -an anchor and chain in the process, we managed to get clear with the -flood tide. Next night we got into Thursday Island, and, on examining -the ship, we found that some sheets of copper had been torn off her. - -At Thursday Island we were both prostrated by a sharp attack of fever. -This was the first time it had seized me since I came to New Guinea, and -it is not unusual when a man has been living in the wilds for some time, -and has escaped malaria, that he falls a victim to it almost as soon as -he returns to comparative civilisation and better food. In spite of this -drawback, we were successful in getting our collections despatched, and -at 8 P.M., on the 23rd of May, on a dark, dirty, and very gusty night, -with a nasty sea running, we left Thursday Island, and steered our -course for Hall Sound. In the vicinity of Bramble Cay—a dangerous -sandbank, about 160 miles from Yule Island—we had our sails blown away, -and were left in an almost helpless condition, only two small sails -remaining. For the three following days we beat about in a heavy sea, -not knowing exactly where we were, for we had not been able to take an -observation since we left. - -On the evening of Friday the 29th May we managed to get under the -shelter of Yule Island, inside the reef, and into smoother water. This -was fortunate, for that night it blew a hurricane, and there was a heavy -sea, even where we were lying. When daylight broke we went on, and -anchored off the mission station at Yule Island, whence we sent word to -Port Moresby by whaleboat that, owing to our disabled condition, it -would be impossible for us to go there to clear, for the Customs -regulations are that all vessels crossing to New Guinea must clear at -Port Moresby, Samurai, or Daru. Of course, we could not beat up to Port -Moresby against the S.E. monsoon without sails, so we lay there five -days, until the whaleboat returned with our clearance. Our stay was -anything but pleasant, for we had to remain on board the small ketch -under a blazing sun, as we were unable to land until we got our -clearance from the Customs. - -There was, however, one remarkable diversion during this weary time of -waiting; for on our arrival we found, to our surprise, a large iron -sailing-ship at anchor in the sound—certainly the largest vessel that -ever entered it. She proved to be the _W. C. Watjen_, a German barque -that had gone through a terrible experience in the very centre of the -typhoon, the tail of which had given us so much trouble. I made friends -with the captain—a hero in his way—who, without being aware of what an -extraordinary feat of seamanship he had performed, told me in the -quietest possible manner one of the most wonderful tales of the sea it -has ever been my lot to hear. It was indeed, in many particulars, almost -an exact parallel to Mr. Conrad’s remarkable story, “Typhoon.” - -[Illustration: - - 1.—LOW TIDE AT HANUABADA, SHOWING THE PILE-BUILT HOUSES. - - 2.—SIMILAR HOUSES FROM ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW. -] - -The vessel was bound from New York for Yokohama with kerosene. She had -been out from New York for 196 days without sighting a single ship, and -when off the coast of New Caledonia she encountered the typhoon. The -captain’s first warning that a tempest was brewing was, of course, a -sudden and unaccountable fall of the glass. Suspecting what was in store -for him, he went on deck and gave orders to prepare for a typhoon. In -fifteen minutes he returned to his cabin, and found that in that short -space of time the mercury had actually fallen seven-sixteenths more, and -he knew from that indication that he would shortly have to face a storm, -which he may well have doubted the powers of his vessel to weather. - -Before very long the tempest struck her in all its fury. For five days -she encountered the direst perils. Her cargo had originally consisted of -80,000 cases of kerosene, and during the worst of the tempest 20,000 had -been thrown overboard. On the very first day the rudder was carried -away, but by extraordinary efforts the crew contrived to rig a staging -at the stern for steering, and they managed to fit up a primitive -rudder. The captain was injured when the rudder was carried away, for -the long tiller (the _W. C. Watjen_ was so old-fashioned that they did -not use a wheel) swept round and hit the master heavily on the groin. A -huge hole, six feet in diameter, had been knocked in the stern when the -rudder was carried away, and this flooded the cabin and the middle part -of the ship. They managed to stop the hole and bale out the cabin, but -the tremendous seas denied the crew all access to the forward part of -the vessel, where the store of fresh water was kept, and for five days -they had nothing to drink but the dish-water which had been left in the -cook’s galley. Strangely enough, there was only one very serious -casualty, the second mate being disabled by an accident to his knee. The -captain told me that during the worst of the storm they were continually -under water; the seas seemed to strike them simultaneously at bow, -stern, port, and starboard, and at times seemed to descend even from the -heavens. How terrible the force of the tempest must have been was proved -by the fact that the great steel masts of the vessel, six feet in -circumference, had all gone over the side. - -Although thus disabled herself, however, the _W. C. Watjen_ was enabled -to play good Samaritan to a smaller German vessel in a like plight, and -took up her crew and brought them safely to Hall Sound. All the bulwarks -were carried away, iron plates one-eighth of an inch thick were peeled -from the sides of the ship, and crumpled up like paper by the force of -the wind and sea. After the fifth day the captain was able to take an -observation, and, by the help of an old chart, he concluded that New -Guinea must be his nearest land. Crippled as he was, he endeavoured to -make for Yule Island, where his chart, which was incomplete, told him -there was a mission station, and, curiously enough, he was quite close -to his desired haven when he was discovered and towed in by the -_Moresby_ after seventy-six days’ stress. Had the vessel drifted farther -west, she must have gone on the reefs, and the crew would certainly have -fallen victims to the cannibal natives. It is really extraordinary how -she managed to escape all the dangers of the coral islands that dot the -seas for at least 200 miles west of Hall Sound. - -The same typhoon wrecked Townsville, unroofed an hotel, reduced brick -buildings to débris and killed seven men; at the same time the sea -receded and left the shipping dry. - -When we had been lying in Hall Sound some three or four days, the -_Merrie England_ came up with the Administrator, Mr. Ruthven Le Hunte, -who asked us to breakfast, and told us that for some days he had been -very anxious about the _St. Andrew_ and had been keeping a sharp -look-out for us on his passage from the west. - -When we had finally got our clearance we set about going to camp again -at Ekeikei, but it took us until the 17th June to get together our -carriers. The old difficulties in regard to them again beset us, but -after great trouble and much searching and persuasion we obtained a -somewhat inadequate force with which we pushed on and got back to -Ekeikei on the 20th June. There five of our boys deserted. - -No sooner were we back in camp than a new trouble assailed us in the -shape of an attack of sickness among our natives. We had hardly been a -week at Ekeikei and were just settling down to our work, when one or two -boys turned ill and complained of headache and were very feverish, and -very soon the tell-tale rash proclaimed they had German measles. They -were very miserable, poor fellows, and lay, some under the house, and -some in the sun, all showing signs of considerable distress. Nursing, -according to our ideas, was of course impossible, for you cannot induce -a savage to keep himself covered up. A curious symptom in one case was -that the boy’s speech was affected. We did our best for them and gave -them cooling medicine, and fortunately they all recovered. As soon as -they were convalescent they wanted to go back to their villages, and it -was very difficult to dissuade them. That would of course have been a -very disastrous proceeding, as they would certainly have returned only -to spread the infection, which is most easily communicated during -convalescence. - -Knowing that they had caught the disease on the coast, they were, -naturally, very reluctant ever to undertake any other journeys for me to -the sea again, and the situation was altogether very trying, for they -said that the white man brought the sickness. While it lasted it was a -very hard matter to hold the camp together. Finally, however, when they -saw that the white man was doing everything in his power to help them, -they were reassured. On their own account they tried to treat -themselves, by the peculiar native method of bleeding, which will be -found more particularly described in the chapter dealing specially with -Papuan manners and customs. - -On June 22 we lost Sam for awhile, for we had to let him go down to Port -Moresby to be treated for some trouble in his leg, but he promised to -return in six weeks. - -[Illustration: - - A DESERTED VILLAGE. - - All the inhabitants of the village had fled at our approach except one - old man. -] - -At the beginning of July Harry set out on a rather adventurous journey, -for I consented to allow him to go alone to the Kebea. It is scarcely -likely that in the history of British New Guinea an English boy of -sixteen has ever been alone with cannibals. His difficulties were not -long in beginning, and I quote the following extracts from his diary:— - - - “Left Ekeikei 5.30 A.M. After half-an-hour one man played out, so I - had to take about 12 lbs. out of his bag and carry it myself; two - hours from Madui he played right out; a woman carried his load. We - travelled very slowly and stopped often. Did not get to Madui until 4 - P.M.; found the little bottle of brandy father gave me in case of - need, broken and contents gone. - - “_July 2nd, ’03._—After changing carriers went on to Dinawa, and after - resting a little, on to the Kebea, where we arrived at 5 P.M. - - “_July 7th._—I left for Yo-ya-ka, on the other side of the Kebea, as I - wanted to get carriers to go to Ekeikei to bring up father and Sam. - They were very frightened when I went into the village and would not - come near me. The road was very steep and I got back very tired. It - was a long walk. Could not get any carriers. - - “_July 8th._—There is a feast at Yo-ya-ka and I shall be very glad - when it is over, as then I hope to get carriers. There is not much - food here, only sweet potatoes. A difficult country to shoot or - collect in. - - “_July 9th._—Hardly any food left. The natives of the village of - Inomaka object to my collector shooting there, and refuse to permit - him to collect butterflies, so the boy returned empty-handed. I am - sending a few carriers to father, only three. I have been busy - enclosing the end of the hut that Sam had previously hastily built up, - as it was left open. One of my boys, Matu, left me yesterday and has - not returned. - - “_July 13th._—Shall be glad of the shooters’ return, for I have had no - meat for nine days, only sweet potatoes. Last night I tried the lamp - for moths and did not do badly. - - “_July 14th._—Shooters return with nothing. Ow-bow arrived in the - afternoon, but no carriers. Got 190 moths to-night and busy pinning - them to-day. - - “_July 15th._—Father arrived at 4.30 P.M.” - - - AMPLIFIED NOTE ON THE JOURNEY TO YO-YA-KA - -For my journey to Yo-ya-ka I started from a point opposite the Kebea and -went down past one of the Yuni-Yuni villages, situated on a spur of the -mountains. We then made a long ascent of some 2000 feet leading up to -the same ridge as Mount Kebea where the village of Yo-ya-ka is situated. -It was a most remarkable place, and it is difficult to convey exactly to -those who have never seen it, the idea of what these Papuan ridges with -their strangely perched villages are. They come up almost to a razor -edge, relatively speaking, and certainly the free footway on that -Yo-ya-ka ridge was no wider than fifteen inches. This narrow strip of -foothold followed the main street of the village, and on each side of it -the houses were on supporting poles. The extreme sharpness of the -declivity on each side, of course, made the houses much higher on the -side farthest from the road than on that facing it. As structures they -were not much to boast of; there were about twenty of them and all were -tumble-down. The Yo-ya-ka people were preparing for a feast, and when I -arrived the men were strutting about in their feathers and paint. -Various tribesmen from a distance had assembled; three were from -Yuni-Yuni and some from Baw-boi. Among the visitors we noticed some -familiar faces. A native helper named Gavashana recognised me at once. -He asked me to come in, so I sat down and gave him some tobacco. The -Baw-boi people, however, were greatly alarmed at my appearance. They -began to cry and retreated, saying it was “Fi-fi,” that is, magic. Their -acquaintances, however, reassured them and made them come up to me and -shake hands. I then tried to induce a few men to enter our service as -carriers, but failed, so I determined to return and started at once. -When I had gone a little way up the ridge, Ow-bow, for some reason best -known to himself, persuaded me to let off my gun, whereat the whole of -the merry-makers turned out and began to jabber at the rate of nineteen -to the dozen. - -I returned to the camp at Mount Kebea, and for the next week or so -experienced rainy weather and great discomfort. All my provisions were -gone, and I had to live on sweet potatoes and a few birds we could -shoot. I tried eating the _Drepanornis Albertisii_, but it was the most -shocking flesh I have ever eaten. We roasted the bird on a split stick -and found it as bitter as gall; as was to be expected, I did not go -further than the first mouthful, although I was very hungry. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - _A BOY OF SIXTEEN ALONE WITH CANNIBALS_ - -Further into the Mountains—A Murder—The Settlement of the Blood Price—A -Pig for a Life—Harry’s Further Adventures alone among Cannibals—Various -other Murders—The Village of Amana—A Tree-House—The Lunatic at Amana— -Foula—A Pretty Village. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - ALONE WITH CANNIBALS - - -The next day or two are thus outlined in Harry’s diary:— - - - “_July 17th, 1903._—Some natives arrived from Deva-Deva and two from a - village close by called Coo-lu-coo-lu. These natives are going for us - to Ekeikei to fetch up our things, but they ask for a gun as they are - afraid of the Madui people—likely! - - “_July 21st._—Father down with fever. - - “_July 23rd._—Yesterday’s report that a man had been killed proved - correct. Getting some fine moths, about 300 last night—good nights are - rare. Sam returned to-day with the three boys he took with him; they - are to have a few days’ holiday and then they will return to us. Warm, - misty, dark nights such as we are having are best for moths. - - “_July 28th._—To-night the best night we have had as yet, 750 - specimens—94 of which were Sphingadae. On nights like this we do not - go to bed at all. Getting short of boxes. We have to send to Ekeikei - for material.” - - - NOTE ON THE MURDER OF OW-BOW’S BROTHER - -One evening we heard a woman wailing down in the village and knew that -something was wrong. Shortly afterwards the natives began calling, and -we learned that some one had been killed. A messenger came up to tell us -it was Ow-bow’s brother who had been murdered. The latter man was much -disconcerted, and tried to persuade himself that it could not be so. -Later on, however, the messenger came up with indisputable news, and we -heard that the murder had been occasioned by a proceeding that was to -some extent romantic. - -It seemed that Ow-bow’s brother had some time before stolen the -murderer’s wife, and taken her away to his own village and kept her -there. After a time it occurred to him that having got her he might as -well pay for her, after the native manner, and accordingly he visited -the husband in order to settle his account. The husband, however, was -not disposed to receive compensation of this sort, and accordingly he -killed and ate the other. There is no doubt that he had heard of the -man’s intention to come and see him, and that he laid wait for him. The -victim was either speared or clubbed. - -The wailing for the dead man lasted about four or five hours, which is -about the limit of Papuan mourning. After that time a murder becomes -merely an interesting subject of conversation, and the people gathered -around the camp fires, eagerly conversing in low tones until far into -the night. At first their disposition was to demand a life for a life, -that they might slay and eat, although, curiously enough, they would not -have committed cannibalism in the presence of a white man or a native -woman! - -[Illustration: - - HARRY PRATT. -] - -Next day our people and the villagers held a conference; they did not -meet, however, but simply contented themselves with calling from ridge -to ridge. Gradually the idea of the vendetta wore out of their minds, -and at last it was proposed that the murderer, instead of paying a life -for a life, should simply pay a pig for the murdered man. - -Accordingly two messengers brought in the compensation, slung on a pole. -The pig was solemnly slain and eaten, and the incident was closed. - -The next extract from my son’s diary is more important, for if his -journey close to the Kebea was risky, it was not nearly so sensational -as one he had afterwards to make back to Ekeikei in order to relieve our -higher camp from the pinch of hunger. His own account, however, scarcely -gives a hint of the peril he was in. - - - “_July 30th._—All the boys engaged to go to Ekeikei for the sago have - run away, as they say that the natives at the village of Madui are - hostile. Sam has gone out carrier hunting and obtained only two. - - “_July 31st._—I left this morning (as we are out of trade and - provisions) at 6 o’clock for Ekeikei, arriving there at 4.30, but it - was 2 A.M. before I could rest. - - “_Sat., Aug. 1st._—Left Ekeikei early about 7 A.M., and reached Madui - about 4 o’clock. Had a bad night; it was very long, and I had no sleep - at all. The mist very thick over the Madui hills. A good night for - moths had it not been so light.” - - “_Aug. 2nd._—Reached the Kebea at 3 P.M. - - “_Aug. 3rd._—Very busy making sago boxes. - - “_Aug. 4th._—They killed another man at Madui the night I was there— - they are killing a lot of men, women, and children.” - - -The incident here outlined by my son may well bear a little further -amplification. Trade and provisions had all but failed us, and I could -not possibly go back myself to our base at Ekeikei without serious loss -of time. It would have been out of the question, too, to take back the -whole party. There were sufficient indications of the unrest among the -natives at the time, and consequently it was nothing but the direst -necessity that induced me to accept Harry’s offer to go down himself -with a few carriers to bring up what we required. I had great confidence -in the lad’s common sense, he knew the language, and he seemed to have -the knack of dealing with the natives. After serious consideration of -the risk, therefore, I agreed to let him go. At first it was not easy to -get our carriers to undertake the journey, so evil was the reputation of -the village of Madui through which the party must pass, but after -persuasion we got the consent of a sufficient number, and not without -serious misgivings, which I was careful to conceal, did I watch the -little party set out. The matter, however, was urgent. Starvation, -rebellion, and desertion of my followers threatened us had we been left -absolutely destitute. On the way down Harry and his party got through -Madui safely. They reached Ekeikei, procured what they wanted from our -stores, and began the toilsome ascent once more. At Madui trouble -awaited them. There had been a native fracas, a man had just been -murdered, and the blood-lust was strong in the people, who, on Harry’s -arrival, demanded that he should give up one of his boys to be killed -and eaten. My son, though well armed, had the wisdom not to make any -parade of force, and resorted to persuasion. After much argument, he -persuaded the Madui people to forego their demand, but it is not -surprising that during the night, in the course of which another murder -was committed, he kept the strictest watch, allowing himself not a wink -of sleep. One can well believe he found the vigil “long.” In the morning -they got clear away with their loads, and the same evening I was, -needless to say, relieved and delighted to welcome them back to my camp -on the Kebea. No youth of my son’s age has ever, I am sure, undertaken -so hazardous a journey among the New Guinea cannibals. - - - “Preparations to leave the Kebea for Foula. - - “_Aug. 8th._—Left the Kebea at 9 A.M. Left eight loads behind me. - Reached Coo-lu-coo-lu at 11 A.M. We ascended a hill 4000 feet high, - then descended 2000 feet, very steep, then up again to Coo-lu-coo-lu. - Many of the inhabitants are absent making sago. - - “_Aug. 11th._—Kept two days for our relays. Only by studying the daily - routine of this journal can any one realise the difficulty of getting - about in New Guinea. - - “Reached Babooni after three hours’ walk, and then descended 1000 feet - to the river Aculama. - - “_Aug. 12th._—We arrived at Amana at 10 A.M. There is a tree-house - here, 40 feet above the ground—used as a look-out station. A small - village, and the people bad. About two months ago the chief murdered a - man and a boy close to our yesterday’s camp. We heard of five other - recent murders. There is a lunatic here, the first and only lunatic we - saw in New Guinea. We sent an armed native to call Foula to our aid - for carrying.” - - - NOTES ON AMANA AND THE TREE-HOUSE - -Amana was a most peculiar village, and like Yo-ya-ka was built on an -extremely narrow ridge, so narrow indeed that we could not pitch our -fly-tent there, but slept in a house the front part of which overhung a -precipice. The house commanded a most lovely view far away into the -valley, the slopes of which were covered with dense wood. We could see -the river flashing at intervals through the greenery; it must at least -have been 1500 feet below us, but the roar of the torrent came up to us -with great distinctness. As we approached Amana our carriers suddenly -put down all their loads and would not enter. On being asked why, they -said that some time before the chief of Amana had killed one of their -people. - -[Illustration: - - OUR CAMP IN THE OWEN STANLEY RANGE 3,400 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL. - - The scenery in central New Guinea is magnificent. -] - -We went in and made the acquaintance of this worthy. He was rather a -personable character, quite bald, and with a very noble forehead, but, -like most of the more degraded aborigines, he could not look the white -man in the face. On hearing of our approach he became frightened and -retreated to a tree-house, one of the most remarkable curiosities which -we saw in New Guinea. In the village was a large tree, the trunk of -which reached up about 20 feet bare of branches, and then the main stem -divided into a fork. Among the branches were two platforms. To the first -there was a very rude ascent, a rough ladder consisting of two uprights -with rungs placed at an angle of at least 65 degrees. Above that was the -second platform, forming the bottom of the house, which was reached by -steps, very narrow, but not so far apart as the steps of the lower -ladder. The tree-house is not uncommon in New Guinea, but it is very -exceptional to find two platforms. The uprights and ladders were made of -bamboo, and the rungs were made of boughs cut anyhow with walo, a -species of cane which grows to a length of 20 feet, and is used for -lashings. Each cane is the size of a thick pencil, and has a spiky outer -cover. This is peeled off when the cane is ripe, and it is then split, -an operation requiring great dexterity, and one which can only be -performed by the Papuans themselves, for none but a native could split a -20–foot cane cleanly down its entire length. - -The higher platform which supported the house measured about 12 feet by -6 feet; it was made of bamboo cross-pieces, interlaced with bark. The -roof was covered with grass, and the only aperture was one small door, -over which the thatch came closely down. There was just room for a -person to crawl in. - -We had considerable difficulty in inducing the chief to leave his -retreat, but at length he summoned up sufficient courage to come out and -speak to us. - -At Amana we noticed no conical houses, the dwellings being for the most -part of the kind known as the “lean-to.” - -We noticed various other curiosities at Amana. One was a rather -mysterious grave, just outside the village at the point where the -carriers put down their loads. This place, which for some reason or -other was regarded as sacred, was surrounded by a low stockade, but no -attempt was made to keep the enclosure—which was quite overgrown—in -order, and we learned nothing regarding its origin, for the Papuans are -a people without a history. - -The people wore an ornament, which we also noticed among the Tugeri in -Dutch New Guinea. This was the oval, highly-polished grey seed of a -species of grass which grows at Amana. The villagers wore the seeds on -strings or singly in their hair. The Tugeri string the seed into -necklaces and wristlets. As the grass grows only at Amana, it is a -certain proof of communication between the Tugeri and the hill tribes. - - - THE LUNATIC AT AMANA - -In the village of Amana we met the only halfwitted Papuan we saw in New -Guinea. He had been imbecile from his birth, and at the time we saw him -his age was probably from 28 to 30, but it might have been less. He -could not speak and was very deaf. He was of a very pale coffee colour, -and might probably have stood about 5 feet 6 inches, but he was -strangely bent and very thin. He communicated with his fellows by means -of signs, and was regarded in the village as quite an amusing character. -In fact, to the best of my belief, he was maintained by the villagers -simply because of the amusement they got out of him. He had a mother -alive who was quite sane, but he himself lived alone, and was very -nervous about coming out to see the white man. The tribesmen, however, -were determined to show him off, and after a great deal of persuasion he -was brought up to me. - -They made signs to him to dance, and this was evidently a common -pastime, for, without the least reluctance, he began his performance, -which was unskilled enough and slightly repulsive. His dancing consisted -of wobbling the head and feet at a tremendous rate and putting out his -tongue. As soon as he began to show off, the Amana people sat down in -front of him and enjoyed the spectacle. He took his mission of purveyor -of diversion with deadly seriousness, and all the time he danced he made -a strange mumbling noise. He was popular with the children also, and -they would bring him out and set him dancing whenever they felt dull. -For clothes he wore the usual native costume of the mountains, except -the tight belt, which was perhaps too much an adjunct of dandyism for -this unfortunate to affect. Not only would he dance at the word of -command, but he would take off all his clothes to order, and carrying -his meagre garments over his arm, he would run from one end of the -village to the other clapping his hands in slow time. It was considered -superexcellent fun to make him dance with his clothes off, and all the -time the Philistines made game of the poor creature, who, however, was -no Samson! - -Another primitive jest was to give him unpalatable and impossible things -to eat, but they had the decency never to let him actually eat a gift of -charcoal—a not uncommon present—although they allowed him to come within -an ace of doing so. He was tremendously greedy, and when cooking or -eating was going on he would try to grab all he could. As soon as we -began to prepare a meal he lost all fear of us, and pursued his usual -tactics. He would snatch at our plates like a dog, seize as much as he -could, and long before one could say that curiously cumbrous phrase -“Jack Robinson,” he would have it all stuffed into his mouth. If we told -him to go away, he would remove himself for about five yards and sit -down. In a very few minutes he had crawled up again and would make -another raid upon our dishes. - -We had some most interesting conversations regarding the lunatic with -Ow-bow, who told us what was to be known of his family history. Ow-bow -said descriptively that he was “bad inside,” and added oracularly, -“Olana lakuana,” which means, “Head no good.” We asked particularly if -such a person would have been allowed to marry, whereupon Ow-bow gave an -emphatic negative, saying, “Wabeeni daba kadena enai makana affi?” which -is literally, “Woman what kind this fellow have?” (“What sort of woman -would have this fellow?”) The poor unfortunate was, however, extremely -harmless. One could do what one liked with him, for he was never known -to lose his temper. - -[Illustration: - - 1.—LOOKING DOWN A NATIVE HANGING BRIDGE. - - 2.—A SIDE VIEW OF THE SAME BRIDGE. -] - - - “_Aug. 13th._—Several carriers came, and we started at 10 A.M. and - arrived at Foula at 3 P.M. It is a fairly large village for this part. - They speak quite a different language from that of the Kebea and - Dinawa. We rigged up a temporary verandah for our work. To-day we got - a few good butterflies, but few moths at night; too much light. The - height of our camp here is 2600 feet. We bought a pig to-day, killed - it, and found it quite a treat; the meat was very good, and it - afforded us fat for cooking.” - - - FOULA VILLAGE - -Just before the entrance to Foula village we noticed the evidences of a -great land-slide, which had left the ridge of rock, along which our path -lay, as clean as a piece of china. The path had thus been rendered -perilous, but the natives had had the sense to put up a light bamboo -rail on each side, and this was extremely fortunate, for there was -hardly room for the foot, and a slip would have certainly meant -disaster, for the descent was sheer on each side for several hundred -feet. - -Foula is one of the sweetest villages imaginable. There are really two -villages—the upper and the lower. The upper one contains about fifteen -to twenty houses arranged in a circle, and the approach to it is through -an avenue of beautiful crotons planted by the natives. To reach the -lower village one had to descend for about ten minutes. This other -hamlet, which is picturesquely situated close to a fine waterfall, is -divided into two parts, a narrow ridge connecting the two. The houses in -this village stand in a line, and are very substantially built. Past -them runs what looks like a road of well-trodden red clay, which seemed -as if it had been rolled, and the whole place had the appearance of -being beautifully kept. - -The Foula people were of a Jewish type of feature. Their language -differs considerably from the dialects we had heard. - - - - - CHAPTER XII - _THE UNEXPLORED: AMONG PAPUAN PEAKS_ - -Still Higher in the Owen Stanley Range—The Road to Mafulu—Beauties of -the Forest—The Hill Step—Curious Habit of Walking acquired in Abrupt -Ground—Cold at High Altitudes—A New Camp built—Alpine Signs in Insects -and Flowers—Routine Work—Food runs low again—Native Thieves—Followers -discontented—They fear the Hostile Mafulu People—Daily Threats of -Desertion—Strict Watch—My Rule for Night Visitors—Compulsory Carrying of -Torches and Disarming—Weirdly Picturesque Night Scenes—Further -Privations—Bird of Paradise Soup—Ugh!—Decide to depart—Natives burn down -Camp to ensure our going. - - - - - CHAPTER XII - THE UNEXPLORED: AMONG PAPUAN PEAKS - - -From the Kebea to Mafulu it was a five days’ journey along the most -rugged, toilsome, and difficult path. At one point one has to traverse a -ridge which turns in a half-circle, and at the very top it is scarcely -more than 6 inches wide, sheer precipice running down on each side. The -dangers of the road were, however, somewhat compensated for by the -magnificent view which one could enjoy from that point, and a -butterfly-collector had also something to reward him. As we rested -there, after having passed the most dangerous part of the ridge, along -which we had to crawl on our hands and knees, I saw some of the rarer -_Papilios_ in fairly large numbers. Unfortunately, they were all rather -worn specimens and of no value for the collecting box, and I was sorry -that I was not there earlier, so as to have captured these butterflies -when they had freshly emerged from the chrysalis. They measure about 3 -inches across from wing to wing, and are of a most brilliant pea-green, -shot with a lovely mauve sheen on the under wings. The descent was very, -very steep, especially the last portion of the road, where it descended -abruptly to the creek. We had to hold on by roots and vegetation and to -look most carefully after our footing, for a false step might have sent -us down a precipice, falling sheer for 800 feet. But for the support of -the growing things we could not have made the descent at all, and the -marvel was how our carriers managed it with their heavy loads. They -seemed, however, quite unconcerned, and took no notice of the dangers -besetting them. They would never think of lightening or setting down -their loads, but moved on in a zig-zag, catching hold of the creepers as -they went, without effort. The bed of the creek, when we reached it, we -found to be full of boulders. While my men took a bath, I examined the -gravel in the river bed, for it looked tempting for the mineral -prospector. By way of experiment, and to pass the time, I washed out a -panful or so of gravel, and noticed a few colours in the sand that -indicated the presence of gold. It is not improbable that the prospector -who worked that creek would find considerable trace of mineral wealth. -Here I saw the indigenous breadfruit, about the size of a cricket ball, -and full of kernels smaller than a chestnut, only with a thinner rind -and of a chocolate rather than a red-brown colour. The natives boil it, -and we found it floury and very palatable, though slightly bitter. The -Papuans are very fond of this fruit when they can get it. - -[Illustration: - - ONE OF OUR CAMPS IN THE OWEN STANLEY RANGE. - - Note the line of mist across the picture just below the summits. -] - -We ascended, by way of one of the two villages known as Foula, for four -hours, the climb being all the way through dense forest soaking with the -humidity of the atmosphere. Even the hot sun seemed scarcely to affect -the prevailing damp. The rocks which beset our path were covered with -lovely-shaded begonias, ferns, and trailing creepers, intermingled in -richest profusion of golden tints. In the early morning the forest is -alive with bird-life. The trees are of strange magnificence, -particularly the mountain Pandanus, with its aërial roots, which cover -an immense space and all converge into one stem 60 feet above the -ground, whence the trunk runs up perfectly straight. Around us -everywhere were also tree ferns, some of them rising to 30 feet in -height, and besides these there were the enormous _Lycopodiums_ with -leaves 10 feet long. These luxuriant forms of vegetation were thickly -clustered upon the trees, and some of the masses must have been of -enormous weight. They displayed a glorious profusion of scarlet, which -had taken full possession of its supporting tree, for far above the -domed mass of this superb parasite one could see occasionally large -clusters of brilliant blossom here and there. More humble, but still -very beautiful, was a little fern, similar to our Parsley Fern, which -was distinguished by an exquisite iridescent blue all over the upper -side of the leaf, while on the under side those fronds that were in seed -showed a most brilliant golden yellow. Parrots great and small flashed -about us, and now and then we caught a glimpse of the white cockatoo -with the yellow crest that is found all over New Guinea. As we passed -among the feathered colony, all these birds set up a tremendous -screeching. The cockatoo, as I had occasion to know at a later period, -can, when wounded, bite most cruelly. Of animals we saw little, for the -inhabitants of this region are mostly arboreal and nocturnal. There are -several species of the smaller animals, including the tree kangaroo, of -which I wished I could have secured some specimens. These are born very -imperfect, and are placed in the pouch; when they are once there the -mother squeezes the milk into their mouths. - -We found the village of Mafulu very small and the people extremely shy. -One or two men were about, and the women were at work in their gardens. -We sent on some of our men to discover the best possible camping-place, -a work of considerable difficulty, for there are no plateaux in the Owen -Stanley range, and the contour of the ground, as I have already -indicated, is terribly abrupt. In fact, when one has travelled for some -weeks in these regions, a peculiar habit of walking is acquired, which -is somewhat equivalent to a sailor’s sea-legs. This acquisition the -traveller does not find out until he returns to low, flat ground, when -he suddenly realises that he is stumbling at every step, and some -practice is required to recover the ordinary method of locomotion, and -he has to break himself of the habit of lifting his knees almost to his -nose. About an hour’s march from the village the men discovered a fairly -level spot, and by the time we came up they had, with axes and knives, -begun to cut a clearing of the undergrowth to enable us to pitch our -camp. We set up our own fly-tent and the natives’ two tents and built a -large fire, for it was very cold and the boys were beginning to feel the -climate of that high elevation. Indeed, during our whole stay at Mafulu -we felt the stress of the climate severely. That first night was very -chilly, and it was necessary to serve out blankets to the natives in -order to enable them to withstand the cold. They slung their hammocks on -sticks or trees, sometimes one above the other, and close to these they -built large fires and kept them going during the night. The sky at night -was clear and starlit, but the morning brought clouds, and mists -enveloped the forest, often accompanied by heavy rain that made the -place most depressing. The view was entirely shut out; everything was -dripping; our clothes were very soon saturated, and the whole situation -was most uncomfortable. - -The humidity of that region was proved by the fact that the under side -of the leaves of various plants was covered with moss. - -The day after our arrival we began the building of a proper camp. We -felled trees, erected a stockade and also a platform some little -distance above the ground; over this last we threw the fly-tent, making -a floor to it of split bamboo. Inside the tent we arranged to have a -fire in the native manner. We put down a wooden frame, inside which we -laid earth closely patted down to form a hearth in the Papuan style. -After building our abode we had to discover another spot where we could -carry on our work at night. When this was found, a further task awaited -us, for the forest came so close that we had to open up a space to -enable our lamp to shine out and thus attract the moths. To do this we -had to fell more trees, and the precipitous nature of the ground -rendered our task all the harder, for once when we had allowed a large -newly-felled trunk to slide, it got out of hand and careered three or -four hundred yards down the precipice, taking other trees with it. -Finally, however, we managed to open up a gap towards the camp, which -left us an excellent clearing for scientific purposes. Here we built our -collecting verandah, and thither we repaired every night, a little -journey requiring some self-sacrifice, for as we went those dreadful -leeches I have already described attacked our feet and legs -unmercifully. - -We had to do a good deal of our work unassisted, for our natives were -not willing to accompany us, as they feared the Mafulu people. We knew -perfectly well there was some risk, and never went up to the verandah -without taking our revolvers. As we worked there through the small -hours, our position was brilliantly lighted up by our lamp, so that, had -the Mafulu people wished to do so, they would have had every opportunity -of taking a good aim at us. Fortunately, however, they did not realise -that while our lamp made us very visible to them, it rendered them -entirely invisible to us, and although we sometimes felt rather uneasy, -we never received any unpleasant reminder in the shape of a hurtling -spear. Had they known, however, how entirely we were at their mercy, we -might not have escaped. - -As we pursued our collecting here, it was interesting to note the Alpine -signs in insects and flowers. On the trees grew a very fragrant -rhododendron. Moths were plentiful, but butterflies were not, for -everything in this dense forest was struggling for light, and the -butterflies had accordingly retired to the tops of the trees. Here I -counted at least twelve different species of paradise birds. - -[Illustration: - - SOME UNKNOWN SPECIES DISCOVERED BY THE AUTHOR IN NEW GUINEA. - - 1.—A new Reptile—Lygosama Pratti. 2.—Another new Reptile— - Toxicolamus Stanleyanus. 3.—A new fish of the Gobiid Genus - _Rhiacichthys_. - - _By permission of the Zoological Society of London._ -] - -We had not been long at Mafulu when we were faced with another trouble. -Our food supply began to run low. We found that the tinned provisions -had been tampered with, and suspected native thieves; our suspicions one -day being confirmed, when our dog Yule brought in from the forest two -empty meat tins which had been broken open with the axe. This evidence -was incontestable, for we ourselves always used the tin-opener. Of -course, when we taxed our Papuans they were ignorant of the whole -affair. This theft did not improve our larder; meat ran out, we had very -little tea and no sugar, only a scanty supply of flour, and, worst of -all, no salt. We were accordingly dependent upon sweet potatoes and -yams, which we purchased from the Mafulu people, and occasionally a few -bananas were obtainable. The boys soon began to grumble about the cold -and lack of food, but the real reason of their discontent was, of -course, fear of the Mafulu people. Every day deputations waited on Sam -and myself and threatened to leave. It was evident that the discontent -was stirred up by two ringleaders, so we found out who these were and -talked to them very severely, telling them they might go; but two men -would not dare to venture back to their own village through a hostile -country, so, of course, our permission to leave was not taken. These -troubles were very annoying, for we wanted to remain as long as we -could, as we were getting admirable specimens, but about the fourteenth -day of our stay matters had come to such a pass that we had to give the -men a definite promise that we would leave in a week. - -With such a state of things constant vigilance became necessary, and we -had to divide the nights into watches. Sam would take three hours and -then I would take three hours, and some of the natives were always awake -for fear of other natives. It was very lonely in camp, but we passed the -time smoking and watching a few sweet potatoes baking in the embers. As -our own fellows were disaffected, it was necessary also to keep them -under constant observation. From the tent we could watch their quarters, -and Sam made a bamboo bed in the men’s shelter. They, poor fellows, had -rather a rough time of it, apart from their fears and discontent, for -one night a tremendous deluge of rain swamped their quarters. Next day -they went into the forest and cut a large quantity of bamboo leaves, -with which they made a splendid rain-tight roof about 6 inches thick. As -it would have been a pity to have left without doing our best to get -specimens of the paradise bird, we sent all our shooting boys away and -allowed them to take a tent with them. The long-tail paradise birds -frequent the Pandanus trees when they are in seed, and when the shooters -found a tree in that condition they would camp near it and lie in wait -for the birds. While this little expedition was out, Sam, Harry, myself, -and a boy remained alone in considerable anxiety, for while the guns -were away none of us had any sleep. - -[Illustration: - - THE AUTHOR AND SOME NATIVE COLLECTORS. -] - -I cannot say that we had any actual threats, but the country round about -us was disturbed, and great numbers of the Kabadi people, who had been -to trade with Mafulu, and were returning home, began to stream through -our camp. They came through in strings, at intervals of an hour or -longer. Some of them carried pigs that they had received from the Mafulu -people after dances and entertainments. These companies consisted of -men, women, and a very few children. Several of them were painted as for -a festival, and they always passed through the camp as quickly as -possible, taking no notice of us. The Mafulu people used to visit us a -good deal with the ostensible purpose of trading, but they always took -care to come armed with spears. This I did not like at all, so I -directed them to lay down their arms before they entered, and if they -came to visit me after dark, I said they must light torches and hail me -from the edge of the clearing as they approached. This they did, but -they seldom came at night after I had put this restriction on them. The -few times, however, that they did come with their torches, the sight was -weirdly picturesque as the lights came glinting through the trees, and -then congregated at the edge of the clearing, the flickering glare -throwing up the lithe, bronze figures of the warriors into fine relief -as they stood there waiting for permission to enter the white man’s -enclosure. They seemed to have a lot of intimate conversation with our -people, although only one of our men knew their language. They were, -however, content to do their talking through the interpreter. - -Before we left, our food had practically run out and we were feeling the -pinch very badly. Both Harry and I were growing extremely thin, and we -were always taking in reefs in our belts. As regards weight, however, we -were in fine walking form. The nerves of my people got no better. -Sometimes they would hear the Mafulu people calling, and then they would -be on the _qui vive_, thinking something was about to happen; they were, -in fact, like men living on a volcano. Before we left we were in such -stress that we were compelled to try bird of paradise soup; it was truly -abominable, and after the first spoonful we got no further. - -All our things were packed, and Harry and I were inside taking the -fly-tent down, when suddenly we heard a terrible uproar among the -carriers. I rushed out, but by the time I got into the open I found one -of the native houses in flames, and in less than ten minutes the whole -camp was ablaze. I immediately demanded of the boys what they meant by -this act, but they seemed to look upon it as a great joke, much as -youngsters at home would regard a bonfire. It is not improbable that -their object was to compel me to go, for the previous day my shooters -had brought in twelve paradise birds, at which I had shown great -delight, and they probably thought that I should be tempted to prolong -my stay. It is just possible that I might, for the last days were the -richest we had had so far as the capturing of birds and specimens was -concerned. When the camp was still roaring up in flames we departed with -our few remaining followers, the main body having gone on already with -the chief part of the loads. One thing that makes me sure that the -firing of the camp was deliberate was that the outbreak occurred in two -or three places simultaneously. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - _LAST JOURNEY TO THE COAST_ - -A Dangerous Stream-Crossing—Babooni—Sunshine once more—Successful Work— -Poor Fare—Messengers to Ekeikei—The Tree-Cabbage—Method of Cooking -Tree-Cabbage—A Great Curiosity—Spiders’ Webs as Fishing-Nets—Dancing -Festivals—Back to the Kebea—Our Bean Crop—A Papuan Parliament—We obtain -Credit—A Wife-Beater—My only Act of Perfidy—The Journey to Ekeikei—Back -to the Land of Plenty—Last Visit to Epa—Mavai unfriendly—He is talked -over and supplies Carriers—Example better than Precept—The Coast again— -An Accident—The Natives drink Sea-Water—Good-bye to the Mountaineers. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - LAST JOURNEY TO THE COAST - - -From our camp at Mafulu a march of from five to six hours brought us to -Foula. On our way we rested at a little village, one of those belonging -to the Foula people, but situated on the opposite ridge. There I missed -my prismatic compass, and was rather concerned, but I ordered a thorough -search in the bags, and was glad to find it. At this village the natives -were reluctant to move on, and I believe that they were aware we were -about to have bad weather, for before we had gone much farther we were -in the midst of a deluge. I accordingly paid off all the unwilling -carriers and allowed them to return home, hoping to get more at Foula. -There they told us that as the Delava River was swollen there was no -crossing, so I went down to inspect it myself and found it in a most -terrible state. The stream was full of tangled mangrove roots and -treacherous with slimy ooze. It was a horrible and uninviting flood to -enter, with its foul waters and its mosquitoes, and one knew that it was -a veritable fever-trap. In we had to go, however, the natives making a -terrible splashing. For the most part we were wading up to our hips in -water, picking our way as best we could across the tangled mangrove -roots, and occasionally slipping down between them to a depth of two -feet, these slips threatening to take Harry out of his depth. For part -of the way we had to swim. - -When we had crossed we took our way to Babooni, along a track which ran -up a valley and then wound up steep precipices. There was no actual -village there, but only a camp which had been built by Sam on the -extreme edge of the ridge. The situation was grandly picturesque, for -this ridge terminated in an abrupt precipice, falling several hundred -feet, and having the appearance of a huge headland thrust out into the -valley. On each side the cliff came to within a few feet of our -collecting verandah, and looking down from it we could see the -confluence of three silvery streams, winding through charming tropical -vegetation. Babooni would have been an ideal spot for a picnic. There we -spent three weeks and had wonderful success in our work. - -Except that we were in daylight and amid delightful scenery—a welcome -change from the awful gloom of the forest at Mafulu—we were, as far as -living went, no better off than we had been on the higher ground, and -our staple food was still sweet potatoes; but it was something to have -the sun again, and altogether we were conscious of a reviving feeling of -exhilaration at Babooni. The _Drepanornis Albertisii_, one of the finest -of the birds of paradise, abounded, and we secured a considerable number -of specimens on the opposite hill. I also secured a fine series of the -_Ornithoptera primus_, the bird-winged butterfly, which is distinguished -by its beautiful green and velvet-black wings, with brilliant golden -fore-wings, the under side of which is black. It is very partial to the -flowers of the tree Spirea, among the foliage of which its black and -gold wings can continually be seen twinkling. Its colour contrast, -indeed, gives it a most remarkable appearance in flight. - -[Illustration: - - A SPIDER’S WEB AS A FISHING-NET: A STRANGE NEW GUINEA DEVICE. - - A very huge and strong spider’s web, common to New Guinea, is used by - the natives as a fishing-net. They set up in the forest a bamboo, - bent as in the picture, and leave it until the spiders have covered - it with a web in the manner shown. -] - -But scientific work cannot be done on sweet potatoes alone, so I sent -Wei-Yah and five men to Ekeikei to replenish our larder. They took a -week on the journey, and on their return reported that the Ekeikei camp -was safe, but there had been thefts from the stores at the Kebea. The -foolish fellows had come back without salt, and as five men cannot carry -very much, we were only a little better off than we had been. We were -also in dire want of “trade,” and there would be fairly long accounts to -settle with our carriers for the rest of the journey, the Foula men -having exhausted all our trade when we paid them off at Babooni. In our -straits, however, nature provided us with at least one delicacy, and we -shall always remember Babooni gratefully for its tree-cabbage. These -edible leaves grow on a small tree like a sycamore, and the manner of -cooking is as follows: Each leaf is plucked separately, and when a -sufficient number has been got together they are tied up into neat -packets, bound round in banana leaves and cane string. Then stones are -collected and heated on a large wood fire, and on the top of the hot -stones the bundles of cabbage are placed, and over them the natives lay -more banana leaves to a depth of about two feet, and above all another -layer of hot stones. In about one hour the cabbage is cooked, the outer -wrapping is taken off, and the delicacy is served on a banana leaf or a -dish. It is a perfect god-send to the half-starved traveller. - -From Babooni we returned to the Kebea, varying our route so as to -include the village of Waley, which we entered during a heavy rainstorm. -Waley is a pleasantly situated village, occupying the whole of one side -of a hill, where a large clearing had been burnt out and planted with -sugar-cane and bananas. The natives had also laid out extensive and -well-planted gardens. - -One of the curiosities of Waley, and, indeed, one of the greatest -curiosities that I noted during my stay in New Guinea, was the spiders’ -web fishing-net. - -In the forest at this point huge spiders’ webs, 6 feet in diameter, -abounded. These are woven in a large mesh, varying from 1 inch square at -the outside of the web to about ⅛th inch at the centre. The web was most -substantial, and had great resisting power, a fact of which the natives -were not slow to avail themselves, for they have pressed into the -service of man this spider, which is about the size of a small -hazel-nut, with hairy, dark-brown legs, spreading to about 2 inches. -This diligent creature they have beguiled into weaving their -fishing-nets. At the place where the webs are thickest they set up long -bamboos, bent over into a loop at the end. In a very short time the -spider weaves a web on this most convenient frame, and the Papuan has -his fishing-net ready to his hand. He goes down to the stream and uses -it with great dexterity to catch fish of about 1 lb. weight, neither the -water nor the fish sufficing to break the mesh. The usual practice is to -stand on a rock in a backwater where there is an eddy. There they watch -for a fish, and then dexterously dip it up and throw it on to the bank. -Several men would set up bamboos so as to have nets ready all together, -and would then arrange little fishing parties. It seemed to me that the -substance of the web resisted water as readily as a duck’s back. - -Waley was also a place for dancing. Thither the tribes came for great -Terpsichorean festivals, and invitations used to be sent as far as Foula -by special messengers to bid the Foula people to these entertainments. -As we passed Babooni we had met these couriers on their way to tell the -Foula people about a dance that was shortly to be held, and inviting -them to come and bring all their fine feather-work—the Papuan -dress-suit—and all their pretty women. These dances often last for a -week, and the revellers feast during the day and at night dance by -torch-light. During the time we were in camp the noise of dancing and -singing never ceased, and the fat pigs were continually being killed. -This indispensable adjunct of Papuan life is solemnly divided according -to ceremonial custom, and certain parts are reserved for the leading -degrees of the tribesmen. The guests receive the more honourable -portions, and in this instance the chief from Foula would receive the -most honoured part of all. - -The tribesmen come to the dance fully armed, bearing spears 10 feet -long, which were often splendidly decorated with birds’ feathers; over -the point would be slung a pod full of seeds, which rattled as the spear -was brandished in the dance. - -When we left Waley we pursued a very winding path through steep valleys, -zig-zaging up the face of precipices and along the tops of almost -razor-like ridges. - -On our return to the Kebea we picked a very fine crop of beans of our -own sowing. The Papuan bean is broader than ours, and is gathered at a -rather later stage; it is largely cultivated in the native villages. -Once at the Kebea we had seriously to face the problem of getting down -to the coast. Here we were with all our collections on our hands, as -well as our stores and “trade” to meet the charges of our carriers none -too plentiful. Obviously, the right plan would be to get the natives to -engage to carry for us right down to Pokama on Hall Sound, for if we -should be faced with the necessity of paying off a gang at Ekeikei, we -should be cleaned right out of the equivalent of ready cash. I opened -negotiations tentatively, and allowed the idea to get wind among my -followers; then the thing began to be mooted in camp conversations, and -the men would go off to discuss it with their womenkind. At first they -were in great doubt, saying that it was very far, they did not know the -country beyond such a place, and they would be very frightened in -strange districts, especially on their return. At our invitation they -gathered for a great conference, and I may be said to have summoned a -Papuan Parliament, which immediately went into committee to discuss ways -and means. I sent out Ow-bow, and several reliable fellows whom we knew -to be willing to go all the way with us, to induce the others to come to -the congress, and when we got them together we told them that if they -would go to Hall Sound with us, we would make each man a certain -payment, enumerating the different articles we were prepared to pay on -our arrival at Pokama. We added that if any one preferred that his wages -should include a preponderance of tobacco, or beads, or calico, over -other articles, we should be quite agreeable. - -[Illustration: - - FISHING WITH THE SPIDER’S-WEB NET. - - The natives are here using the curious net prepared in the manner - shown in another picture. -] - -They gathered round our little house, some in and some out, and smoked -the everlasting bau-bau, keeping up the while a quiet conversation. The -women with husbands made difficulties, as was to be expected. They would -say to any man who showed a disposition to join the expedition: “But we -want you to help us in our gardens.” One of the wives proved especially -a thorn in our side. She was the worst woman we met in Papua, the -possessor of a terrible tongue, and she was always setting the men -against going anywhere. The other women disliked her heartily, and there -were always rows when she came into camp. Not once, but twenty times, -were we annoyed by these disturbances, for Gouba, her husband, believed -in attempting to tame his shrew, although, alas! he never succeeded. His -methods were simple and drastic. He would pick up a billet of wood, when -she was half-way through a tremendous scolding, and fetch her a terrific -blow over the back. Thereupon ensued Pandemonium; the other men and -women would gather round jabbering, but they made no attempt to stop the -beating once it had begun. The unfortunate man had another wife, and the -scolding one was not always with him, but when she was there was -trouble. Gouba was willing enough to stay with us, poor fellow, but Mrs. -Gouba was always on the _qui vive_ for some village dance or other. Her -social engagements invariably clashed with Gouba’s industrial projects, -and between them they made the camp very hot. To see her running with -Gouba after her was a memorable sight. Of course, no Englishman likes to -see a woman knocked about, but from what Ow-bow used to tell us, I am -persuaded that Gouba was a sorely-tried man, and I should not be -surprised to hear that by this time he has arranged a divorce on Henry -the Eighth’s plan, and that Mrs. Gouba is now no more. - -But to return to our Parliament. I finally carried my point and engaged -the carriers, but, alas! it was only by committing the only act of -perfidy which I can lay to my conscience in all my dealings with -natives. I found that if we were to get out of the country safely I must -offer some further inducement, other than the ordinary articles of -trade, and accordingly, although I had no intention of contravening the -Government regulations so far, I said that a gun would be included in -the wages of those who went down to Pokama. When the time came for this -promise to be made good, I simply explained that the Government would -not permit me to give them the gun. They acquiesced quite cheerfully, -and consented to receive compensation in other articles. That there was -no discontent or resentment, I am persuaded, and I had ample proof of -this in my final parting from my followers, which I shall relate in its -proper place. - -We now returned to Ekeikei, and on arrival there passed from the land of -starvation to the land of abundance; hunting was once more possible, and -early on the morning after our arrival we sent out our shooters, who -came in loaded with cassowary, Gaura pigeon, wallaby, pig, and other -spoils. The natives were in clover once again, and had a glorious time -building fires, dressing the game, and preparing the food, for your -Papuan’s greatest pleasure is to eat as much as he can, and in the -shortest possible time, to sing, and then to sleep. Meals of Homeric -generosity were devoured, and thereafter our people sat round their camp -fires singing the beautiful mountain melodies of which I have already -spoken. The prettiest and most soothing of all their tunes was the -following, which has often with its gentle cadence lulled me to sleep in -the wilds:— - -[Illustration: Chi-li-pa-la lu-a chi-li-pa-la lu-a lay: Chi-li-pa-la -lu-a.] - -At Ekeikei we had, of course, to take up many additional loads of -baggage, and the resources of our staff, already severely tried, -threatened to prove entirely inadequate. Further recruits were not -forthcoming, so all the baggage had to be re-distributed and the bags -repacked. Even when this was done, and an additional weight apportioned -to each man, we found that ten carriers more would be wanted, but as -these were not obtainable I decided to leave Wei-Yah with the remaining -baggage until I could get down to Epa, where I trusted that my old -friend Mavai would send it in relays for me to Oo-fa-fa. - -At Epa things looked rather hopeless, for not only did five of my -carriers bolt, leaving me saddled with their loads, but Mavai proved a -broken reed. My ancient ally was no longer a white man, and for some -unexplained reason had turned very uncivil. When I asked for carriers he -said he had “no people,” but his village seemed as populous as ever, and -the same numbers streamed in from the yam patch in the evening. I had a -big talk with him over night, but could make no terms with him. Next -morning Harry and I again had a long quiet talk with his Highness, and -at last he relented so far that he ascended his platform, but did not -don the persuasive red coat. He waxed fairly eloquent, gesticulated -wildly, and at last, about 7 P.M., things took a better turn, and the -first carriers consented to engage with us. Then the right honourable -gentleman resumed his seat, having spoken just over half-an-hour. Next -day they sulkily picked up their loads and set out. Mavai himself, -believing that example was better than precept, marched with the first -detachment. He himself shouldered a load. Thus we got everything away -with the exception of two loads, the carriers in charge of which sat -sullenly in their house. Finally, Harry and I had to go over and make -these two fellows pick up their burdens, and thus we took leave of Epa. - -[Illustration: - - A WEIRD TRIBAL DANCE. - - The central figure wears a huge head-dress of bird of Paradise plumes - surmounted by a gigantic aigrette of parrots’ feathers (to be seen - in the background). The rank and file wear grass-fibre head-dresses. -] - -The journey to Oo-fa-fa was accomplished in very sultry, trying weather, -through a country that afforded little shade. The ground was stony, -broken here and there with patches of wild oats and groups of eucalyptus -trees, which ran up to a height of about 30 feet, and were conspicuous -by their silvery bark, which was constantly peeling off like tissue -paper. - -Having once undertaken the job, Mavai was as good as his word, and took -us down to Oo-fa-fa, where we got boats. There I had a nasty accident. -We put up for the night in a hut belonging to Mr. Jack Exton, the -sandalwood trader, a very industrious and indefatigable man, who has -made good roads to haul his timber down to the coast, and is very -popular with the natives. “Jack,” as we called him, entertained us very -kindly at his camp when we first went to Epa, and gave us every -assistance in his power. During the first night at Oo-fa-fa I was -sitting on a native hammock in the hut, when suddenly the cords gave way -and I fell backwards upon a sharp stump and hurt my back severely. My -leather belt saved me from any very serious injury, and there was -fortunately no penetration, but the pain was intense for three or four -days. I fomented the bruises with hot water at Oo-fa-fa, and managed to -get down to the canoe next day, but I had to lie still during the rest -of the voyage. At Pokama I was greatly relieved by the application of -Elliman’s Embrocation, but I had difficulty in walking and was not free -from pain for ten days. - -At the Sound some of the native carriers, those paying their first visit -to the coast, drank great quantities of salt water without evil -consequences. - -The canoe voyage was rather uneventful. Our flotilla was not numerous -enough; the canoes we had were overladen, and, accordingly, we sent some -baggage overland to Pokama. At that point the Rev. Mr. Dauncey received -us with great hospitality, and with him we stayed while we were paying -off our natives. To Ow-bow I entrusted the wages of the five rascals who -had run away from us at Epa, and I have no doubt he paid it over -scrupulously. - -After our business was concluded, the mountain people went away with -very happy faces, and bade us good-bye, cordially hoping that they would -see us again, and saying that on my return, if I sent for them, they -would come down to the coast and carry me up-country. Some of them even -wept as they took leave, and I must confess that I was genuinely sorry -to part from my warm-hearted, good-natured followers, who had up to the -last served me faithfully, in spite of occasional fits of -refractoriness, which, after all, were easy enough to understand. It -said a good deal for them that they followed the unknown white man as -cheerfully as they did. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - _A FORTY-MILE TRAMP BY THE SHORE_ - -A Comfortless Voyage—A Forty-Mile Tramp along the Coast—Wonders of the -Beach—Armies of Soldier-Crabs—A Crocodile River—A Dangerous Canoe -Voyage—At Port Moresby—A Pathetic Incident—Last Days of our Stay in New -Guinea. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - A FORTY-MILE TRAMP BY THE SHORE - - -At Pokama we got on board a vessel very heavily laden with sandalwood. I -did not notice how perilously deep she was in the water until after we -had put to sea. This promised a voyage of great discomfort, and Harry -shortly became very sick. Partly on this account, and partly because we -wanted to see a certain part of the coast more minutely, we went ashore -in a small boat, and slept that night at the house of a coloured teacher -in the service of the London Missionary Society. Next morning we set out -on foot for Manu-Manu, forty miles distant, a long and very toilsome -tramp, often rendered doubly difficult by the uncertain sands of the -beach. Where the tide had left it wet we found it as firm to walk upon -as a bicycle track, but in the dry sand we often sunk to our knees. -Harry, especially, suffered severely, and his ankles were sore for a -long time after. The heat also was terrific, and added greatly to our -discomfort; but the walk was not without its interest and its diversion, -although in point of scenery it was rather monotonous. Very conspicuous -on the fringe of the coast vegetation was the true species of the shore -Pandanus. Inland was dense forest, diversified with patches of grass and -marshland. Our itinerary was as follows: Our first stage was twenty-two -miles from Giabada to Issu, the way being greatly lengthened by the need -to follow the bend of ever-recurring bays, where the treacherous sand -and the lack of shelter from the sun proved particularly trying. But at -this part of the march we saw one of the most extraordinary sights of -all our travels—many thousands of soldier-crabs traversing the sandy -beach in detached, regularly ordered bodies that moved evidently by the -signal of some common commander. These “armed battalions” stretched for -miles, and no matter what figure they assumed—whether wedge, triangle, -or rhombus—the dressing, so to speak, of the outer ranks was perfect, -and would have put many a Volunteer corps to shame. Not a crab was out -of line. The advance was fairly rapid, and was always towards the sea, -for a distance of, say, two hundred yards. When the crabs come out of -their holes in the sand they throw themselves into this compact -formation probably for safety. There was no walking along the beach for -them—scarcely a clear hundred yards for miles. When approached, they -quickened their pace perceptibly. - -The individual crab is small and has no shell. The spread of the legs -would probably be 1½ inches, and the body is of a dark fawn colour, -exactly resembling the wet sand of the beach, so that the creature’s hue -is without doubt yet another of Nature’s adaptations for protection. It -is remarkable also that it imitates only the wet sand, for the dry sand -is of a dazzling silky whiteness. - -[Illustration: - - A SEA-COAST SCENE IN NEW GUINEA. - - Some of the houses of Elevada, one of the pottery towns, may be seen - by the sea. -] - -At Issu we stayed for the night, and did our best to sleep, although the -sand-flies were a great torment. From Issu we went on to Manu-Manu, a -stretch of eighteen miles, and as we went we saw many sharks, who -followed us close inshore and kept pace with us for a considerable -distance, hoping in vain that we would be unwise enough to bathe. Some -natives, who had followed us from Giabada, tried to kill them by -throwing sticks. - -Manu-Manu was our last halt before taking a canoe for Port Moresby. At -the former place we found some men to assist us, and after spending the -night there, and the best part of the following day in preparation, we -embarked. At the mouth of the Manu-Manu River the crocodiles swarmed in -the brackish water. This is the point where there occurred the fight -between the natives and the crocodiles which I described in one of my -earlier chapters. The canoe voyage that we made at this time was one -that was only possible in fine weather, for there were many nasty -headlands to round. The bays were very deep, and at the middle of the -crossing from point to point we would often be ten miles off the land. -Often, too, there were treacherous reefs to avoid, but fortunately we -had moonlight after 2 A.M.; and so, sometimes sailing and sometimes -paddling, we passed the villages of Boira and Borepada and reached Port -Moresby at five on the evening of the day after we had left Manu-Manu. -We arrived at the Government station just about the same time as the -ketch which was bearing the bulk of our baggage. - -We entered Port Moresby by the western entrance, which is not deep -enough for large ships, and can only be made by canoes. At Port Moresby -we had intended to put up as formerly at Sam’s house, but we found news -of deep affliction awaiting our faithful head-man. His wife Heli was in -terrible distress, for she had lost two children while her husband was -with us in the interior. Both were boys, one of seventeen known as -George, and the other a bright little fellow of ten called Foralis, who -had been a great favourite of ours on our former visit, and who used to -make himself very useful to us. - -Poor George’s death was a merciful release, for although he was so well -on in his teens, he was a mere dwarf, and had been ill since his birth—a -sufferer from the so-called New Guinea disease, that incurable and -mysterious disorder which eats away the legs. It is believed to be a -form of leprosy. He was a fleshless, melancholy little being, who lay in -bed all day, hardly ever moving. He had, however, all his senses, and it -was pathetic to see him pursuing his only amusement, playing with the -petals of flowers and with different coloured papers, of which he -sometimes made strings. Sam must have missed Foralis very keenly, for -the youngster was at a most attractive age, and was beginning to be very -useful in various ways. He had become quite a bold little horseman, and -would often ride on errands for his father. - -We spent five days at Port Moresby in the usual routine of packing for -the homeward voyage, the first stage of which we performed on the small -steamer _Parua_, which took us to Cooktown, where we were interested to -note the relics of former mining activity, for the place enjoyed a brief -spell of prosperity, during which pretentious banks and public buildings -sprang up, and still stand there as if in mockery of its absolute -deadness. The time was when they took fifty tons of gold from the Palmer -River, but those days had long gone by, although there is certainly -plenty of mineral wealth in the hinterland that is entirely unworked, -and excellent for tin miners especially. No effort has been made to work -this, and it is difficult to get money for even a gold mine at the back -of Cooktown, so much British capital has been lost there in wild-cat -schemes. A once busy railway still runs fitfully to the Palmer River. - -We stayed three weeks at Cooktown, and during the second week we -witnessed a thunderstorm that transcended in violence the worst I had -ever seen in South America, and that is saying a good deal. After an -intensely oppressive morning, a black cloud came up from the westward, -and the storm burst with startling suddenness. In less than half-an-hour -every street was a veritable river, and the lightning, continuous and -seemingly ubiquitous, was accompanied by cracking and rending thunder -that could only be described as appalling. Fortunately, no one was -killed, and the only damage was to the roof of Burns’s store, which was -struck by lightning. - -Save for the thunderstorm, our stay at Cooktown was utterly uneventful, -and at the end of the third week we went down to Sydney and came home by -the White Star line. - - - - - CHAPTER XV - _NATIVE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS_ - -The Papuan at Home—His Good Points—Physical Characteristics—Ceremonial -Dress—Coast and Hill Tribes—Differences—Local Distribution of the Rami -or Petticoat—Its Decrease in Length in the Mountains—Its Disappearance -at Epa—Dandyism—The Priceless Chimani—The Shell Armlet—Household -Constitution—Rudimentary Government—Courtship and Marriage—The Price of -a Wife—Position of Women—Six Ways of Carrying an Infant—Meal Times— -Weapons—Clubs—Their Manufacture the Monopoly of One Tribe—Weird Tribal -Dances. - - - - - CHAPTER XV - PAPUAN MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND SUPERSTITIONS - - -My object in visiting New Guinea, as the reader already knows very well, -was not to prosecute the proper study of mankind, according to Mr. -Alexander Pope, but it was impossible to live daily with those unspoilt -children of nature without observing a good deal that was curious and -noteworthy. I cannot pretend to be a trained ethnologist, and -accordingly the notes that I have set down in this chapter on manners -and customs make no pretension to any scientific co-ordination. I shall -not therefore venture to draw conclusions, nor advance any theories such -as would fall within the province of the professed anthropologist. My -notes, too, were fragmentary, and often, owing to the stress of our -journeyings and the pressure of the work which it was incumbent on me to -prosecute, I had perforce to leave unrecorded at the time many things -that might be useful to the student of primitive peoples. Such -observations, however, as I am able to make, however incomplete, may -safely be regarded as at first hand, and it is probable that in the -majority of cases they were taken under exceptionally favourable -conditions for observing the people just as they are. During our -journeyings in the interior we depended on native help alone, and the -people whom we employed were not, one might say, scared out of their -usual way of life by the presence of a large body of white men. I and my -son went absolutely alone into the wilds with no white lieutenant. We -cast ourselves, as it were, on the hospitality of the aboriginal Papuan -(and cannibal at that), but as the reader has seen, we had no reason to -regret our draft on the bank of savage fidelity. - -In my second chapter I described the warlike Tugeri of Dutch New Guinea, -a tribe whose ferocity has been such a thorn in the side of British and -Netherland officials alike. I certainly should not have cared to trust -myself with the Tugeri, but with the gentler people of the south-east -portion of the island there was comparatively no great risk. My first -close acquaintance with the Papuans was with the Motuan tribe, who lived -around Port Moresby, and my earliest acquaintances were made among the -potters of Hanuabada. The Motuans are fairly numerous, numbering, it is -said, about 1400 in the Port Moresby district; they may be taken as the -type of coast natives in this quarter, and roughly, for the purposes of -this account, I may distinguish between “coast-men” and “hill-men,” -taking the former to extend as far up as Epa. The Motuan men are -well-grown, standing about 5 feet 10 inches on an average, the height of -the women being from about 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches. Their -features are very varied, and do not incline to any single type. The -colour is of a rich bronze, and they are well and sturdily made. Most of -them have mop-like hair very much frizzed, and some wear it tied up, -while others have it short and curly, looking almost as if it had been -cropped and lying close to the scalp. What we may call the “cropped” -hair required little dressing, but to keep the mop hair in order they -use a comb like a wide fork with five prongs and a fairly longish -handle. With this implement they comb out their hair elaborately. - -[Illustration: - - HANUABADA WOMEN WEARING THE RAMI, OR PETTICOAT MADE OF LEAVES. -] - -For ceremonial dances, and on festal occasions, they wear a wonderful -head-dress made of cockatoo feathers, which looks, when it is assumed, -like an enormous flat horseshoe, passing over the top of the head and -slightly in front of the ears. It conceals the ears entirely when the -observer looks the wearer full in the face. - -The most cherished ornament, however, is the necklace of dogs’ teeth, -which is prized by the Papuans beyond any article of “trade” that the -traveller can give them. Not even a knife or an axe is so welcome, nor -can the traveller get so much work out of the Papuan for any steel -implement as he can for one or two teeth. I knew of a case where a -missionary, not with any fraudulent intention, but merely from a desire -to test Papuan intelligence, manufactured imitation dogs’ teeth very -cunningly out of bone, and offered them to a native. The man, however, -had too keen an eye to be done; he weighed the teeth critically in his -hand for a moment, and then handed them back with a scornful “No good.” - -A further adjunct of their very simple costume is the armlet, which is -knitted from grass fibre with a pointed cassowary bone. This primitive -needle has a hole running up its entire length through which the grass -fibre is threaded, and then the ornament is woven either in a diagonal -pattern or in straight horizontal stripes, with strands of various -colours. They often actually knit it round the arm or the wrist quite -tightly, and when this is done the ornament is permanent, and is never -removed until it is worn out. Sometimes they wear a bunch of flowers -stuck into the armlet, and these not particularly fragrant, but the -Papuans are persuaded that it is quite otherwise, and, pointing to their -bouquet, they say with delightful naïveté, “Midina Namu”—“Good smell.” -Alas! it is really the reverse, and the wearers of flowers in this -manner are by no means pleasant neighbours. - -They also wear anklets of feathers and strings of beads, and in some of -their dances I have seen them decorated with huge bunches of grass, -which hang from between the shoulders and sweep the ground. Some also -affect a light band at the knee, and light cane anklets which rattle as -they dance. - -Indispensable to the men is the little bag which carries their few -personal possessions: their betel-nut, their lime gourd and knife, the -invariable adjunct of the delightful vice of chewing betel—as every -traveller in the Malay Archipelago knows—and the “Paw-paw,” a fruit with -which a little European tobacco is often eaten. The coast women carry a -much larger bag of knitted fibre, which may be best described by saying -that it resembles a hammock with the ends tied together; in this they -carry potatoes and wood, and sometimes it is borne upon the head, the -centre of it being brought over so that it is supported by the forehead, -while the tapering ends hang down over the shoulders. At other times it -is carried round the neck. - -The chief costume of the women of the coast tribes is the extraordinary -petticoat made of grass or of a wide-bladed weed, each leaf of which -would be about 3 inches wide. The blades composing this garment fall -down perpendicularly from a waistband, to which layer after layer is -attached, until the “Rami” has that fine spread which used to be -attained by more civilised women by a contrivance which I believe was -called a “dress-improver.” As we went inland and rose gradually higher -and higher in the mountains, we observed that the “Rami” was growing -shorter and shorter, until at length, just after we had passed Epa, it -disappeared altogether; and one may reasonably consider the absence or -presence of this garment as the great symbol of division between the -coast natives and those of the highlands proper. - -Among the men, both highland and lowland, the great symbol of dandyism -is the “Chimani,” or nose ornament. This is made from a section of a -shell about ⅜ of an inch thick in the middle, and tapering most -beautifully towards the ends. It is accurately made, perfectly round and -polished, and a good example would be about a span long. A fine -“Chimani” very often has two black rings painted round it, about 1 inch -distant from the end. These things are manufactured by the coast people, -and they drift by exchange through the whole country. Very few young -blades can afford to possess one, and accordingly it may be lent, either -for a consideration or as a very special favour. The possessor of one of -these ornaments could easily buy a wife for it, and sometimes it is paid -as a tribal tribute by one who may have to pay blood-money, or is unable -to give the statutory pig as atonement for a murder. - -Another shell ornament is the armlet, made from the lower part of one -species of a conical shell; a section of this adornment would present -the figure of a pointed oval, and, according to the part of the shell -from which the armlet has been cut, its ends either meet or overlap -without touching. To it they sometimes attach European beads or little -fragments of tin. Its manufacture entails a great deal of work and a -long continued grinding on stone or other hard substance. Sam had a very -fine one which he presented to a man in order that that man might buy a -wife, and my head-man’s generosity will be understood when I mention -that one of these armlets fetches £5 at Port Moresby. A very affluent -person will wear one on each arm, or two on one arm, as I sometimes -observed was the case among the coast natives. This occurred chiefly at -Hula. - -As regards households and tribal government, the Papuan customs are -simple in the extreme; there is no augmentation of households on the -patriarchal system of the sons bringing the wives under the parental -roof. Each household consists of the father, mother, and children. The -sons when they marry set up a separate establishment, and when all have -married the grandparents usually remain alone. - -[Illustration: - - BUYING A WIFE: A NEW GUINEA WOOING. - - The suitor is depicted making an offer for the girl seated in the - hammock beside her father. -] - -The men marry after they are eighteen and the girls much younger, for -they are considered ready for double-blessedness at fourteen. In the -case of the men, there are exceptions to this rule, for we met an -experienced young gentleman of fourteen, Kaukwai, who confided to us, -with an air of deep wisdom, that he had already had two wives and had -dismissed them both. - -In the villages there was no clearly defined form of government. There -was, of course, invariably a chief, but his authority was not great, and -nowhere did I see an autocrat, except Mavai, with whom the reader is -already well acquainted. There is no regular council of elders, but in -isolated instances the younger men may go to the elder for advice. The -villagers, however, are wonderfully conservative in their institutions, -and marriage between distant villages is uncommon. The man who dares to -bring a wife from a distance gains great credit for an enterprising -person. At Amana, for instance, we found an interpreter who had married -a Foula woman, and this person was accounted strong-minded. He had -either learnt the Foula dialect from his wife or had acquired it while -he was staying at Foula courting her. - -The method of wooing is, as with all primitive peoples, more commercial -than romantic. The intending suitor generally comes to the point during -a tribal dance which has been arranged by calling from hill to hill. If -the woman agrees to the match, the wooer does not think it at all -necessary to make overtures to her father, but should negotiations be -required he is neither laggard nor bashful. He puts the price in his bag -and approaches the house of the sire, entering boldly and sitting down -unbidden. Not infrequently the girl also comes in and sits probably in a -hammock, listening to the debate on which her destiny hangs. The suitor -at once names his price; if the old man thinks this is a promising -bargain, he shows himself quite willing to discuss matters. If there is -tobacco, the suitor takes up his host’s “Bau-bau,” draws a few whiffs, -passes it to the father, scratches his head violently with both hands, -and proceeds to haggle. Should the father think the match a good thing, -he seldom withholds his consent long, but if he considers the young man -is under-bidding, he holds out stiffly till the youth has raised the -price sufficiently. As soon as the father consents, the bride is taken -away at once and without any fuss. There is no ceremony and no wedding -feast. - -The women are the agricultural labourers of Papua. Early in the morning -they go out to till the gardens and the yam- or taro-patch; they are the -hewers of wood and the drawers of water. Every night at Hanuabada we -used to watch the long files of them wading across the shallow channels -to the villages, carrying the great bundles of wood they had collected. -Their families are not large, seldom more than two or three children, -and though they treat them quite kindly, there is no demonstrative -affection. At seven years old the children are expected to assist in -domestic affairs, and begin to take their little part of carrying water -and firewood to the village. Their faggots are tied up with wild cane -string and are carried home on the women’s backs. - -When the women go out to the garden, or when they aid in heavy transport -service, as in the case of my expedition, the baby always accompanies -them, and I counted at least six different ways of carrying the infant. -1. In the net-bag, slung behind, and supported by the band passed across -the mothers forehead; to save abrasion a leaf was placed between the -forehead and the knot made by tying the two ends of the bag together. -Among many of the women I noted a patch of white hair, just at the point -where the knot had pressed. 2. The child on the top of the load, -supported by the mother’s left arm. This, of course, refers to the time -when they were carrying for us, and had a particularly heavy burden. 3. -Astride of one shoulder; this was practised by the men, and the infant -was so placed as to face the side of his father’s head. 4. Also a man’s -method, pick-a-back, with the little legs round the father’s neck. 5. -The child with the arms clasped round the father’s neck and no other -support at all. 6. Similar to the last, except that the child in this -instance was carried by the mother, who, being blessed with an -exceptional spread of “Rami” behind, could allow the little one’s feet -to rest comfortably on that. - -In the village communities on the hills there was no very regular -observance of meal times. They ate when they wanted to, but on the coast -a meal was taken in the morning, in the afternoon, in the early evening, -and sometimes at night. The cooking was done by the women in the round -earthenware pots mentioned in the description of the Hanuabada potters. - -In point of dress and appearance the mountain people differ widely from -those of the coast. The place of the “Rami” is taken by the cheebee, or -perineal band, a simpler garment than even the fig-leaf. They are a -shorter people, with better developed legs than the coast natives, which -is no doubt owing to the extraordinary exercise imposed on the limbs by -the difficulties of the ground. - -The women wear fewer adornments than the men, their principal ornaments -being the dogs’ teeth necklace and armlet, and on the breast a pearl -shell, ground with a stone night and day for three weeks until the outer -shell is gone and the mother-of-pearl is left bare and polished. They -tie up their hair with bark so that the hair itself can hardly be seen, -and sometimes they plait it up into small tails. They carry the -customary bag of small odds and ends, and their weapons are distinctly -formidable. These consist of the spear and club only. The spear is -pointed and jagged, and is made of very hard redwood; the club has a -heavy stone top, elaborately hewn into sharp bosses. The Dinawa people -do not know how to make these clubs, which are manufactured in the -Keakama district, and their presence in the hills proves that there is -some system of commercial distribution. - -[Illustration: - - 1.—A STONE-HEADED CLUB. - - 2.—VARIOUS FORMS OF THE BAU-BAU, OR TOBACCO PIPE, SHOWING DIFFERENT - KINDS OF ORNAMENTATION. - - Note on the left of the pipes the butt of one, showing how the end is - closed by the natural section of bamboo. - - 3.—A STONE AXE. -] - -But the most splendid of all the articles of the Papuan costume is the -feather head-dress, 16 feet high, which forms the central point of -attraction when it occurs in a tribal dance. This ornament is extremely -rare, and is always an heirloom, for it has taken generations to -complete. It is a wonderful, fantastic device of feathers, built upon a -light framework. The Bird of Paradise and the Gaura pigeon are laid -under tribute for its construction, and the feathers of the different -birds, and of different species of the same bird, are kept carefully -apart, and are arranged in rows according to their natural order. A few -lines of Bird of Paradise, a few lines of Gaura pigeon, then a few lines -of another species of Bird of Paradise, and so on. The whole contrivance -is most fantastic, and looks really impressive in the weird light of the -torches as the dancers, decorated with flowing bunches of grass behind, -proceed with their revel. - -The dances of the hill tribes are not elaborate in form, and consist -principally of violent jumping up and down, accompanied by wild singing -and noise, but the coast dances, as carried out by the members of the -native police at Port Moresby, by permission of the authorities, -although less effective in point of costume—for little dress at all is -worn—have something of the orderly and progressive arrangement of the -ballet of civilisation. On the day set apart for the dance at Port -Moresby, a circle of native drummers would seat themselves on the -ground, and would begin their monotonous performance—bang, bang, bang; -bang, bang, bang—apparently without end, and with a wearisomely -monotonous rhythm. Suddenly, to the orchestra and the spectators would -enter two members of the Fly River police off duty, carrying a long, -thin reed. These would begin the performance. They jumped up and down in -regular rhythm, crouching lower and lower as the dance proceeded, their -movements getting quicker and quicker as the drums “gave them pepper.” -Then, still crouching and still jumping up and down with incredible -swiftness, they would back out and disappear round the side of the -house. This ended the first figure. For the second figure probably -twenty of the force would enter, marching sedately in Indian file, the -drums playing a slower rhythm. Suddenly the performers would stop, then -they would turn their heads from side to side, and begin to move their -legs slowly in time to the drums. Still wagging their heads, and without -any increased motion of the limbs, they would proceed right round the -ring of spectators and retire, without any perceptible quickening of -pace. For the third figure they reappeared in files, moving their heads, -the limbs still going in slow time. They advanced and retreated to and -from the spectators several times, singing as they went, and finally -backed out. - -We witnessed also a dance of the Mombare people, who are likewise -members of the native police. With the dancers was one woman. Their -method was to jump up and down, and thus they worked slowly round the -oval enclosure formed by spectators. They held themselves erect all the -time, and their demeanour was not serious, the dance being accompanied -by loud shouting and great perspiration. During all these dances the -Orgiasts fell into a terrible state of excitement, and often could not -stop dancing until they fell quite exhausted. Mountain dances are -sometimes accompanied by tragedies, for the confusion of the revel is -made the occasion for wiping off old scores, and a dancer will suddenly -fall dead, struck through by the spear of his enemy. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - _BURIAL, WITCHCRAFT, AND OTHER THEMES_ - -A Short-lived Race—An Aged Man a Curiosity—Burial Customs—The Chief -Mourner painted Black—Period of Mourning brief except for the Chief -Mourner—No Belief in Natural Death—Poison always Suspected—Religion all -but absent—Vague Belief in Magic—Fi-fi a Form of Divination—How -practised—Its Utter Childishness—No Idea of Number—Forest Warnings— -“Wada,” another Form of Sorcery—Mavai’s Hideous Magical Compounds—A -People seemingly without History or Legends—Pictures understood—Fear of -the Stereoscope—The “Bau-bau” or Social Pipe—How Made and Smoked— -Incidents of Travel—The Stinging Trees—Ideas of Medicine—Sovereign -Remedies—Bleeding—How practised—Hunting—The Corral—A Strange Delicacy— -Story of Native Trust in Me—A Loan of Beads—Children and their Sports— -Thirty Ways of Cat’s-Cradle. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - BURIAL, WITCHCRAFT, AND OTHER THEMES - - -The Papuans are not a long-lived race. The mountain people die off about -forty: at Googooli, high up on the mountains, we saw one very old man, -who may have been sixty years of age—the only example of longevity that -we came across. He was a very pathetic spectacle: his features were -almost gone, the skin was terribly shrivelled, and the eyes sunken. He -was bent almost double, and had a long white beard. His fellow-tribesmen -regarded him as a great curiosity, and brought him to see us. Despite -the decrepitude of his body, however, there was no trace of senility: -his senses were unimpaired; and the poor old creature showed great -gratitude for a gift of tobacco. - -Of the mountain people’s burial customs I have no precise knowledge, but -at Hanuabada we were able to observe a coast funeral. The dead body was -wrapped in a net and lashed to a pole, which was borne by two bearers. -To the funeral, which was celebrated the morning after death, the whole -village turned out, and followed the corpse without any regard to -precedence, except that the chief mourner—in this case, the mother— -walked immediately behind the bier. The chief mourner is invariably -blacked all over with charcoal, but the others wear no token of sorrow. -Just as the procession started the women set up a tremendous wailing, -which was continued all the way to the grave. On reaching the -burial-place, which was some seven minutes’ walk from the village, the -corpse was set down, and the mother, seating herself at its head, -encircled it with her arms, the hands being clasped below the chin, and -began with shrill cries to try to call her son back to life. For twenty -minutes, while the shallow grave was being dug, this ceremony proceeded, -while the rest of the mourners sat around. The corpse was then lifted -into the grave without much reverence and was covered up, the mourners -waiting until this was done, whereupon they walked away and, as far as -they were concerned, the mourning was over, and far from being a cause -of sorrow, it had become merely an interesting topic of conversation. -The chief mourner, however, if a woman, keeps the house, and sees no one -after the funeral for a space that may extend to three weeks. It is -indeed very difficult to persuade a mourner to leave the house. Another -method of disposal of the dead is tree-burial. A light framework of -bamboo or sticks is laid in the fork of a tree. On this the corpse, -wrapped in bark, is exposed. When nature has done its work on the -remains, the bones are afterwards distributed among the friends of the -deceased. - -[Illustration: - - 1.—YOUNG NATIVES’ CURIOSITY ABOUT MY CAMERA. - - 2.—WOMEN CARRIERS ON THE WAY TO PORT MORESBY. -] - -They do not believe in a natural death, and attribute every decease to -poison in a vague and general sort of way. Belief in another world they -have none, and the most elementary ideas of religion do not seem to -exist. There is not even any definite superstition, but only a sort of -vague and particularly childish belief in some kind of magic under the -name of “Fi-fi.” This is a sort of divination, and is practised at night -by a recognised medium, usually a girl, who is “Fi-fi,” and yet who is, -at the same time, believed to represent this mysterious power known as -“Fi-fi.” - -Fi-fi is supposed to be a spirit always invisible and occasionally -audible. It is considered a bringer of both good and bad luck, but -although this is so no attempt is made to propitiate it. The cult indeed -is so absurd that the wonder is that the people believe in it at all; -yet, although there is apparently nothing supernatural on the face of -it, the Papuans are willing to credit its manifestations. When a tribe -wishes to know its luck, and when a hostile attack is imminent, it has -recourse to the rites of Fi-fi; these are always celebrated at night. -The crowd gathers round the fire, and the girl who is supposed to be the -medium of the power is told off to communicate with Fi-fi; from that -moment, by a peculiar confusion in their minds between the spirit and -the medium, she becomes Fi-fi to all intents and purposes. She retires -to some corner near at hand, where she is not seen, and from there she -whistles in different keys. The sound is made entirely at the medium’s -discretion, but the moment it is heard the people exclaim that Fi-fi has -come, and they judge by the whistling whether the omens are favourable -or not. They would seem to have an idea of two Fi-fis, for the girl’s -first call is two short notes repeated. No immediate answer comes, and -the people round the fire remark casually to each other that the other -Fi-fi has not heard, but they say, “Gua-fua”—that is, “Wait.” The girl -whistles again, and in a moment or two answers herself; then the -listeners round the fire exclaim, “Oi-kai-yoi, Fi-fi-mai” (“You hear, -Fi-fi has come”). Occasionally we have said to them, “Tell Fi-fi to -speak,” but they refused point-blank; and when we asked them why they -did not bring Fi-fi, they said they could not. The priestess varied her -whistle, and then interpreted her own messages. Once a woman is chosen -to communicate with Fi-fi, she retains the office for life. This form of -divination occurred most frequently at Waley. - -The priestess is not above the Delphic trick of framing her oracles to -suit political necessity or her own inclinations and likings. One would -think that people of such general common sense as the Papuans would see -the possibility of deception, but they have implicit faith in Fi-fi’s -manifestations. - -Certain insects, I noted, were also regarded as “Fi-fi.” When a -particular species of fire-fly entered the house at night the natives -immediately predicted bad luck, or impending attack and extermination by -hostile tribes. This failure of intelligence at one point is paralleled -by their inability to grasp the simplest idea of number. Further than -three they cannot count, although we often tried, by means of their ten -fingers, to instil some notions of a higher calculus into them. - -On the march we observed the existence of a curious system of warnings. -Now and then a green bough, newly broken off, would be found lying in -the path, and the sight of this almost drives the natives out of their -wits; for it is the recognised symbol that some one has been there who -does not want you to pass. It has a correlative in a friendly symbol, -which is also a broken bough, but in this instance it is not entirely -severed from the tree. - -Another superstition is “Wada,” which, as far as one can ascertain, -seems to be a belief in an invisible man who stands near a tree, but is -so like it that he cannot be seen. As you go through the forest “Wada” -may touch you, and then you are doomed. After this there is nothing for -you to do but go home and die; and so great is the power of suggestion, -that a person who believes he has been touched by “Wada” generally does -die. - -Mavai practised “Wada,” but it took a somewhat pharmaceutical form with -him. He made an abominable mixture of rotten bananas, and all sorts of -decomposing matter. This he kept in his house and gave to persons he -wanted to be rid of, generally without any evil effect, but that never -shook his belief in the efficacy of his decoctions. It was delightfully -comical to see the seriousness with which he sat compounding his horrid -messes, and telling you of their dire results. It may be wondered how -ever he got the dread substance administered; but then, of course, Mavai -was all-powerful, and the person who refused to take his “Wada” drugs -would probably have encountered “Wada”—a sure and certain “Wada”—in the -person of Mavai himself. - -There was also some confusion of “Wada” with a stone or a stick, and -therein probably one might find the truth about the real deadliness of -the charm. - -The Papuans are entirely without history as a people, and of personal -tradition they have only the merest scraps. At Port Moresby they had a -legend of an eclipse, and referred to it as “Labi labi” (that is, -“night”). They have no tales of gods or heroes, and their chief interest -is the question, “Where are you going?” and “What are you doing?” - -They were very keen to see our photographs, and had no difficulty in -understanding a picture: therein they differed greatly from the debased -Australian aborigines, who could never grasp the graphic symbol, and in -the famous instance, when shown a picture of Queen Victoria, said it was -a ship. They picked out their friends’ photographs at once, and -recognised them with exclamations of delight. For one of our men, -however, our stereoscope proved too much, as the relief of the figures -had probably been too realistic; and on being invited to look at a group -of our retainers, he no sooner put his eyes to the glass than he howled -and nearly dropped the instrument. He ran away, saying, “Mookau meego” -(“Man lives there”), and could not be persuaded to look again. - -I hope that during my next journey I may be able to pierce more deeply -into the psychology of the Papuans, and it may be that, with greater -familiarity, they will communicate more of what they know; for it -appears improbable that they should be as destitute as they seem of -legend or myth. - -[Illustration: - - SMOKING THE BAU-BAU. - - This curious pipe is made of a length of bamboo closed at each end. - Into a small hole at one end is inserted a small green leaf rolled - like a grocer’s paper bag. In this the lighted tobacco is placed. - The smoker then reverses the tube, and sucks in the smoke until the - bamboo is filled. He now takes out the tobacco and inhales a long - whiff. The operation is repeated as long as the tobacco lasts. -] - -Over the “Bau-bau,” or social pipe, I trust there may be some -discoveries in store for me. The Papuan pipe is itself a most -interesting instrument, not only in its everyday use, but in its -construction and in the method of smoking. It is made of one joint of -bamboo, closed at both ends by the natural section of the bamboo. In the -side of the cylinder near one end they drill a hole by applying a piece -of hard wood made red-hot. They press the red-hot wood to the bamboo, -and blow it to incandescence, repeating the operation until a hole is -pierced. They next knock a hole in the opposite end of the bamboo, so as -to admit a current of air. The red-hot wood is now applied again to the -original hole, and they blow through the hole knocked in the opposite -end until the small hole in the side is gradually enlarged. The -“Bau-bau” is now complete, except for its ornamentation. Elaborate -patterns are scratched on the hard enamel of the bamboo with glass, a -knife, a stone, or red-hot wood, and the speed with which this -decoration is accomplished is extraordinary. - -In the accompanying illustration I show some of the prevailing patterns. -On the march our men would cut a bamboo, and on reaching camp would -borrow some suitable tool from us, and make a pipe in a very short time. -They were sufficiently accomplished smokers, however, to like an old -“Bau-bau” best, and gave the reason, which will be appreciated by every -smoker, that tobacco is not good in a new one. - -The method of smoking is elaborate. They roll a leaf into a little horn, -and insert it in the smaller hole on the side of the “Bau-bau,” within -this leaf is placed the charge of tobacco which they light, and then -placing their lips to the end hole they draw. The little horn, or -cigarette as one may call it, is now removed from the hole in the side, -and if the pipe is new they blow away the first charge of smoke, by -placing their lips to the hole in which the cigarette was originally -inserted. Again the cigarette is placed in the small hole, and the pipe -is drawn from the end hole. This time the smoke is intended to be used, -so the cigarette is removed from the small hole, and the smoker applying -his lips thereto inhales the whole charge. Again the cigarette is -removed, and the pipe is filled by a long pull at the end hole, but this -time the smoker does not inhale the charge himself, but removes the -cigarette and politely hands the charged pipe to his neighbour, who -punctiliously rubs the mouthpiece, and enjoys the long whiff. Very often -there is one drawer for an entire party, whose duty it is to fill the -pipe with smoke, and pass it so filled to each of his companions in -turn. - -They usually sit in a circle for these smoking parties; and in camp the -“Bau-bau” is continually used. They grow their own tobacco, which is -very rank, and not good smoking at all. In fact, the natives themselves -cannot inhale much, as it makes them giddy; and they are not -infrequently seized with severe fits of coughing when the fumes have -proved particularly suffocating. - -The supply of tobacco is carried in the armlet or behind the ear—this -last method being not unknown to the festive Cockney, who, on Bank -Holiday, is seldom complete without a cigarette so worn. - -The pipe at the end of the day’s march was invariably well earned, for -the heartiness and endurance of my carriers were almost incredible. On -one occasion I despatched a party to one of my camps, thirty miles -distant, through an almost inaccessible mountain region. They left at -eight o’clock in the morning, and came into camp again at five in the -afternoon of the following day, having accomplished the whole journey of -sixty miles, and the latter half while they were burdened with their -loads of rice, tinned provisions, tobacco and hardware, and all the -other miscellaneous articles known as “trade.” The women’s loads weighed -about 50 lbs., the men’s somewhat less, for the women are the great -burden-bearers in New Guinea. - -The difficulties of our march were heightened by certain natural -features, particularly the stinging trees, which occurred close to -Madui. The tree in shape, size, and foliage resembles a sycamore, and -has a leaf of which the under side is extremely rough and covered with -spines. These possess a stinging power like that of the nettle, only -much worse, and the irritation lasts far longer. The slightest touch is -sufficient to wound. First a white blister appears, then redness, -covering about a square inch around each pustule; rubbing aggravates the -irritation, which shortly becomes maddening. The pain is not allayed for -at least twelve hours; and I have never observed any natural antidote -growing in the vicinity of this stinging-tree, as the dock-leaf grows -near the nettle. Needless to say, the natives take the utmost care to -give these trees a wide berth. - -A smaller stinging-plant, resembling our nettle, only larger, with a -rough under side of pale pea-green, is also found at intervals in the -forest; both sides of the leaf possess the power of irritation. The -natives use it as a universal specific for all ailments. As soon as they -come on a clump of this plant the women discard their loads and gather -bundles of the leaves, which they carefully preserve for future -requirements. It is also applied probably for the sheer pleasure of it -when they have no actual disorder, and it is quite common for them to -rub their bodies lightly with the leaves. This causes violent -irritation, followed by a feeling of pleasant numbness, like that which -results from the application of menthol. For a mosquito bite this is a -most admirable remedy, since the irritation of the bite is allayed and -goes down long before the irritation of the leaf has passed. It is a -curious example of the old medical practice of counter-irritation. -Although we were glad to resort to it for mosquito bites, no European -would without that cause risk the irritation for the sake of possible -future benefits. - -While on the subject of Papuan sovereign remedies, I may mention a -curious form of bleeding which is in use among the tribes, especially -among the younger men. The bleeding is performed by two persons, who sit -opposite to each other. The operator takes a small drill, or rather -probe of cassowary bone brought to an extremely fine point, and this is -attached to the string of a tiny bow about 4 inches long. Holding the -bow as if he were going to shoot, the operator aims the little probe at -the patient’s forehead, draws the bow slowly, and lets the string go; -the probe is thus brought into sharp contact with the patient’s skin, -and the operation of drawing the bow and letting fly the arrow is -repeated again and again until blood is drawn. It should be remembered -that the probe or arrow is always attached to the string and never -escapes. The patient now leans forward, and the blood is allowed to flow -profusely on to the ground. - -I have often seen as much as half a pint allowed to escape. When -faintness supervenes the wound is staunched with ashes or any convenient -styptic, and the patient sits up. If the ashes fail to act, cautery with -a hot cinder is practised. Headache is the usual trouble for which this -remedy is applied, and this frequency of bleeding may be the reason why -there is no heart disease or sudden death among the natives. This may -probably lend colour to the theory of some physicians, that the increase -of heart disease and sudden death in civilised nations is due to the -entire abandonment of bleeding, once certainly carried to excess. - -Although the women do all the hard work of the house and in the field, -they are nevertheless regarded with affection. It is erroneous to -suppose that they are compelled to be burden-bearers because they are -lightly esteemed. As far as my own observation goes, the men are left -free of loads, or are given lighter loads, in order that they may be -ready to protect the women from the sudden raids of other tribes. Their -gardens are often a considerable distance from the village, and the -women never go to gather yams or taro, or to till their patches, without -an escort of young men as protectors. - -On the other hand, the men are not idle, but perform their part in the -economic system by acting as hunters. Their chief game is the pig, the -cassowary, and the wallaby. They hunt this quarry with spears, and drive -the game into nets which have been spread between the trees and posts in -the forest over a considerable area, forming a corral, approached by a -long decoy, two long lines of nets gradually converging. When the nets -have been set the drive commences. The beaters extend themselves for a -considerable distance, and, with the assistance of dogs, gradually force -the game towards the nets. The game is plentiful, and as it closes -towards the corral, birds and beasts are forced into the centre in -crowds. At length the hunters close round the opening, a final rush is -made, and the victims are despatched with spears. These hunting bouts -occur only at long intervals, and on the lower slopes of the mountains. -After a successful drive there is a great jollification. Fires are built -in the camp, the game is roasted, and in an incredibly short space of -time every portion has disappeared, and the people are lying around -gorged. - -In one particular delicacy favoured by the Papuans I was, as an -entomologist, very much interested. The natives are exceedingly fond of -the larvæ of a large tropical beetle, one of the _Passalidæ_, which are -found in decayed tree trunks. Whenever the natives noticed the presence -of the borings made by the larvæ, they seized a native instrument, -probably one of their stone axes, dug out the dainty, which is about -five inches long, and ate it raw. Should a fire be handy, they would -sometimes throw the larvæ into the ashes, give it a turn or two, and -then enjoy it: the flavour is said to resemble that of a lemon. I could -never, however, bring myself to try it. - -[Illustration: - - A PAPUAN HUNT. - - The natives drive their game, chiefly the pig, the cassowary, and the - wallaby (a small kangaroo) into a corral, and then despatch the - quarry with spears. -] - -The Papuans are a jovial, light-hearted people, and when a stranger has -once won their confidence they are hospitable and friendly. Their trust -when once gained will stand even rather severe tests, as I found to my -great satisfaction and advantage after a stay of some months at Mount -Kebea. I was anxious to push farther into the interior, but found myself -absolutely without beads, which are the journey money of the explorer. -It would have delayed me too long to have waited for the return of my -messengers, who had been sent to the coast for a further supply, so I -hit upon the expedient of trying how far my credit with the natives -would go. I called the tribe—men, women, and children—together, and in a -lengthy harangue I explained the situation to them; finally asking them -if they would lend me their beads, which every one of them wore on his -or her person in considerable profusion, promising them that on my -return I would pay them double the quantity. This tribe, be it noted, -was not to accompany me farther, and the beads would have to be given to -other bearers, whom I should engage as I proceeded. These ornamentations -are to the Papuans as precious as her pearls are to a _grande dame_, -but, nevertheless, every man, woman, and child immediately consented to -the loan. This appreciation of the idea of credit—one might almost say -of banking—denotes a considerable receptivity of mind, and shows that -the Papuan cannot be inaccessible to civilisation. - -I cannot pass from the subject of the Papuan at home without saying -something about his children, who are the merriest little creatures -imaginable. Without being very demonstrative, the parents like them well -enough, and the child is not at all hardly used—although, be it -remembered, the family pig has a deeper place in the adults’ affections. -In times of stress it is to be feared it is the pig that is first -considered, probably because it is so important an article of diet. The -devotion to this animal goes far further than that of Pat, for it is not -unusual to see a Papuan woman acting as foster-mother to a young pig. - -But to return to the children; up to the age of seven their life is one -long holiday, and they very early begin to practise the use of weapons. -Spearthrowing is their favourite sport; for this they use a long stick -of grass with an enlarged root. They pull off all the leaves until the -shaft is clean, and the root is allowed to remain to represent the heavy -head of the spear. Their targets are each other, and at a very early age -they have acquired a marvellous dexterity, hitting each other with -nicest accuracy even at 40 feet range. Every hit is registered with a -delighted jump and a howl. The amount of cleverness and dexterity -required for this spear practice was realised by my son, who tried it, -and found that not only could he not hit, but he could not make the -spear carry. Very small girls play also at spearthrowing, but they give -it up early. - -We were very much amused to find the presence of “Cat’s-Cradle”; we had -thought to amuse the little ones by teaching them this game, but we -found that they were already more than our masters therein; for they no -sooner saw what we were after than they let us know that they were well -acquainted with it, and whereas we had just the old stereotyped process -to give them, they showed us thirty different ways. They did not, -however, play in pairs as we do, the players taking the string from each -other’s hands in turn, but each child sits by himself or herself and -works out the pattern. It is really amusing to see how they effect the -different changes and the regular routine of forms by the movement of -the fingers alone, without the aid of another pair of hands. - -The dogs at Epa and Port Moresby were highly favoured animals. Not only -had they the run of the house, but each house had an entrance sacred to -the dog. To this access was given by special dog-ladders 9 inches wide, -with the rungs quite a foot apart, up and down which the animals ran -like monkeys. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - _A NOTE ON BRITISH TRADE PROSPECTS IN NEW GUINEA_ - -Sandalwood—The Sea-Slug—Copra and Cocoa-Nut—Coffee—Cocoa—Chillies— -Rubber—Stock-Raising—Gold—Tobacco—Imports—German Enterprise—Our Lost -Coaling Station. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - A NOTE ON BRITISH TRADE PROSPECTS IN - NEW GUINEA - - -The intelligent observer of New Guinea cannot fail to recognise that the -country presents a vast unopened field for the development of British -trade. Many sources of wealth are as yet absolutely untouched, but -experiments that have recently been made in coffee, tobacco, cocoa, and -rubber, yield the richest promise. The geographical configuration of the -coast will greatly aid the enterprising trader, for many centres of -industry can easily be approached by water at such inlets as Hall Sound, -and the cost of transport from the interior would consequently be a mere -bagatelle. - -One of the chief industries is sandalwood cutting. The sandalwood is -found in arid, elevated regions, and the particular spots where the -trees grow in any quantity are known to the trade as patches. These -patches, however, do not signify that the trees grow closely together. -One tree might be found here and another might not occur for a hundred -yards or so; but still there is an area of sandalwood growth -sufficiently definite to justify the title “patch.” For any one who -understands the intricacies of the situation, and the proper method of -going to work, there is something to be made; but at present the -development of the trade is beset with difficulties which can only be -surmounted by one who is thoroughly familiar with the country and the -conditions. - -A rich source of income, still only little worked, is the trade in -_béche-de-mer_, the sea-slug, which is an indispensable article of -seasoning in every Chinese kitchen. This commands £70 a ton in the China -market, and the variety known as the “black fish” fetches as much as -£100 a ton. It is used for thickening gravies and soups. These molluscs -are about 9 inches long and 3 inches thick, and are to be found adhering -to the corals. The Papuans dive for them, and when they have secured -them they are split open, dried in the sun, and packed in boxes. This -trade could be made very profitable to any capable operator who cared to -embark a moderate capital in its development. Divers can be had for a -little tobacco or a few shells, a knife or an axe, but the chief expense -is the preparation and preservation for the market. As a matter of fact, -an enterprising Brisbane firm has lately introduced the tinning system -for this mollusc, but the China market is supplied with the dried -commodity untinned. - -There is also much to be done in copra and in cocoanut products -generally. Large cocoanut plantations pay well, as every part of the -tree can be utilised, and there is no doubt that a great deal of -business can be done with Java, which at present cannot produce enough -cocoanut fibre for its mat industry, and actually brings consignments -all the way from Ceylon. The copra is in great demand amongst -soap-makers, and one large firm has prospectors at work in the interior -of the islands with a view to increasing the supply. To my own knowledge -efforts are being made to extend this trade, by several Europeans, east -and west of Hall Sound, but there is plenty of room for others without -in any way damaging the prosperity of the industry. - -[Illustration: - - HAULING UP A LOG FOR BUILDING THE CAMP AT DINAWA -] - -New Guinea is favourable to the production of coffee, although the plant -is not indigenous to the island. A fine quality is grown at Wariratti. -The plantations are flourishing, but here again the enterprise is still -young. The trade is so new that the experimental stage is hardly passed. -It cannot be doubted that Australia offers a vast and lucrative market -to the future coffee grower of New Guinea. - -Cocoa and chillies thrive in the Mekeo region, and this district is also -very rich in fruit. The Government at Port Moresby often sends down a -sailing vessel to bring back large consignments of fruit for the -convicts in Port Moresby jail. The fruit-farmer might find in the Mekeo -region a richer California. - -In about the same condition as the coffee is the rubber trade. Trees are -found throughout the possession, and the natives have some understanding -of the method of collecting the sap. Their operations are, however, very -crude and rough. I question whether the New Guinea rubber would ever -rival in excellence the South American variety (_hevea Braziliensis_), -which is undoubtedly the finest in the market, although Ceylon is just -commencing to send rubber which may run it hard. - -To the stock-raiser New Guinea offers a tempting field. At the Mission -of the Sacred Heart on Yule Island I saw remarkably fine cattle—cows and -oxen—which had doubtless been introduced from Australia. Not only the -headquarters of the Mission, but the outlying stations, were plentifully -supplied with milk and butter, and, at the time I was there, they hoped -to be in a position to kill a beast a week, an important consideration, -for fresh meat is valuable in New Guinea. I did not see sheep in New -Guinea at all, but goats were met with at Hall Sound, although they are -not raised in any great numbers. On Yule Island the pasturage is -splendid, and drought, that terror of the Australian squatter, is by no -means frequent. - -Turning to the mineral wealth, for the past five years gold workings -have been carried on at the Yodda Fields, on the Mombare River, in the -north-east portion of the island. The gold is alluvial. Although I -cannot give the exact figures of the output, some idea of the -productiveness of the region may be obtained from the fact that, for the -last five years, 150 miners have been able to live on these fields. When -it is remembered that the price of provisions at the Yodda Camp is -prohibitive, it is not an extravagant assumption to compute that each -man must be turning out at least three ounces of gold per week to make -it worth his while to remain. There are other workings in the Woodlark -Islands, and there are certainly evidences of gold everywhere in the -streams of New Guinea. It does not seem likely that the miners are -turning their earnings to the best account at the present time. The -local stores, of course, consume a great deal of their dust, and when a -man has got a fair pile together he not infrequently goes down to -Samarai, and has what he calls “a good time,” returning with empty -pockets to begin his labour over again. I believe the Government is now -making a road to the Yodda Fields, and when this is completed, the -longer route will be abandoned, and provisions on the fields will be -cheaper. - -As regards imports for commerce with the natives, the chief desiderata -are the articles technically known as “trade,” with which the labour to -be used for developing the exports is remunerated. The native generally -desires to receive from the white man knives, axes, tobacco, Jews’ -harps, beads, dogs’ teeth, and red calico; but it is to the exports that -the enterprising trader has to look in the future. - -The finest field for enterprise in New Guinea—and one which I have -therefore left to the last to be dealt with—is tobacco. The district of -Mekeo produces a magnificent leaf, of which the seed has been imported -from Cuba. The syndicate that imported the leaf applied to the -Government for 100,000 acres of land in the central division of British -New Guinea, but this request was opposed by the New South Wales -Government, without reason vouchsafed to the Government of the -possession, whose officials in a recent report described this action as -“a very serious blow to the immediate development of the country by -Australian capitalists of high standing.” The same report, while -deploring this misfortune, remarks that the tobacco should do very well -if the leaf is properly treated for the market, as the soil appears to -be very rich. Very different was the action of the German authorities in -the Kaiser’s New Guinea possessions. With their usual indefatigable -enterprise, the Teutons have financed a large tobacco undertaking, and -are exporting the leaf in great quantities. Their syndicate has so far -introduced methods of civilised trade that they have struck and issued -their own coinage (which bears the image of a bird of paradise), and -their five-mark, two-mark, and one-mark pieces are accepted by the -natives instead of trade. These pieces are, of course, spent by the -natives in the German stores. Not without reason did the Prince of Wales -advise Great Britain to wake up. - -With all these extraordinary opportunities, it is a curious fact that, -as regards shipping, the island is in a worse position for trade than it -was twenty years ago. Even as recently as 1902, the _Moresby_ was -calling every five weeks at Port Moresby, but now her route has been -changed, and she sails from Sydney to Singapore, calling at Port Moresby -only once every two and a half months. In the interval goods and mails -are carried in an erratic manner by a little steamer called the _Parua_, -by the _Merrie England_ (a Government survey boat), or by the _St. -Andrew_, the Sacred Heart Mission boat. Two small sailing vessels, it is -true, sail between Cook Town and Samarai, but this does not improve the -communication with Port Moresby, the seat of Government, as these -vessels make no call there. It is almost incredible that the second -largest island in the world—the “Pearl of the East,” probably the -richest region in proportion to its size that Great Britain has the -option of developing—is thus left hermit-like in the midst of the -eastern seas. It is the more surprising when it is remembered that New -Guinea lies directly on the trade route between Sydney and the great -commercial centres of China and Japan. We might have had a magnificent -coaling station on the east coast of the island, in the Dampier Strait, -but for the action of Lord Derby, when he permitted the Germans to -extend their possessions so as to occupy almost a quarter of the eastern -peninsula of the island. As matters stand now, a coaling station could -only be established at such a point on the south-eastern coast that -vessels coming and going from Sydney would have to double the south-east -cape, thus making an awkward and almost impossible détour in these days -when time is more than ever the essence of every shipping contract. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - _NOTES ON SOME BIRDS OF NEW GUINEA_ - -The Birds of Paradise—Remarkable Species observed—Native Names— -Play-Places—Curious Habits—The Bower-Bird: Artist, Architect, and -Gardener. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - NOTES ON SOME BIRDS OF NEW GUINEA - - -New Guinea is remarkable for its paucity of mammals and its richness in -birds. As we have already noted, at least 770 different species of birds -are known, and to these doubtless many more will be added as the -explorer ventures farther into the interior. The chief haunts of the -blue bird of paradise, the _Paradisornis Rudolphi_, are in Central -British New Guinea, at an altitude of from 4000 to 6000 feet. There are -about a dozen species of the bird of paradise, and at Mafulu we obtained -the following, of which I give, where possible, the native name:— - - Lophorina atra Wagoda. - Epimachus magnus Yawvee. - Astrapia stephaniæ Beebee. - Parotia Lawsii Aliga. - Diphyllodis speciosa Kellolo. - Ptiloris magnifica —— - -Besides these we found two species of bower-bird— - - Amblyornis subalaris. - Laurea lori. - -The limit of the king bird (_Cicinnurus Regius_) was at an elevation of -about 1500 feet. It has a brilliant crimson back, the throat crimson, -with a green band edged with another narrow band of crimson. The breast -is white, the beak blue, two big tail feathers curve gracefully -outwards, and end in spatulæ of brilliant green on the upper side. There -are also shortish plumes on each side ending in a band of green. - -At Ekeikei and Dinawa, but chiefly at Dinawa, were the playgrounds of -the _Diphyllodis magnifica_. These were very remarkable. The bird -chooses a fairly clear space among saplings ten or fifteen feet high. -These it clears of leaves, and also the ground between, making all -beautifully clean and level. There it dances, leaping from tree to tree, -running along the ground for a little, and then taking to the branches -again. Every movement is extraordinarily rapid. If any leaves are thrown -into the enclosure the bird gets very angry, and flings them out again -immediately. - -Sam told me that on the Kebea he had observed the play-place of the -_Parotia Lawsii_, which is even more singular. The bird digs a hole, at -least a foot in diameter, and over it places cross-sticks. Above these -again it strews leaves and other vegetable refuse, and on the top of -that it dances. Its playtime is the morning, but during the day it -haunts the tops of the highest trees, and is consequently very difficult -to come by. - -I was fortunate enough to be able to observe one of the latest and most -wonderful discoveries among the birds of paradise, the _Paradisornis -Rudolphi_, familiarly known as the blue bird of paradise. It feeds on -the larvæ of beetles found in the umbrella head of the mountain -pandanus. This tree has adventitious roots which spring clear of the -ground to a height of sixty feet, and then throw out flag leaves in the -shape of an umbrella. From the umbrella top hang fine clusters of -scarlet fruit. The decomposition of the vegetable matter at the point -where the leaves stretch out gives refuge to the pupæ of beetles of many -diverse species, and these prove a great attraction to the blue bird of -paradise, who finds them excellent eating. The bird is about the size of -a jay, and is very gorgeous. The upper part of its wings is a sky blue; -the side plumes are in gradations of brilliant greenish blue and -ultramarine; when the plumes are spread there is also a band of brown -feathers. The head resembles that of the common crow, but is smaller. -From the upper part of the tail spring two elongated feathers with two -light-blue spatulæ at the tips. In the same pandanus tree lives also the -_Astrapia stephaniæ_, remarkable for its long tail, with two violet -feathers and a white shaft. The upper part of this bird’s breast is a -most brilliant green, with a band of copper below. In one light it -appears shaded with violet. The back of the head is violet with gold -iridescence. The whole length of the bird is 2 feet 6 inches. - -Equally wonderful is the bower-bird, at once gardener, architect, and -artist. Not only does it build the most extraordinary nest known to -naturalists—a long, tunnel-like bower framed like a delicate Gothic -arch, but it actually lays out a garden. I have myself seen the -creature’s marvellous achievement. It has definite colour-sense, for it -picks the blossoms of orchids, and arranges them in alternate lines of -mauve and white. The whole impulse is, of course, the universal one of -love, for among its rows of flowers it dances to its mate. This was -probably the prettiest and most fascinating of all the sights provided -by nature in New Guinea, that land of surprises. - - - - - APPENDICES - - - APPENDIX I - NEW LEPIDOPTERA DISCOVERED DURING THE EXPEDITION - - ┌───────────────────────┬──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐ - │ SPECIES. │ PLACE. │ SEASON. │ - ├───────────────────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┤ - │Dicalleneura ekeikei, │Ekeikei │March and April │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Gunda kebea, spec. nov.│Mount Kebea │March to April │ - │Pseudodreata strigata, │Dinawa │.... │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Tarsolepis sommeri │Dinawa │.... │ - │ dinawensis, sub-spec.│ │ │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Pseudogargetta diversa,│Dinawa │May and June │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Osica turneri, spec. │Dinawa; Ekeikei │August and September; │ - │ nov. │ │ January and February│ - │Cascera bella, spec. │Dinawa and Mount │.... │ - │ nov. │ Kebea; Ekeikei │ │ - │Hirsutopalpis fasciata,│Ekeikei; Dinawa │January and February; │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ August │ - │Omichlis hampsoni, │Dinawa │May and June │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Omichlis dinawa, spec. │Dinawa │September │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Omichlis ochracea, │Ekeikei and Mount │.... │ - │ spec. nov. │ Kebea │ │ - │Omichlis griseola, │Ekeikei │January and February │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Omichlis pratti, spec. │Ekeikei │January and February │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Omichlis rufofasciata, │Mount Kebea │March or April │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Stauropus viridissimus,│Dinawa; Ekeikei │March and April │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Stauropus kebeæ, spec. │Mount Kebea │March and April │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Stauropus dubiosus, │Mount Kebea; Ekeikei │A series taken in │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ March and April; │ - │ │ │ January to March │ - │Stauropus bella, spec. │Ekeikei │January and February │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Stauropus dinawa, spec.│Dinawa │.... │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Stauropus pratti, spec.│Ekeikei │.... │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Notodonta irrorati │Dinawa │May and June │ - │ viridis, spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Cerura multipunctata, │Dinawa │May and June │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Thyatira dinawa │Dinawa │September │ - │Thyatira ekeikei, spec.│Ekeikei │January and February │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Parazeuzera celæna, │Dinawa │August │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Parazeuzera aurea, │Dinawa │September │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Scopelodes dinawa, │Dinawa │August │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Scopelodes nitens, │Dinawa │.... │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Birthama dinawa, spec. │Dinawa │.... │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Contheyla pratti, spec.│Dinawa │August │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Contheyla ekeikei, │Ekeikei │March and April │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Contheyla birthama, │Ekeikei │January and February │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Dinawa rufa, spec. nov.│Dinawa │July and September │ - │Dinawa nigricans, spec.│Dinawa │August and September │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Pygmæomorpha modesta, │Dinawa │August │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Pygmseomorpha brunnea, │Dinawa │August │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Lasiolimacos pratti, │Dinawa; Ekeikei │August and September; │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ January and February│ - │Lasiolimacos kenricki, │Dinawa │.... │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Lasiolimacos │Ekeikei │January to February │ - │ ferruginea, spec. │ │ │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Euproctis rubroradiata,│Dinawa │August and March │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Euproctis pratti, spec.│Dinawa │August │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Euproctis irregularis, │Dinawa; Aroa River │September │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Euproctis albociliata, │Ekeikei │January │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Euproctis │Ekeikei; Mount Kebea │.... │ - │ novaguinensis, spec. │ │ │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Euproctis sublutea, │Dinawa; Mount Kebea │June and July; March │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ and April │ - │Diversosexus bicolor, │Dinawa │.... │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Anthela ekeikei, spec. │Ekeikei │.... │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Dasychira subnigra, │Dinawa │August │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Dasychira │Dinawa │September │ - │ subnigropunctata, │ │ │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Dasychira brunnea, │Dinawa │August │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Dasychira minor, spec. │Dinawa │August │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Dasychira kenricki │Dinawa │June to August │ - │Dasychiroides obsoleta,│Owen Stanley range │.... │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Dasychiroides │Dinawa and generally │.... │ - │ nigrostrigata, spec. │ distributed │ │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Dasychiroides pratti, │Dinawa; Ekeikei │July and August; │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ January and February│ - │Dasychiroides bicolora,│Dinawa; Mount Kebea │ │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Dasychiroides │Dinawa │.... │ - │ brunneostrigata, │ │ │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Lymantria ekeikei, │Ekeikei │January and February │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Lymantria kebea, spec. │Mount Kebea │.... │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Imaus niveus, spec. │Ekeikei and Mount │March and April │ - │ nov. │ Kebea │ │ - │Imaus spodea, spec. │Dinawa; Ekeikei and │August; March and │ - │ nov. │ Mount Kebea │ April │ - │Imaus aroa, spec. nov │Aroa River │January │ - │Nervicompressa │Dinawa │July to September │ - │ unistrigata, spec. │ │ │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Nervicompressa lunulata│Dinawa │August │ - │Nervicompressa │Dinawa │August │ - │ albomaculata, spec. │ │ │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Nervicompressa dubia, │Dinawa │September │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Nervicompressa kebea, │Kebea │March and April │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Nervicompressa aroa, │Aroa River │..... │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Lasiochra pulchra, │Dinawa │August and September │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Squamosala │Dinawa │August │ - │ nigrostigmata, spec. │ │ │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Taragama dinawa, spec. │Dinawa │Taken in May and June,│ - │ nov. │ │ and again in August │ - │ │ │ and September │ - │Taragama rubiginea, │Dinawa │August │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Taragama proserpina, │Dinawa │August │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Arguda pratti, spec. │Ekeikei │January │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Isostigena bicellata, │Dinawa │Taken in May and again│ - │ spec. nov. │ │ in August │ - │Sporostigena uniformis,│Dinawa │..... │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Odonestis │Dinawa │August │ - │ centralistrigata, │ │ │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Caviria dinawa, spec. │Dinawa │September │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Porthesia ekeikei, │Ekeikei │March to April │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Euproctis swinhœi, │Mount Kebea │March to April │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Euproctis virginea, │Ekeikei │January to April │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Euproctis parallelaria,│Dinawa │August and September │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Euproctis kebea, spec. │Mount Kebea │March │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Euproctis dinawa, spec.│Dinawa │..... │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Euproctis yulei, spec. │Dinawa │August │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Imaus pratti, spec. │Dinawa │August and September │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Deilemera kebea, spec. │Mount Kebea │March and April │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Deilemera dinawa, spec.│Dinawa │August and September │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Deilemera pratti, spec.│Owen Stanley range │September and March │ - │ nov. │ │ and April │ - │Mænas punctatostrigata,│Mount Kebea; Dinawa │August and March and │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ April │ - │Diacrisia pratti, spec.│Mount Kebea; Dinawa │March and April; │ - │ nov. │ │ August │ - │Diacrisia dinawa, spec.│Dinawa │August │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Diacrisia kebea, spec. │Kebea │March and April │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Celama fuscibasis, │Dinawa │August │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Celama aroa, spec. nov.│Dinawa; Aroa River │January and February │ - │Acatapaustus basifusca,│Dinawa │September and January │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Acatapaustus ekeikei, │Ekeikei │March │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Scoliacma hampsoni, │Dinawa │September │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Nishada melanopa, spec.│Dinawa │June to July │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Acco bicolora, spec. │Dinawa │August and February │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Pseudilema dinawa, │Dinawa │August and September │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Ilema ekeikei, spec. │Ekeikei │January and February │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Ilema dinawa, spec. │Dinawa │August and September │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Ilema costistrigata, │Ekeikei │August and September │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Ilema unicolora, spec. │Dinawa │August │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Ilema hades, spec. nov.│Dinawa │.... │ - │Ilema nivea, spec. nov.│Dinawa │September │ - │Chrysæglia bipunctata, │Mount Kebea; type, │March and April; │ - │ spec. nov. │ Dinawa │ August │ - │Œonistis bicolora, │Dinawa │May to June │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Macaduma bipunctata, │Dinawa, type; Ekeikei │August │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Halone flavopunctata, │Dinawa │August │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Chionæma dinawa, spec. │Dinawa │August │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Chionæma charybdis, │Dinawa │September │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Cleolosia aroa, spec. │Dinawa │September │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Asura ochreomaculata, │Dinawa │August │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Asura flaveola, spec. │Dinawa │September │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Asura brunneofasciata, │Dinawa │August and September │ - │ spec. nov. │ │ │ - │Asura unicolora, spec. │Dinawa │September │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Asura sagittaria, spec.│Dinawa │August │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Asura rosacea, spec. │Dinawa │August │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Asura dinawa, spec. │Dinawa │August │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Eugoa tricolora, spec. │Dinawa │August │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Eugoa conflua, spec. │Dinawa │August and September │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Amphoraceras │Dinawa │August │ - │ rothschildi │ │ │ - │Parabasis pratti, spec.│Dinawa │August │ - │ nov. │ │ │ - │Collusa ekeikei, spec. │Ekeikei; Mount Kebea │January and February; │ - │ nov. │ │ March and April │ - └───────────────────────┴──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘ - - - APPENDIX II - A NEW REPTILE FROM DINAWA - - _Toxicocalamus Stanleyanus_ - -Rostral much broader than deep, just visible from above; internasals -nearly as long as the præfrontals, which are in contact with the second -upper labial and with the eye; frontal small, slightly broader than the -supraocular, once and three-fourths as long as broad, as long as its -distance from the end of the snout, a little shorter than the parietals; -one postocular; temporals, one plus two; five upper labials, second and -third entering the eye; three lower labials in contact with the anterior -chin-shields, which are larger than the posterior. Scales in fifteen -rows. Ventrals, 261; anal entire; subcaudals, twenty-five pairs; tail -ending in a compressed, obtusely pointed scute, which is obtusely keeled -above. Blackish-brown above; traces of a yellowish nuchal collar; upper -lip white; two outer rows of scales white, each scale with a blackish -central spot; ventrals and subcaudals white, with a black spot on each -side, some of the ventrals with an interrupted blackish border. - -Total length, 610 millimetres; tail, 40. - - - APPENDIX III - A NEW FISH DISCOVERED BY THE EXPEDITION - - _Rhiacichthys Novæ Guineæ_ - -Depth of body nearly equal to length of head, five to six times in total -length. Diameter of eye six or seven times in length of head, -interorbital width three times; snout but very slightly longer than -postocular part of head. Dorsals VII., I. 8–9; longest spine, ¾; longest -soft ray ⅘ length of head. Anal I. 8–9; longest ray as long as head. -Pectoral about 1½ length of head; ventral as long as head, or a little -longer. Caudal feebly emarginate. Caudal peduncle 2½ as long as deep. -Scales strongly ciliated, 37 to 39 in a longitudinal series on each -side, 14 or 16 round caudal peduncle. Dark olive above, whitish beneath. - -Total length, 225 millimetres. - - - Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. - Edinburgh & London - -[Illustration: PART OF SOUTH-WESTERN NEW GUINEA Showing Mr. PRATT’S -Routes.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES - - - 1. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in - spelling. - 2. Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed. - 3. 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