Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-01-20
CANNIBALs IN NEW GUINEA.
The Experience of Leroy Strickland
Two of His Companions Eaten by saw.
ages.


The Experience of Leroy Strickland
Two of His Companions Eaten by Say
ages.
Eec York Tribune.
In dimly lighted room on the thir
floor of a sailors boarding house, in jaime
Slip, Leroy Strickland last night told
story of his adventures in New Guinea
where three years ago he encountered
band Of caunibais and narrowly escapes
/ death at their hands. lie is just recoY
cred from a 1T Of sickness. He arrived il
this country Il few weeks ago, and wa
Immediately Frustrated by the eXpOsur
TO which he had been subjected and b.
the unaccustomed severity OF Il sailor
life. He told his story haltingly and i,
tones that best expressed the fearful ed
venture thrOu IN which he had passed
Il was painter in New South Wales
Australia" he said, land had been dom.
we'll for some years. | had accumulate
Il little property and was tolerabv con
tented with my lot. About four years agC
the Iem0ra gold fields were opened in m,
/ province. and the gold fever swept every
I thing. | sold out my stock, abandOneC
my business, and, with the money | haC
scraped together, went With the crowd
/ to IemOra. There a party Of US stakpd
4 off our claims and worked together foi
ten months, when the field played out,
! and We went back to CCOkstOwn, North
/ Queensland. Sometime before we got t.
/ COokstown the government Of Queensland
sent French surveyor out to New Guinea
/ IN small steamer in order to prospect the
country previous to another attempt at
4 annexation. He was attacked by natives
but succeeded in killing several and re-
turned to COOkstOwn without injury. He
/ gave glowing account Of the country,
and said that there were gold pockets ali
/ along the coast and mines in the Interior
+ rms news was sufficient to start the
7 spirit Of adventure among my companions
! OF TemOra, and we agreed to fit out two
/ heavy lIte-bOats, stock them with pro-
/ visions, and make our way across to New
Guinea to find gold. 1t was on November
~, 1850, that ten of US, in two boats,
started from C0OkstOwn. We rOWed
across to Thursday Island, where we took
IN quantity OF provisions and had heavy
wire netting built over our boats
TO protect US from the weapons of
the savages. 1t took us a day to row
from the island to New Guinea
owing to head winds. We garrived at the
coast near the mouth of the Fly river and
rowed our boats directly into the stream.
The country appeared to he deserted and
we made several landings where we
found gold in small quantities. We con-
tinued up the river until we had got. as
near as we could reckon, about fifteen
miles int tae interior. Observing a bluff
some distance from the shore we rowpd
up TO the beach and prepared to land.
taking with us our rifles slung across our
backs, and pans for washing the gold.
Six men landed, four remaining to care
for the boats.
I'VE had not been on shore for more
than half an hour when party of natives.
numbering perhaps twenty-five, appeared
on the blum and began throwing their
weapons at us. We unslung our rifles
and drove them back. We walked about
half mile back from the shores Of the
river and were cOngratulatlng ourselves
on the success of our venture when we
heard deafening yells and saw nearly POO
moving saVageS rushing towards us at
their utmost speed. 1t was too late to
make any defense. We could do
nothing but escape with our lives at
best. Throwing everything Of any
weight we had about us to the ground. we
sDrang in the direction Of the boats. but
not before VIM. Gujteau had been Killed
by wadi-wadi. On our way to the shore
Geo. Johnson was also killed bv a boome-
rang. and as | was crawling into one of
the boats bOomeran@ struck
head and I lost Consciousness. WHEN
we were once in the boats we
were safe, but then we saw
what a terrible fate had nefalIen
our dead companions. As we rowed a,yav
we saw the cannbais seize the bodies and
strip them. Then they carried them 10
the top of the bluff and built ire, around
which, as the flames grew fiercpr, they
circled ut maddened pace. They bOwlpd
and shrieked in eXultaton at their
victory, and after they had exhausted
themselves they squatted about the fire
and threw our companions into the
flames. ! noticed that the human flesh
burned with blue flame, and the sight
: Is such q horrible one that | tainted.
~ NJ | recovered l saw them tearing the
~ rom the bones and eating it amid
bo rnos discOrlant sounds | ever heard,
II -. hey had finished the fearful re-
aet tbol. : 'tnDed to their feet again. As
81 80 1,a ,s - 1und a curve in the river
nov l', 80 Elm sbrieking like incarnate
s.pos;dos ~ =, N who were killed.
- pators ,rI : gorge Thomas were
adiy u,o,'1dod t.itb spears. When we
rived AT Tbursd9v |, land they were
reated at a hospital. VIII II we GOT pack /
0 CookstOwn oar story Ell, TraualIy pre- /
ented any liz q adventures. ue ndIlFeS
re har'' race. small in stature ana
id'@ ,slv ugly in appearance, lneir
oT o"n are the pull@-nuiiA
.Sith a heavy h""' -, = .Ing spear tIsdI. /
oH Out GiIs NutCu lutF 4
us~c as club: the wadl-wadi, a spear
five feet long, with moose at
one end, inside Of which is a spike,
which they use to catch and
spear their enemy, and the boomer
ang, which in their hands is as effectual
as a pistol ball. The country is fertile
and full Of mineral wealth; but the ma
tives are the worst of cannibals. They
have murdered missionaries and ship
bo hax.0 - r.IaH tho RpaCf and
the only manner in which the country can
he civilized is by anRihilating the natives.
They are not dangerous near the coast,
because men-OC-war shell the bush every
few weeks, but the country will never
cease to be unsafe until 1t ceases to be q
bone of contention between France and
New South Wales"