Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1884-01-25
ATTACKED BY CANNIBALS.
A ooLD.HUNTER's ExPERIEECE IN
NEW GUINEA.
aIvo men out OF n Party Of Ten slain
and Eaten Before Their COmpan-
Ions Eyes.

Aw0 men ont OF a Party OF Ten slain
and Eaten Before Their COmpan-
| ions Eyes.
Leroy Strickland was found sick in
New York sailors boarding house by
Tribune reporter, to whom he told q
story of his adventures in New Guinea,
where three years ago he encountered O
band of cannibals and narrowly escaped |
death at their hands.
" l was d painter in New South Wales,
Australia, " he said, land had been do |
ing well for some years. l had accumu- |
lated little property and was tolerably |
contented with my lot About four
years ago the Temora gold fields were
opened in my Province and the gold
fever swept everything. sold out my
stock, abandoned my business and, with |
the money l had scraped together, went
with the crowd to Temora. There
party of us staked off our claims and
worked together for ten months, when
the field played out, and we went
back to Cookstown. North Queens
land. Some time before we got to Cooks
town the government of Queensland
sent French surveyor out to New
Guinea In q small steamer in order to
prospect the country previous to another
attempt at annexation. He was attacked
by natives, but succeeded in killing sew
eral and returned to Cookstown without
in .,ury. He gave glowing account OF
the country, and said that there were
gold pockets all along the coast and
mines In the interior. This news was
sufficient to start the spirit of adventure
among my companions of Temora, and
we agreed to fit out two heavy life-boats,
stock them with provisions and make our
way across to New Guinea to find gold
1t was on November 10, 1880, that ten
of us, in two boats, started from Cooks
town. We rowed across to Thursday
island, where we took in quantity of
provisions and had heavy wire net
, tings built over our boats to
protect us from the weapons of the
sayages. 1t took us day to row from
the island to New Guinea, owing to head
winds. We arrived at the coast near the
mouth Of the Fly river and rowed our
: boats directly into the stream. The
, country appeared to us to be 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 into the interior. Observing a
bluff some distance from the shore, we
/ rowed 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 remain
ing to care for the boats.
. 1--WE had not been on shore for more
J than half an hour when party of ma
tives, numbering perhaps twenty-five, ap-
peared on the bluff and began throwing
their weapons at us. We unslung our
l rifles and drove them back. We walked
! about half a mile back from the shores of
1 the river and were congratulating our
, selves on the success of our venture, when
. we heard deafening yells and saw nearly
9 two hundred bowling savages rushing
o toward us at their utmost speed. 1t was
: too late to make any defence. We could
, do nothing but escape with our lives at
l. best. Throwing everything of any
! weight we had about us to the ground,
j we sprang in the direction of the boats,
:, but not before William Guiteau had
been shot by wadi-wadi. On our way
| to the shore George johnson was also
\ killed by boomerang, and as l was
! crawling into one of the boats boomerang
|! struck me on the head and lost conscious
l. ness. When we were once in the boats
;, we were safe, but then we saw what q
terrible fate had befallen our dead com
panions. AS we rowed away we saw
the cannibals seize the bodies and STRIP
them. Then they carried them to the
e top of the bluff and built fire, around
k which as the flames grew fercer they
circled at maddened pace They
Il howled and shrieked in exultation al
e their victory, and after they had ex
10 hausted themselves they squatted about
e the fire and threw our companions into
Y the flames. l noticed that the human
flesh burned with blue flame and the
sight was such a horrible one that
u tainted. When recovered | saw then
Il tearing the flesh from the bones and eat.
7, ing it amid the most discordant sounds
u ever heard, and after they had finished
y the fearful repast they jumped to thei
feet again. AS we passed around curve
It in the river they were still Shrieking like
?. incarnate fiends.
is beside the men who were killed
n Henry Peters and George Thomas wer,
is badly wounded with spears. When W,
arrived at Thursday Island they Were
a treated at hospital. When we go
d back to Cookstown our story effectuall,
d prevented any like adventures. The ma
n tives are hardy race, small in stature
d and hideously ugly in appearance. Thei
weapons are the nulla-nulla, long spea
n with heavy bowl on one end, whicl
. they use as a club; the wadi-wadi, ,
e spear five feet long, with moose at on
- end, inside of which is a spike, whicl
4 they use to catch and spear their enemy
y and the boomerang, which in their hand
;, is as effectual as pistol ball. The coun
. try is fertile and full of mineral wealth
i but the natives are the worst of canni
" balls. They have murdered missionarie
: and ship crews that have landed on tn
IS Is coast, and the only manner in which tn
q country can be civilized is by annihilat
II ing the natives. They are not dangerou
70 near the coast, because men-of-war shel
20 the bush every few weeks, but the coun
y try will never cease to be unsafe until
81 ceases to be bone of cdntention betwee
IL France and New South. Wales.
Il 1rresOiutOn.