The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1884-01-25
ATTACKED BY CANNIBALS.
A aoxD.HuNTER's ExPE1IETo1 IN
NEW GUINEA.

IONS Eyes.
Leroy Strickland was found sick in q
New York sailors boarding house by q
Tribune reporter, to whom he told
story of his adventures in New Guinea,
where three years ago he encountered
band of cannibals and narrowly escaped
death at their hands.
~ was a painter in New South Wales,
Australia, he said, sand had been DO
ing we'll for some years. l had accumu-
lated little property and was tolerably
contented with my lot. About 1our
years ago the Temora gold fields were
opened in my Province and the gold
fever swept everything. I sold out my
stock, abandoned my business and, with
the money 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 a French surveyor out to New
Guinea In 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, aud
we agreed to fit out two heavy life-boats,
stock them with provisions and make our
way across to New Guinea to find gold.
It 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
savages. 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 az 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
than half an hour when q party OF ma
tives, numbering perhaps twenty-five, ap-
peared on the bluff and began throwing
their weapons at us. We unslung our
rifles and drove them back. We walked
about half a mile back from the shores Oh
the river and were congratulating our
selves on the success of our venture, when
we heard deafening yells and saw nearly
two hundred bowling savages rushing
toward us at their utmost speed. 1t was
too late to make any defence. We could
do nothing but escape with our lives at
best. Throwing everything OF any
weight we had about us to the ground,
we sprang in the direction Of tbs boats,
but not before William Guiteau had
been shot by wadi-wadi. On our way
to the shore George johnson was also
killed by a boomerang, and as ! was
crawling into one of the boats a boomerang
struck me on the head and lost conscious
ness. When we were once in the boats
we were safe, but then we saw what
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
top of the bluff and built a fire, around
which as the flames grew fercer they
circled at maddened pace. They
howled and shrieked in exultation at
/ their victory, and after they had ex-
hausted themselves they squatted about
the fire and threw our companions into
the flames. l noticed that the human
flesh burned with blue flame and the
sight was such horrible one that
tainted. When I recovered saw them
tearing the flesh from the bones and eat
ing it amid the most discordant sounds
ever heard, and after they had finished
the fearful repast they jumped to theil
feet again. As we passed around a curve
in the river they were still shrieking like
incarnate fiends.
beside the men who were killed,
Henry Peters and George Thomas wert
badly wounded with spears. When We
arrived at Thursday Island they were
treated at hospital. When we got
back to Cookstown our story effectually
prevented any like adventures. The ma
tives are hardy race, small in stature
and hideously ugly in appearance. Theil
weapons are the nulla-nulla, long spear
with heavy bowl on one end, which
they use as club; the wadi-wadi, o
spear five feet long, with a moose at one
end, inside of which is spike, which
they use to catch and spear their enemy
and the boomerang, which in their hand:
is as effectual as pistol ball. The coun
try is fertile and full of mineral wealth
but the natives are the worst of canni
balls. They have murdered missionaries
and ship crews that have landed on thu
coast, and the only manner in which thu
country can be civilized is by annihilat
ing the natives. They are not dangerous
near the coast, because men-of-war shell
the bush every few weeks, but the coun
try will never cease to be unsafe until i
ceases to be a bone of contention between
France and New South Wales.