Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-07-29
THE NEW HEBRIDES.
The Social Condition and Commercial Re-
sources of Their People.

| The Social Condition and Commercial Re-
sources of Their People.
The archipelago known as the New
Hebrides, over which England and
France have for some time past been
striving to gain supremacy, is situated
| between the parallels of IA degrees and
! 10 minutes and 20 degrees south and the
meridians of 166 and 10 degrees east,
and at distance of 1000 miles from
the coast of Australia. The chain is
about 400 miles in length. No region
could be more curious or attractive in
| its natural aspects. There the elements
! of fire and water may yet be seen in acA
tive operation, building up small con-
| tinent, the gigantic volcano and the
minute coral polype each doing its re-
| spective work.
The largest island of the group is Es-
piritu Santo, about eighty miles long by
forty-five broad. 1t has fine deep bay
on its northeastern side. Next in inn
portance is Mallicolo, fifty miles long
and twenty-five wide. Erromango IS
twenty-eight miles long by twenty
| Pentecost and Aurora are minor
/ iSItilISlS. ttll VI uo"NhcI. tlt u
considerable extent and form collective
ly with smaller islets a large area of
country.
| The natives inhabiting the various ISL
ands owe their origin to the same
stock from which the western and south
ern portions of New Guinea appear to
have been peopled All their physical
i characteristics denote them to belong to
the Papuan race, but they have evident
| " received considerable admixture Of
Malayo-Polynesian blood. Physically
considered the native are a well-built,
athletic race of savages. The men av-
| erage about five feet six inches in their
height, and their limbs are muscular
and well turned. They have large,
well-formed heads, and the features are
usually regular. The hair, which forms
one of the most remarkable features of
! the race, is distributed over the head
| in small spiral curls.
The social condition of the natives
presents many characteristics Indicative
of the infancy of mankind. They dwell
together in villages, and the ownership
of the soil is vested in the tribe. On the
same island there are several tribes,
each having its own district and chief.
| There is no recognized native sover-
eighty over the group. War is the
chief occupation of the men-ss tribal
feuds are very common-but they like
wise build the houses and canoes, go
fish ng. and prepare the implements of
war. The women till the soil and per-
form all domestic duties. They have no
form Of money, but barter pigs, fowls
and shells for trinkets and native cloth.
All the tribes are we'll supplied with de-
fensive weapons, such as clubs, spears
and bows and poisoned arrows.
1t is an interesting fact that notwith-
standing the proximity of these islands
to one another the natives of each have
dist net dialect; nor does this apply
to the separate islands alone, since the
dialects of the various tribes inhabiting
each island undergo remarkable varia-
ton.
1t may be added that the natives, as a
rule. are remarkably intelligent, and
when well treated are friendly and hos
pitable to degree. - Chicago Times.