The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1886-06-11
RARe..Ams.
Sport with the Beautiful RaEsann, or Bird
of Paradise.


Sport with the Beautiful Rassiann, or Bird
of Paradise.
As New Guinea at present occupies o
good deal of the attention of the outer
world. some account Of that part Of the
country favored by the bird of paradise
may be of interest to some of your
readers.
A party Of girls. on sighting us. came
tumbling down in quest of tobacco.
They were exceedingly affable and en-
gaging in their ways, and had no false
modesty about them. Having rested q
few minutes, during which made as
many engagements to chew bitel nut
New Guinean method of making love)
with the most tempting of the crowd, I
scrambled up the remainder of the way.
After three miles tramping through
the gardens we arrived at the head of q
dry water-course which led into the
depths of the forest. We were now on
the verge of the haunts of the raggiana.
Huge trees rose towering above our
heads. while the underground of shrubs.
creepers and ''lawyers' was so dense
and tangled that no animal with any
body unlike that of a wild boar could
force its way through. The trees with
which the hills are covered are very
lofty. and bare of branches or foliage to
the height of one hundred and twenty to
one hundred and fifty feet. 1t is on the
uppermOst boughs of these trees that
the bird of paradise gambols, and one
requires close-shOOting gun to kill at
that distance.
After being kept awake a great part
of the night by the murmur of the
natives chatting around their fire, l
dropped off to sleep, and was awakened
just at daylight by a shaking and
voice hoarsely whispering 'jiaki'' (rag-
giana). / reused myself and listened.
The first light of day was just strug-
Cling through the dusk of the tree-tOps,
when l caught in the far distance the
sound of piercing cry, rising in power
and shrillness with each repetition. The
sound may be conveyed by the words
kak-kak-kak, etc. 1t is very much like
the cry of an Indian bird, whose tech
meal name do not know, but which is
generally known by the name of the
shot weather" bird. No sooner had l
jumped from my hammock than close at
hand l heard the same cry. To seize
my gun and slip on my boots was the
work of moment, and the next minute
l was peering up into the heights of a
huge tree to a spot that the native was
pointing to, and where the bird was
calling. Nothing resembling a raggi-
ana could see until suddenly ray of
sunlight flashed over the distant noun
tains. lighting up the forest almost in
simultaneously: and then l caught the
scarlet and gold of the bird. l'drawed"
on him. and the next moment had the
satisfaction of holding in my hand
my first bird of paradise. 1t was
a lovely male specimen, in all tho
splendid plumage of the breed
ing season, and the contrast of
the green and gold of the head
and neck with the bright scarlet of the
back plumes justly entitlc it to rank as
one of the handsOmest birds of the
world. The female appears very insig-
niiicant beside her gorgeous mate,
being a small dull red-bird, without
any of the brilliant cOlOring of the
male.
l arrived at the camp about ten a. M.
and found that Gina had Just arrived.
bringing two raggianas and one king
bird. The latter is an especially gor-
geous bird, about the size of a lark.
The whole of the neck, head, back.
wings and tail is a brilliant scarlet, tho
breast and stomach being white. with a
collaret of wildly green feathers PRO-
jecting from and overlapping the for
mer. From the tail project two shafts
about six inches in length, unfeathered,
with the exception of the extreme ends,
from each of which small circular disk
of bright metallic feathers sprOut. The
magnificent sexpennis and rifle-bird in
habit the Mount Owen-Stanlcy and
Astrolabe ranges, which lie about
twenty miles beyond where l was. In
three days bagged eighteen raggianas,
three king birds, six gouras and some
smaller pigeons. Field.