Morris tribune., 1888-03-14
IN NEW GUINEA.
CHARACTER AND CUSTOMS or VIC
ToRlA's cANNlBAL SUBJECTS.

As q Token Of Ansctiou-Thc Sage I'm.
dustry-Birds OF Paradise.
And now what is the character of this
land which, after so many abOrtive 30
tempts, has Rt last come to the birth OF
annexationi Along the coast OF aconsid-
cradle part of it missionaries have been
established for some seventeen years
now. There are three English mission
aries and many Polynesian converts who,
act as teachers and preachers. And,
whatever opinion may be held OF the work
of missionaries In general, there are no
two opinions held by those who know the
place about the good that has been done
by these New Guinea men.
Their aim has not been 70 add . num-
Der of baptisms to their record, as savages
hang scalps to their girdle for an evidence
of their success; nor have they measured
the Christianity of their converts by the
amount of clothing which they wear. But
they have instilled confidence in the good
ness of human nature where there was
none before; they have taught the adj
vantages of peace and industry where be-
fore there was only unceasing bloodshsd
and warfare. ..r.r
Thus a tolerably accurate knowledge
has been gained of the habits OF such OF
the natives as inhabit the southern coast
line. But of the many thousands who
live in the interior very little has been dis
covered. s.t..,rtfs,.s u, ~.
Among such OF the natives as have been
visited, one of the most peculiar charac-
teristics is the inaccessible position In
which they frequently place their houses.
This, no doubt, is the direct outcome Of
the state of constant intertribal warfare
in which they have SO long existed, and
which even now is not altogether stamped
ont. Some of their houses are built In
high trees up ON the narrowest and most
inaccessible ridges Of the mountains. To
these bamboo ladders are the only means
of approach, and vines are often cult
waited to run up the ladders to: give them
strength and make the ascent and descent
easier. Other tribes-and there are many
of those living along the eoast-build their
villages some distance out at sea, On piles
of nangrove wood, standing eight or ten
feet out of the water. There are villages
of this kind built altogether away from
the shore, in the shallow waters or the
southern coast, containing as many as
400 or 500 people and perhaps forty or
fifty houses.
It is commonly said, and no doubt is
often the case, that savages eat their vans
uuished foes in faith that by 50 doing they
inherit from them their nobleSt qualities;
but it appears to be peculiar to the New
Guinea natives to eat their kindred as q
token of affection. A New Guinea boy
was seized and half eaten by one Of the
many crocodiles that prey upon the coasts
of the island. His Borrowing parents slew
the offending monster, and rescuing tho
half of their beloved son which was still
uneaten. they greedily devoured it in their
| grief. When their kindred die they hang
them I'D, or lay them on q framework OF
bamboos, for the sun to cleanse the bones
| of flesh. While this is going on they keep
watch near the corpse, and at intervals,
when their grief becomes too much for
them, they visit it and smear their bodies
| all over with the juices that are dropping
from the dead body. When decay has
done its work the bones are cleaned, and
| some of them are buried, while others are
worn as ornaments by the survivors, and
the skulls decorate their houses. In other
tribes the bodies are buried in a sitting
posture up to the neck, and q vessel is
| placed over the head. In these cases the
| skull alone is preserved for ornament, the
| restof The body being left beneath this soil.
But though so barbarous in some OK
| their habits, the natives Of this place are
| far superior to those Of Australia in most
ways. Many of them cultivate plants for
| food. Some of them make pottery which
they exchange for sage with those stu
ated in more fertile districts than them
selves. Others devote all their time go
catching fish, and these, too, they barter
| for cocoanuts or yams or bananas, while
most are clever at fashioRing and carving
! weapons of offense and shields, and many
| can make tolerable kind Of cloth from
the bark of trees, good canoes or service.
able bows and arrows. go -
The sage industry, especially, Is a valu-
able one. So much food can be produced
with SO little labor, and the tree grows
well and abundantly in New Guinea. The
method of obtaining the sage Is to cut
down the tree and remove q slice OF bark
from the upper surface Of the felled trunk.
The inner wood of the tree, which i'd
throughout kind of pith, is thenpounded
down with rough instruments made fol-
the purpose into the trough formed by the
firm outer bark of the tree.
AS this pith is pounded down it Is taken
out in vessels formed of the sheathing
leaves of the sago palm and carried to an
other trough near by, formed, like the
first, of the bark of another sage palm.
Here it is pressed through q rough sieve,
| formed again of fibers from the sage palm,
into water, where the starchy part dis
solves and settles in the bottom as . sedi.
ment. This sediment, though not the
granulated sage Of commerce, is the form
in which the natives eat the food, and II
makes excellent cakes or mush. s-#
Another well knewn production Of New
Guinea is the bird Of paradise, the most
beautiful and gorgeous perhaps, except
the peacock, Of all known birds. There
are many different kinds Of them, but MI
are beautiful to the eye, though the noises
that they make are somewhat trying tc
the ear. They are very shy and difficult
to obtain, but by caution, cleverness and
exceeding great patience the natives sue
coed in killing them in snares or with
blunted arrows, so as not to injure theiI
plumage.-Cor. San Francisco Chronicle