Democratic messenger., 1888-03-17
IN NEW GUINEA.
CHARACTER AND CUSTOMS OF VIC
ToRlA'S cANNIRAL SUBJECTS.

Work of Three English Missionaries.
Houses In High Trecs-Cannibaiism
As Token of Affcctiou-The Sage In-
dustry-Isir,ls Of Paradise.
And now what Is the character Of this
land which, after SO many abortivc at
tcmptS. las ut last come to the birth Of
annexation! Along the coast of u consid-
cradle part of IL missionaries have been
established for some seventeen years
now. There are three English mission
aries AMI 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 hns not been to add a num-
Der of lraptisms to their record, as savages
hnng scalps To their gir,llc for an evidence
Of their success; nor have they measured
the Christianity Of their converts by the
amount II clothing which they wear. But
they have instillc,l confidence In the good.
ness of human nature where there was
none before; they have taught the nd.
vaniaccs Of peace and industry where be.
fore there was only unceasing bloodshed
nnd warfare.
Thus n tolerably accurate knowledge
has been gained Of the habits Of such OF
the natives MS inhabit the southern coast
line. But Of the many thousands who
live in the interior very little has been dis
covered.
Among such Of the natives rs have been
visited, one of the most peculiar charac-
tcristics Is the inaccessible position In
which they frequently place their houses.
This, no doubt, IL the direct outcome OF
the state Of constant intcrtribal warfare
In which they have so long existed and
which even now Is not altogether stamped
out. Some Of their houses arc 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 arc often culti-
vHtcd TO run up the ladders to give them
strength and make the ascent aud descent
easier. Other tribcs-and there are many
of those living along the coast-buill their
villages some distance out at sea. on piles
OF mangrove wood, standing eight or ten
feet ont of the water. There nre villages
of this Kind built altogether away from
the shore, In the shallow waters Of the
40D or 800 people AMI perhaps forty or
nifty houses.
II Is commonly said, and no doubt Is
often the ease, that savagcs cat their van
pushed foes in faith that by so doing they
inherit from them their nnblcst qualities;
IN. IL appears To I've peculiar 10 the New
Guinea natives to eat their kindred MS n
token ~ affection. a New Guinea boy
wa, seized and half eaten by one of the
many crocndilcs that prey upon the coasts
of the iSlaml. His sorrowing parents slew
thu oiIcndin: monster. aud rcScuing the
half of their beloved son which was still
uneatc,. they grecdily 'lcvourcd II IN their
grief. WIcn their kindred die they hang
them up, or lay them on u frlmewor. of
bamhou,, for the sun to cleanse the bones
of flesh. While this is going ON they kcc?
watch near the corpse, and ut intervals,
when their grief becomes too much for
tdcm, they visit II aud smear their bodies
all over with the juices that are druppin..
from the dead badly. When decay has
done IT'S work the bones are cleaned, and
some Of them ARE buried. while others ARE
worn us ornaments 10y the survivors, and
the skulls d-rur;,tc their houses. In other
tribes the bodirs are buried In % sitting
posture NJ Ia the neck, :nd vessel is
placed over the head. IN these cases tho
skull alone H. preserved for ornament, the
resi- of the bo'!y bcins left beneath ia. soil.
but though so harbarous in some cf
+ their habits the natives Of this place are
far superior To- those Of Australia In most
ways. Many of them cultivate plants for
fOUi. Some of them make pottery which
they exchange for sago with those siiu.
atcd in more fertile districts than them
selves. Others devote all their time Il
catching fish, aud these, too, they barter
/ Iur cOcoanutS or yamS or bananas, while
most are clever at fashioRing and carving
weapons Of oiTcnsc and shields, and many
can make n tnlcrablc kind Of cloth from
the bark of trees, good canoes or service
able bows and arrows.
The sage industry, especially, is n valu-
able one. so much food can he produced
with So little labor, AMI the tree grows
well and abundantly in New Guinea. The
mcthod Of obtaining the sago is 10 cut
down the tree and remove slice Of bark
/ from the upper surface Of the fclled trunk.
, The inner wood of the tree, which Is
/ throughout kind Of pith, Is then pounded
down with rough instruments made for
the purpose into the trough formed by the
firm outer bark Of the tree.
As this pith is pounded down II Is taken
7 out in vessels formed Of the sheathing
leaves Of the sago palm and carried to an
other trough near by, formed, like the
| first, al the bark of another saGo palm.
Here IL is pressed through u rough sieve,
I formed again Of ilbcrs from the sa.o palm,
into water, where the starchy part dis
solves and settles In the bottom rs scli
mcnt. This sediment, though not the
granulatcd sago 81 commerce, is the form
In which the natives eat the food, and IL
makes excellent cakes or mush.
| Another well known production Of New
Guinea Is the bird Of paradise, the most
beautiful and gorgeous perhaps, except
the peacock, of all known birds. There
arc many different kinds Of them, hut all
ARE beautiful Ia the eye, though the noises
that they make are somewhat trying To
the ear. They are very shy anl difficult
1 to obtain, but by caution, clcvcrncsS and
exceeding great patience the natives suc-
cccd ia killing them In snarcs or with
bluutpu Arrows 81 nS not To iniurc their