St. Landry democrat., 1888-06-09
KING OF THE PAPUANS.
An Explorer Who Had Thri Hing Expert.
ences in the Pacific.

| ences in the Pacific.
A short time ago an explorer died in
st Petersburg who was known far and
wide among the Russians as King of
the Papuans." 1t was DR.. Maklucho
Maclay, the noted Russian ethnologist,
in whose honor long stretch of the
northeastern coast of New Guinea,
now in the hands of Germany, is called
the Maclay coast. Few explorers have
braved more hardships and dangers
than DR.. Maclay, and pure love Of
science induced him to incur perils
from which most men would shrink.
A few years ago a schooner dropped
anchor one evening in an unknown
bay on the New Guinea coast. Boats
put off, landed Dr. Maclay and his
boxes on the beach, and then the
schooner sailed away in the darkness,
leaving DR.. Maclay alone on savage
coast that no white man had ever Wis
tied before. When the natives next
morning found the white man sitting
on his portmanteau they thought the
strange object had dropped from the
sky. They believed at first that he was
god, and they nearly killed him with
experiments before they decided that
he was human like themselves. They
fastened him in hut, put guards
around the structure and nearly starved
him, thinking that if he were not of
human origin he did not need food.
They said that nothing ought to fright
en- him if he were god, and SO they
tied him to a tree and shot arrows close
to his head and neck, and severely
wounded him during the experiment.
Then they pressed their spears against
his teeth to make him open his mouth,
and in many other ways they put his
courage, temper and strength to Sc
we're tests.
They finally made up their minds
that he was not god, because his
wound bled and he needed food, but
they decided that he was capital fell
low, because he was always good-na-
tured. Many of their sick recovered |
health under his skillful care, and DIR. |
Maclay finally acquired the reputation
far and wide of being big medicine
man who had dropped from the moon.
For two years DR.. Maclay lived among
these savages, feeling amply repaid for
all his sacrifices by the wealth of scien-
tific facts he was able to collect.
-Four years ago, Mr.: Romilly. Great
Britain's Commissioner for the West
ern Pacific, visited Astrolabe Bay.
1.-The natives were rather shy at first"
he wrote, until shouted the magical
name of Maclay; then they came up as
fast as they could. By the help of the
few words Maclay had written down
for me, was able to inform them that
he would come back to them soon.
They at once became extremely friend
", and kept on telling each other that
l was Maclay's brother. 1t is possible
that they were more civil to me than
they would be to every one, owing
to the fact of my acquaintance with
Maclay, which l made the most off,
Over year ago it was announced
that Maclay was about to lead 250 Rus
sian colonists to Nqw Guinea to settle
On the coast which he was the first to
visit. The Russian Government, how
aver, discouraged the project, and it
vas abandoned. The Germans are
low planting their stations all along
he coast, which Romilly says is the
most beautiful he ever saw, and in his
book he fully confirms the favorable
'eport that DR.. Maclay gave of his lit
lie part of the great island. Though
'nly forty-two years old when he died,
)r. Maclay had travelled more extern
lively in the western Pacific than any
ther scientific man, and it is to be re-
,retted that the account of his pro. +,
racted explorations, which he had
zen writing for many months, was ;
My half completed when he died. !;
Y y Sun. !.