Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1891-10-13
IN NEW GUINEA.
CHARACTER AND CUSTOMS OF VIC
ToRIA,s cANNleAL SUBJECTS.

/
Irouses in High Trees--cannip"''s'i
A. Token of Aa.ctiou--The Sage In
a,stry--I,irds Of Paradise.
And no,g what is the character OF this
land which, after so many aportiNe at.
TENNIS. has nj last come 10 the oirth OF
nnnrxation? Along the coast OF consid'
crnbie mart OF it missionaries nave oeetl
established for some seventeen years
NOW There are three English mission
aries and many Polynesian converts who
net MS teachers and preachers. Ana,
whatever opinion may be held OF the WORK
of missionaries in general, there are nc
two opinions held by those who know the
Mace about the good that has been done
by these New Guinea men.
Their aim has not been to add num-
her Of baptisms to their record, as savages
HANG scalps To their grdlc for an evidence
Of their success; nor have they measured
the Christianity of their converts by the
amoun, of clothing which they wear. But
,bnv have instillcd confidence in the good
mess of human nature where there was
none before: they have taught the ad
vantares of peace and industry where be
fore there was only unceasinS bloodsheC
and warfare.
Thus a tolerably accurate knowledge
has been gained of the habits of such Of
| tho natives as 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 as have beer
visited. one of the most peculiar charac
teristics is the inaccessible position II
which they frequently place their houses
This. no doubt. is the direct outcome ol
the state of constant intertribal warfare
in which they have SO long existed, ant
which even now is not altogether stamped
ont Some of their houses are built Ii
high trees up on the narrowest and mos
inaccessible ridges of the mountains. TX
these bamboo ladders are the only means
of approach, and vines are often Guilt
waited to run up the ladders to give then
strength and make the ascent and descent
easier. Other tribes-and there are many
of those living along the coast-build theil
villages some distance out at sea, on piles
of ,nangrove wood, standing eight or tel
feet out of the water There are villages
of this kind built altogether away from
the shore in the shallow waters OF thu
southern coast, containing rs many a!
400 or 500 people and perhaps forty OIL
fifty houses.
1t is commonly said, and no doubt Ii
often the case, that savages eat their van
uuished foes in faith that by so doing the.
inherit from them their noblest qualities
but it appears to be peculiar to the New
Guinea natives to eat their kindred as
token of affection. A New Guinea boz
was seized and half eaten by one of TIL
many crocodiles that prey upon the coast
of the island. His Borrowing parents slew
the offending monster, and rescuing tn
half of their beloved son which was still
uneaten. they greedily devoured it in thei
grief When their kindred die they han,
them mp, or lay them on a framework o
bamboos, for the sun to cleanse the bone
of flesh. While this is going on they keel
watch near the corpse, and at intervals
when their grief becomes too much TO
them, they visit it and smear their bodie
all over with the juices that are droppin;
from the dead body. When decay ha
done its work the bones are cleaned, ant
some of them are buried, while others ar
worn as ornaments by the survivors, an,
the skulls decorate their houses. In othe
tribes the bodies are buried in a sittin.
posture up to the neck, and vessel i
placed over the head. In these cases tn
skull alone is preserved for ornament, tn
rest of the body being left beneath til. soil
But though so barbarous in some O
their habits, the natives of this place ar
far superior to those of Australia in mos
ways. Many of them cultivate plants TO
food Some Of them make pottery whicl
they exchange for sage with those stu
ated in more fertile districts than them
selves. Others devote all their time t
catching fish, and these, too, they barte
for cocoanuts or yams or bananas, Will
most are clever at fashosing and carvin
weapons of oifense and shields, and man
can make a tolerable kind of cloth fror
the bark of trees, good canoes or service
able bows and arrows
The sago industry, especially, is a valu
able one. So much food can be produce
with so little labor, and the tree grow
well and abundantly in New Guinea TIL
method of obtaining the sage is to Gu
down the tree and remove a slice of bar
from the upper surface of the felled trunk
The inner wood of the tree, which
throughout kind of pth, is then pounde
down with rough instruments made fo
the purpose into the trough formed by tn
, firm outer bark of the tree.
, AS this pith is pounded down it is take
out in vessels formed of the sheathip
leaves OF the sago palm and carried to al
other trough near by, formed like til
first, of the bark of another sage palm
, Here 1t is pressed through Il rough sieve
formed again of 1ibers from the sago palm
, into water, where the starchy part di.
, solves and settles in the bottom as a sed
ment, This sediment, though not tn
, granulated sage of commerce, is the forr
, IN which the natives eat the food. and
makes excellent cakes or mush.
Another well known production OF Ne,
Guinea is the bird of paradise, the mo,
, beautiful and gorgeous perhaps, excer
the peacock, of all known birds Thel
are many different kinds of them, but n
are beautiful to the eye, though the noist
.ilat they make are somewhat trying
the ear, They are very shy and difficu
TO OBTAIN, but by caution, cleverness an
, exceeding great patience the natives su
ceed IN killing them in snares or wit
piuiiled arrows, so as not to iniure the
, piumage.-Cor. San Francisco Chronicle