New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-02-21

ton fro 1, off and when the gun kicked MN
.,,.or -, his bacl, lump up again and shout Re
,,o.-s,,,, pen,assau, Good. Good" He would
buy that gun and think he had the best o. '"e
bargain by a long way" In the ola oaES
tomahawk a knife. a handful OF BEADS nan
pound Of tobacco few pipes and coupe u
wards Of calico reconcilcd the friends OF "oui"-
be laborer to his departure. But Wlthih u"
years guns also began to be in demand in1
islanders looked at the bargain from point ~
view which a white man had to STUDY Narrowly
in order TO understand their way OF thihKihs'
Each tribe was a communal organism III VIII"
the individual was the servant o. the """'e
body. In a group Of forty or fifty warriors SUD-
iect TO constant strife with other tribes every
man was Of value. The objects or trade brought
by the whites were never supposed 10 pelonE 10
tho man who chose to work in Queensland They
were given to the tribe in order that the man
might have consent to go away As the use OF
firearms spread the natives discovered tha' every
extra rnusket helped to make up the loss of
man. Even returned workman, after his serviceoi
three years or more in the colony. called nothing
HE own that he carried back to his home. lie eX-
pended all the money he had earned IN the
things which are useful or agreeable 10 the ISL
anders and when ne was put ashore with MS
hox his friends instantly seized the latter ana
divided its contents among themselves. To DuF
q man was TO give the chief or the commune a
present large enough TO insure his release from
home To steal him was TO take him with MS
own consent or not. without the usual presents
70 the tribe Captain Wawn acknowledges that
man-stealing not unknown. but he lhsiS'S
that not all stealing so-called by the natives was
such in the minds Of Europeans accustomed u
individual rights as against those OF the COM
munity
Cantoin Wawn's ethnology IS simplicity Itself
He DISTINGUISHES three races In the Sou'h IA
clGc-,he Papuan OF Negrito. with black SKIN
and "kinky" wool: the Malay. brown in Color
with straight black hair; and the true Polyne-
sian. with brown skin and "frizzly' halr' hu'
there are all degrees of admNture where 'n'Se
races have been in contact with each o'h'r 'o'
any length of tine and an accurate list oi NHri'-
tons would be practically endless Inc in"d"i-
tonfs or some islands were priced as workmen
more highly than others. For example the IA
mans of the the LOYALTY group were deemed the
best material that could be found Tor sailors anu
hoatmen But the inhabitants Of Beilona Island
though large and well-made men, turned out -
he useless as workmen. They We're without en-
durance. CAPTAIN Wawn does not lay their de-
fec,s TO the missionaries but he cites Aneiteum
Island as one NIbIN NHilH'.''''''N'
nonulation is steadily decreasing As war has
been given up and as there has been little or no
emigration from the island he can account Tor
the losses IN only one way. With more vividness
than reverence. he deca 'es that the WORK 81 'he
missionaries has been put to the wolf-that
Is the savage-"intO a cage. 50 10 speak
where he has simply pined away. becoming
miserable sneaklng, pi,iabie wretch He Illus
trates his point by saying that he engaged Tour
voung men at Aneiteum Island as boatmen.
But. alas he adds. instead Of the pucky saw
ages their fathers used TO be. found THESE TEL
lows nervous and easily frightened. Luckily Tor
me on one occasion their practice enapi'd 'HcH'
to pull we'll instinctively when running away IL
7 had been obliged u fight. they would nave o'eh
Of no use at all" In his opinion !, was diierent
with the tribesmen taken 90 work on tho queens
land plantations The three years OF labor ana
the acquaintance with a world different from
that in which he was born made something bet
ter OF him than he could become at home
But II is pretty clear that he carried nome the
vices as well the virtues which ne learned
among the whites. He went home IN the AZURE
Of civilization, but there was time. not 50 Ionb
900 whom he cast off his clothes as soon as h.
stepped on his native shore. But the haoit oi
vo,ring clothes IS spreading. What Is more note
worthy IS the spread pi N'uNH ga '~''t'''''
the islands II is an absurd dialect in which
English words are used in phrases modelled on
native forms. but it is comprehensive. and 1t l.
/ practically universal on the most obscure and
remote islet there is sure to be somebody who
knows this tongue.
Though Captain Wawn insists that the bust
ness in which he was engaged was honorable. he
confeeses that it was not without risk. The
natives had their own notions OF justice KID
manning by one ships company was practically
: certain 10 be avenged on the next Corners. III
most cases the islanders were ready for Sklr'
mish atany moment. This as true In times 81
spears and poisoned arrows as II was later. wh"i
firearms came into general use. The book j.
crowded with adventures Of this sort. In thl'
respect it Is not unlike one OF the old-fashohe'
books Of exploration and discovery. On one oc
cason Captain Wawn and his party escape
without injury because the savagcs, who were
armed with Enfield rifles thought that raisint
the hind sights caused the guns TO shoot harder
On another occasion he got off with two bule
wounds and several thrusts with native spears
The attack in this case was 70 revenge the deati
of tribesman. Merely wantOn murder OF whit'
men was infrequcnt from first to last one rea
son for that may be found in the criticism o.
a certain dusky choftain on the flesh or whit'
men as an article Of Diet. Says the author:
Il remember In 1873 asking King Johnny.
great chief at Port Hunter Duke Of York Island
what his opinion as to the relative merits o
the flesh Of white men ard Of Papuans. II wa
on the day after n cannibal feast. when an'
others had witnessed the assimilation OF an un
fortunate 'bushman by King Johnny and hi
warriors.
e"'Man O bush very good. said he. Man sgd
ney no good; too much salt
'By salt | suppose he meant rank WHIT
men eat so much meat that their flesh canno
taste we'll | conclude