Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1895-12-28
SEEN IN NEW GUINEA.
Strange LIE IN enc inteslss % ne
Island.

Useon0o Live In che ontoe1Oe ~ eno
Island.
The only white man known 10 have
jrossed the island Of New Guinea from
shore to shore, TO have actually traversed
the vast unknown interior and seen the
aboriginal Papuans face to face In their
native forests, is Van Gestel.
II started In 1874 from the mouth Of
the Fly River In the Gulf Of Papus, On
the south coast Of New Guinea, to run
the frontier line. There was talk at that
time OF the annexation Of New Guinea by
the Government Of Queensland, Australia,
and 90 the Dutch Government resolved to
define Its possessions. I entered Papua
with q detachment Of q hundred Dutch
soldiers, In their tidy uniforms Of light
blue linen. and band Of as many coolies
to carry supplies.
1.-THE interior Of New Guinea il one
vast mass Of uphesved granite, without
traces Of minerals OF metal ores, the strata
tilted and piled topsy.turvy. Every.
where the work Of volcanic eruptions 10
to be seen. Such q thinly populated 70.
gion. considering the fact that II was an
absolutely new country and that fruits
and small game were 80 plentiful, I did
not suppose could exist TIE natives We
saw from time to time, at q distance
mostly; they never molcsted US. Their
heads were fiat on top, with long, curly,
black hslr; they went entirely naked.
Their buttocks extended out eight and
even ten inches, this repulsive deformity
constituting flesl,y support amply capa-
bic Of sustaining q child In . sitting pc.
sition. Nor was this their most marked
popularity. Some Of the nursing mothers
threw their breasts back over their should.
crs or under their arms, ct will, to feed
the Infant carried In sling between their
shoulders
''The Papuans are . very unattrsctivs
race TO look upon. In arms they were
primitive to degree that was astounding.
They had neither bows nor spears that ]
Jaw, their only weapons being stone
hatchets. Of the use Of metals they
seemed 10 be entirely ignorant. In the
dry season they made their homes In
caves, which they found or excavated for
themselves. Some OF these cave dwellings
I visited, discovering fragments Of their
repasts and occasionally Q broken stone
axe. In the rainy season they live high
In the trees, where they build rude houses
Of sticks laid around and intertwined with
the branches, matched with dried alang.
alang, and reached by shaky looking
stick ladders.
"Most startling was the solitude, the
restitution Of life and motion. In the great
central platcaus which we reached In our
gradual ascent from the river level. There
were plenty Of small creatures OF the
squirrel tribe, some Of the peculiar pig.
headed deer we have In Java, and an oc.
casional little tiger cat, rather handsome
than hurtful looking. That was all saW
In my whole journey, from the mouth Of
the Fly River on the southeast coast TO
Geelvink Bay on the northwest, not .
single beast Of prey, unless those pretty
little spotted tree cats could be dlgnlfied
by that name. Not kangaroo Of either
the tree-cllmbing or grass jumping variety
was seen, nor any Of the dlngos or wild
dogs elsewhere reported. I did see .
number Of specimens OF the great BE-,
called by the natives kalong or flying
dog with its curious coat Of light brown
hair and It, wing expanse Of six feet
truly formidable looking creature, but
not hurtiul as found II.
''But OF birds there 10, verify believe,
. vaster profusion Of more beautiful tinss
and delicate plumage In New Guinea than
anywhere else In the world. They fairy
famed through those s0mbre forests,
which but for their bright hues and sharp
cries would have been funereally sug.
gestive. What paradise the interior Of
New Guinea would be for naturalist
From the great cebu, which devours
stones, and the cassowary, through all the
species Of peafowl and the bird Of paradise,
down to the cockatoos and the wood
pigeons, there were birds Of beauty in
never ceasing variety and numbers.
"At suitable stations along the route
had the soldiers nall up on trees the Dutch
flag and Iron charts Of the Dutch coat OF
arms, on most Of which no white mans
eyes have since fallen. When we reached
Geelvink Bay, and realized that our task
was finished. and that Hollands part Of
New Guinea was so definitely determined
then and thenceforth that no other nation
could lay claim to It, we gave rousing
cheer, and II must have been music In the
ears Of tile solitary post holder whom tho
Government had even then for some years
maintained on the cOast. The poor fellow
probably didn't see friendly face more
than half dozen times year. He lived
In block house, watching the cOaling
station for the Dutch war vessels In those
waters"