Birmingham state herald., 1895-12-01
LIFE IN NEW GUINEA.
Strange People, Animals and Birds That In
 habit the Country.

oOrdnge Feopie, Anlmals and Birds That h.
 habit the Country.
 Lippincotts Magazine
 The only white man known to have crossed 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..
 "I stated in 1874 from the mouth of the Fly river, in the gulf of Papua, 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, Aus tralia, and so the Dutch government resolved to define its possessions. 1 en- tered Papua with a detachment of 100 Dutch soldiers in their tidy uniforms of light blue linen, and a band of as many coolies to carry supplies.
 "The interior of New Guinea IS one vast mass of upheaved granite, without traces of minerals or metal ores, the strata tilted and piled topsy-turVy. Everywhere the work of volcanic erup- tions is to be seen. Such a thinly popu- lated region, considering the fact that it was an absolutely new country ana the fruits and small game were so plen- tifu1, I did not suppose could eXlSt. The natives we saw from time to time at distance mostly; they went entlreiy naked Their buttocks extended out $ and even 10 inches. this repulsive deform- ity constituting a fleshy support amply capable of sustaining a child In sittlng position. Nor was this their most mark ed peculiarity. Some of the nursing mothers threw their breasts pack over their shoulders or under their arms. at will, to feed the infant carried in a shng between their shoulders.
 "The Papuans are a very unattractlVe race to look upon. In arms they Were primitive to a degree that was astouno- A.A Al,... 10N that I saw their only weapons being stone hatchets. Of the use of metals they seemed to be entirely ignorant. In the dry seasons they made their homes III caves, which they found or excaVateo for themselves. Some of these cave dwellings I visited, discovering iras- rnents of their repast and occasionally broken stone ax. In the rainy seasons they live high in the trees, where they buiid runde houses of sticks laid around and entertwined with the branches, thatched with dried alang-alang, ana reached by shaggy looking stick ladders.
 "Mpst startling was the solitude, the Restitution of life and motion. in the great central plateaus which we reached in our gradual ascent from the river lev el. There were plenty of small creatures of the squirrel tribe, some of the pecunar nig-headed 6eer we have in Java, and an odcasional tiger cat. rather handsome
 
 saw in-my wide journey from the mouth of the Fly river on the southeast coast of Geelvink bay on the northwest not single beast of prey, unless those pretty little spotted tree cats could De d1gnlned by that name. Not kangaroo of either the tree climbing or. grass-jumping va riety was seen, nor any of the dingos or wild dogs elsewhere reported. l did see a number of specimens of the great bat called by the natives kalong or flying dog' with its curious coat of light brown hair and its wing expanse of feet truly a formidable looking creature, but not hurtful as found it.
 But the birds there is, verify believe, vaster profusion of more beautiful tints and delicate plumage in New Guinea than anywhere else in the world. They fairly famed through those sombre forests, which but for their bright hues and sharp cries would have been funer- eally suggestive. What paradise the interior of New Guinea would be for a naturalist! From the great cebu, which devours stones. and the cassowary, through all the species of peafowl and the birds of paradise. down to the cock atoos and the wood pigeons, there were birds of beauty in never ceasing variety of numbers.
 "At suitable stations along the route had the soldiers nail 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 de- termined then and henceforth that no other nation could lay claim to it, we gave a rousing cheer, and 1t must have been music in the ears of the solitary postholder whom the government had even then for some years maintained on the coast The poor fellow probably didn't see a friendly face more than half q. dozen times year. He lived in block house, watching the coaling station for the Dutch war vessels in those waters"