Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1897-09-24
BRITISH NEW GUINEA.
Queer characteristics OF the Dark.
Skinned Nativoa
They Are 30 Strong In Their Family and
Friendly Attachments They Wiu
Not be Separated. Yet They
Are Cruel

graphical society in London Sir William
Macgregor, administrator of British
New Guinea, read paper on that coun-
try and its people. In the course Of his
paper he said that the colony now called
nexed to the queens dominions by tie
first administrator September !, 1854
The natives probably numbered from
100000 to 100000. The majority were
of a rich or dark bronze color, but It
varied from a brown, that might be
called black, to a ycllowish brown. The
darkest people were confined to the gulf
and Fly estuary. Inland tribes at the
British German boundary, at the center
of the island, were of light bronze;
the Tugeri, the tribes ON the Morehead.
at Biroe on the Upper Purari, and those
near Kovio Mount Yule) were much
the same color as the dark brown Of
Port Moresby.
In temper they were cheerful, full Of
fun, and generally so contented as to
offer a refreshing contrast to the more
complaining Britisher. An excellent
characteristic Of the Papuan was that
he was not quarrelsome nor violently
passionate. Suicide was very rare
among them, compared with Fijians,
for example, and was far less frequent
than among the Line islanders. When
it did take place, it was, as rule, the
outcome OF one of the strongest and
best characteristics of the race--affec-
tion. Occasionally a woman would
climb a tall cocoanut tree and kill her.
self by jumping down because she had
become convinced that she could never
again meet among men with a husband
SO good as the one she had lost. This
family affection was so strong as to be
not infrequently an impeachment to the
employment of men away from their
own districts. 1t was not often that .
man cared to remain longer than one
year in the constabulary because he
was separated from his family and
friends.
The London Missionary society found
it difficult to get the wives of native
teachers to live in strange villages for
the same reason. The strong feeling of
affection that the Papuan felt for his
relations and neighbors did not. how
ever. prevent him from doing to others
what appeared terribly cruel things.
1t must not, however. be forgotten that
in certain circumstances cruel murder
was, according to their code of ethice,
q conspicuous virtue. moral duty. A
homicide could sometimes be paid for
in property, but the more natural and
more common method was to have
blood for blood. Little that was pos
tive could be said about the religious
belief of thes people. Apparently they
oil. without exception, believed that
man was compounded of body and
spirit, and at death did not return.
Hence, in waking up sleeper, they pro-
ceeded to rouse him by degrees, that
the spirit might have time to return
and take its place.
There were four mission bodies at
work in the colony. By mutual under
standing they occupied distinct dis
tricts. The oldest was the London Mis-
sionary society, which commenced OPP
erations in that part Of the world some
three-and-twenty years ago. They &C.
cupied the coast line from the British.
Dutch boundary to East Cape, with the
exception of Ravao island and the Me-
koe district. which was being worked
by the Roman Catholic Mission Of the
Sacred Heart. In British New Guinea,
however, were needed many more mis-
sionaries and teachers. There were
probably hundreds Of thousands Of ma
tives there who had never heard of the
Gospel, Of the charity of the Christian
religion, or of morality. They had no
old religion to break down to make
room for the Gospel; there was a gov
eminent that was only too glad to facil-
itate mission work where this was pos
sible. The force of teachers at present
at work there. the money now being
spent in New Guinea by our mission
bodies, would never reach the whole Of
our own heather in that colony.