New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1902-02-26
HUMAN HEAD HUN TERs.
fhe savages 81 Pol nesta StiIl Ply
This Horrfble Trade.

The aSavAge1#O1 fROIyAe1tAsaSf Hi s1s1y5s
This Horr1bleET rade.
81 IN the scarce known islands Of the,
Pacific sea New Guinea, Borneo.;i
Cram, Gilolo and others too numer-i
ous to nenti ton nan still exists ID the
1primeyal state, and that most horribleI
OF practices, head hunting, Is still IN
dulged in Ia spite ef all efforts Of vari-s
Gus governments and missions as well
as philanthropic societies who have
come IN contact with the people.
s#5 Just as the scalp lock on the belt Of
the young buck Indian was a token Of
manhood, SO the CORY head impaled on.
a tall pole over the hut Of the would be
young warrior, Papuan or Dayak, pro-
claims to all the prowess OF the youth
shenceforth man and eligible for the
council and the wooing Of the maidens8
1T lis immat erial how the trophy be OBJ
tanned, whether By ambuscade or In
fair battle. Generally it's the former
The candidate for martial honors sim
ply waits his chance by night In some
.neighboring village as craftily and pa
,tiently as a leopard on the prowl the
kris or a poisoned arrow does the work
swiftly and silently, and the severed
head has ample time to cool before the
deed is discovered and calls for retri-8
button. Ss 4. $s i$$&S
d Thus an incessant vendetta and car.
mage go on, and only by living in In
accessible forests and strongly stock
AIDED places is It possible at all for.
the tribes to save themselves from an
Inhalation. OF the vast island CONT
nent of New Guinea the western or
Dutch part is the worst looked after
and it often happens that numerous
raiding parties in their great war ca
noes come swooping down the coast
before the northwest monsoon and:
carry death and desolation into the.
comparatively quiet British portion
around the mighty Fly. river, opposite
Torres strait. BY the time the news
is carried to Thursday island and the
gunboat starts away in pursuit it is
generally too late, and the marauders
have vanished. r \ q i:jE Il 4
The writer was present once at the
capture Of a war party, and forty
eight heads were taken from the cal
noes. Hanging and deportation to Pc
nal servitude seem to be but a slight
deterrent, for the terror recurs almost
as regularly as a plague OF locusts.|
These Papuans are hardy, warlike|
people and expert bowmen, and they,
rely on their skill with this potent
weapon solely, using their clubs for
the dispatch Of wounded foes
The Dayaks Of Borneo, and their.
.neighbors, on the other hand, are I'M
favor Of the s'sumpitan'' or blowpipe,|
shooting little diminutiye but very cum:
ningly poisoned arrows. The .ssumpi-
tan" has often a spear head attached
to the outer end, like a bayonet on a
musket. For close fighting they rely
on the dreaded .parang," a heavy, hol-
low ground broadsword about two feet
long, with the handle often carved Of
ivory and ornamented with gold and
pearls, the wooden scabbard covered
with human skin and hair. 81
They count him a poor warrior who
cannot sever head clean with one,
blow delivered backhanded. Even II q
mountainous part Of the Malay PENN
sula, north of Malacca, in the D1nd-
tngs and Hegri Sembilan, there is to
this day a remnant tribe of head hunt
ers called the Sa-Ki, s. !,