The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-12-19
ISLAND SAVAGES
 HAVE PHILOSOPHY Creation Ialee of a Wild Race
 of People HOW LIFE CAME TO MEN At the Beginning Half of Humanity Was FooI--That's Why Men Die and Snakes Renew Their
 Youth-Romance.

man colony of the Bismarck archipel- ago.
 They have studied out the basic prob lems of the life of man. They know how the first men were created, in the dust of the earth even if not wholly of 1t: thus they provide at the start problem for tue students of comparative religion. Rather merry at the thought of oeatb they nave reasoned out a wholly sats- factory hereafter and they have discov- cred why 1t is that when we are dead we stay dead. The secret of everlasting youth was in their possession until the original fool threw 1t away and left 1t to the snakes. That leads to the first man stamping on the head of the snake. a re- 1ntroduction of the same element in the problem of religious development. l These few tales from Father Meier's collection will serve to illuminate. so far as they go, the savage ideas of the begin ming and of the end together with few natural pictures of such life as man must lead wherever his lot may Ile
 There is no time lost in guesses at a flrst cause. It is he, just he. No one seeks to know the cause of the first ! cause, there is no lengthening backward, chain of inquiry into the creation of the world or the universe. It all begins with the utmost simplicity
 The Creation of Man. He drew two figures of men upon the ground; he scratched his skin, and as the blood trickled down he sprinkled the two figures Then he broke off two leaves and covered with each a figure After a short time these were men. The name of one Is To Kabinana that of the other To Karvuvu.
 To Kabinana went away, climbed CO., coanut on which the, nuts were bright yellow and picked two unripe nuts and threw them onto the ground. where they burst asunder and became women. When To Karvuvu saw the two he asked as to their origin, saying Where then, are i these women to be found." To Kabinana informed him. "Climb up a cocoanut tree, he said, s'pick two green nuts and l throw them down."
 To Karvuvu threw the nuts down. but 1 so awkwardly did he do it that the lower ends of the nuts hit the ground Out of 1 these nuts developed two women with noses fattened out all over their faces ] Now when he saw that To Ksbinzna's 1 women were more comely than his own he did not rest until he had married one l of them because she had 80 greatly taken his fancy. But his own women he scorned because their noses were such d 1 sight. 1 So now when a brother-in-law Is too attentive to his sister-ln-law 1t is because l To Karvuvu took his sister-in-law in mar riage. But To Kabinana was dspleased at this and said, You have brought death upon our race'' 1 To grow old gracefully is the most that humanity may now hope to attain for one must grow old as the days roll up the 1 tale of years It should not really be so l the dream of immortal yout hwas always dream, the mistake of making half of humanity fool brought age to all
 Immortal Youth Is Lost.
 To Karvuvu baked breadfruit To Kab- mana going around chanced upon him 1 and asked, Are you cooking anything?''
 Yes. indeed"
 "Why are you cooking without letting our mother know? Bring her half bread l fruit"
 was once more young girl, for she had l shed her skin.
 Now where's my mother?" To Kar- vuvu asked.
 l "I am she"
 But you are not my mother" he re- piled
 1 No? I am she indeed" l But you don't look as she did"
 No? have shed my skin" l He kept on crying obstinately for his mothers former skin, for he could not | recognize her. 'I cannot find out from your present appearance that you are ] really she. Where have you left your own skin?'
 "I threw it into the water.r she an- swered. land it has fioated far away by now"
 l To Karvuyu still wept on. This new skin of yours can't bear at all; I'll go hunt your old one!''
 So he. got up and went forth and sought and sought, and at last he found it hang I Ing on a bramble where the water had I tossed it. He took it and came travel l ing back. He drew 1t over his mother | again.
 To Kabinana came and found them both at home and he asked him: Why have you drawn over our mother the skin she peeled off? You are a fool for sure, Now our descendants must always die. but the snakes. the small as well as the great snakes, will slough their skin" That's how it comes to pass that the snakes shed their skins. Really we ought to be doing that. but the snakes have taken our place in this matter of the skin.
 To Karvuvu because he interfered with the skin of men and because we cannot shed them, but only the snakes Being very angry he stepped on the snakes head and that's why it's so broad.
 This is the felow,' he said. "who has robbed us of the chance to change our skins"
 Thus it comes about that we cannot shed our skin. but only the snakes Orig inally that was what we were meant to do so that our bodies might always be made young again.
 As if it were not bad enough to have to submit to the signs of advancing age somebody had to invent death. Really 1t was very simple, just mere matter of disobiging child. Better manners would have kept immortality on earth.
 Why We Die.
 A good old woman was dead. She dug herself out of her grave, quite out of the grave she dug herself
 She said to a child, Fetch me some fire so that I may get warm
 But the child refused to go, 1t obeyed the old woman not at all, in vain was all her asking.
 So the old woman died for good.
 If tho child had only been obedient we should none of us die and stay dead. To be sure they would have buried us. but