Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1910-10-08

nous scientists, headed by Walter Goodfellow.
the naturalist
The expedition landed at the mouth of the
Mimika river, on the south coast of Dutch New
Guinea in the early part of the year. and at
pushed into the interior While ascending the
Snow mountains, at an elevation of about 1000
feet, the explorers came upon the tribe of pig
mics, which are said to belong to that division
Of the human known as the Negritos.
The Importance of this discovery to apthro
biologists hardly be overestimated because
1t has always been a subject of controversy
among the scientists to whether Negritos ex
listed in the Papuan islands.
The New Guinea savages, Papuans, as they
are called, are comparatively we'll known, but
they are n very different kind of men to the pig
mics just discovered. The typical Papuan is
much taller than the average European, often at
tanning a height of feet, and is strongly
built. The color of the skin varies from deep
chocolate to nearly black. The nose is large
and prominent, and a nose bar of shell, bone or
wood is usually thrust through it. Both men and
women go about entirely naked. Their houses
are generally built on piles, and, as in Borneo,
often communal and of very large size, many
families occupying one building which may be
as much as 700 feet long Then there are re-
markable houses built in trees and known as
'dobbos," but these are used only to escape their
enemies Cannibalism prevails among the Pa
puans, although it is by no means universal
The Negrtos, the other hand, which here
tofore have been thought to occupy only the
Andaman islands, in the Bay of Bengal the
northern portion of the Malay peninsula and the
Philippine islands, enthusiastically short,
no adult standing over four feet six inches while
the women rarely exceed four feet. The average
height is about four feet three inches.
The main features Of this peculiar human
type apart from their diminutiveness. are the
extraordinarily dark color of their skin, which
approaches the color Of a newly blackeaded
stove, the extremely broad nose, the breadth of
which is about equal to the height, and the frizzy
hair, which grows in isolated peppercorn tufts all
over the scalp. Their arms are unusually long.
like those Of the man-ape, and their mental quail
ties sadly undeveloped, not one of them being
able to express a higher numerical idea than
three.
How these little people have been able to
| protect themselves against the many dangerous
animals that infest the section, particularly the
| gigantic gazeka, which has just been discovered
is still a mystery although they have shown re-
markable ingenuity in the invention of weapons
| One, for instance, is variety of Spring gun"
which might prove effective against almost any
| living enemy. 1t is made by setting a fattened
bamboo spear attached to bent sapling which
| Is fastened to trigger in such way that IL is
released by the passerby stumbling against an
invisible string stretched across the track The
spears are poisoned either with the famous
"upas" or some other similar vegetable poison.
and wound from one Of them means almost
instant death.
| Whether such primitive defensive methods
avail them against the huge gazeka is not known.
but the chances are that they find safety in
| retreat.
According to the official reports, the gazeka is
! OF gigantic size and fearsome aspect. II is black
and white striped, has the nose of taplr and
"a face like the devil" Among the English In
habitants of the island, the animal Is known as
Monckton's gazeka, in honor of Mr.. c. A. w.
Monckton, former explorer in New Guinea, who
| first reported its presence in the mountains.
/ Mr. Monckton during his ascent of Mount AL
bert Edward, in the west of British New Guinea,