The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1910-09-02


nous scientists, headed by Walter Goodfellow,
the naturalist.
The expedition landed at the mouth of the
Mimka river, the south coast of Dutch New
Guinea, in the early part of the year, and at once
pushed into the interior. While ascending the
Snow mountains at elevation of about 1000
feet, the explorers came upon the tribe OF pig
mics, which said to belong to that division
of the human known as the Negritos.
The importance of this discovery to anthro-
biologists hardly be overestimated, because
it has always been a subject of controversy
among the scientists as to whether Negritos ex-
listed in the Papuan islands.
The New Guinea savages, or Papuans, as they
are called, are comparatively we'll known but
they 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 seven 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 SHE'LL bone or
wood is usually thrust through it. Both men and
women so about entirely naked. Their houses
are generally built on piles. and in Borneo,
are often communal and of very large size many
families occupying one building, which may be
much 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. Cannbalism prevails among the Pa.
puans. although it is by no means universal.
The Negritos, on 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 dlminutiveness, are the
extraordinarily dark color of their skin, which
approaches the color of 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 are sadly undeveloped, not 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 a variety OF Spring gun"
which might prove effective against almost any
living enemy 1t is made by setting a nattened
bamboo. spear attached to bent sapling which
is fastened to trigger in such way that II Is
released by the passerby stumbling against an
invisible string stretched the track The
spears are poisoned, either with the famous
"upas" OF some other similar vegetable poison
and a 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 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 of tapir and
"a face like the devil" Among the English in
habltants of the island, the animal is known as
Moncktons gazeka in honor Of Mr.. c. A. w.
Mouckton former explorer in New Guinea, who
nrsA reported its presence In the mountains
Mr. Monckton, during his ascent of Mount Al
! bert Edward In the west of British New Guinea,