Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1911-09-12
PAPUAN SAvAGES
The Most Treacherous of All the
South Sea Natives.
A TRIBE OF HEAD HUNTERS.
The Solomon islanders Kill and Eat
Their Enemies as an Incident Of
Their Weird Religious Rites-Storm-
ing House In q Treetop.

Their Enemies as an Incident Of
Their Weird Religious Rites-Storm-
ing House In q Treetop.
The name Papuan is that given TO
the dark skinned people who inhabit
the greater number of islands In the
part OF the Pacific ocean known as
Polynesia and Melanesia and whose
headquarters, as it were, are In the
great island Of Papua or New Guinea.
Under this description come the in
habitants Of the Solomon islands.
So evil has been the reputation OF
the Solomon islanders that until quite
recently they were carefully avoided,
and very little was known about them.
They have the name OF being the
most treacherous of all the south sea
natives. yet; considering the treatment
they have received In the past at the
hands Of white men, this is not to be
wondered at Indeed. the wonder is
that they allow any white man at all
in their country. But now that they
have had a chance Of seeing some
more favorable specimens than the
dregs of humanity who formerly drift
ed to the south seas they are much
improved. and a man who treats them
fairly may. as a rule, go among them
without fear
Still, even now there is a beautiful
uncertainty about the life Of a south
sea trader. One day he may be sur
rounded by cringing natives who obey
his every word. But some night, If
he has cheated the Papuan too gross
ly, there is murder In the moonlight,
and the trader is never heard of more
Often, however, there seems to be no
reason for the natives turning against
the whites 1t is simply that they OBJ
ject to having a trader In their midst
So they burn his goods and end by
killing him.
The Solomon islanders are as keen
head hunters as the Borneans and
every year, except where they are
held in check by the British govern
ment, set out on head hunting raids
pure and simple Although cannibal-
ism is still practiced In the wilder
parts Of the group, 1t is nowadays
a matter of diet. The islanders do not
generally kill and eat people for en-
joyment, but either because their re-
ligion demands a human sacrifice or
because a head is needed for some
ceremony.
In ISABEL, one of the largest islands
in the Solomon group, the natives build
houses in the highest trees to escape
from the attacks Of head hunting par
ties, who sometimes come as far as 200
miles in their search for skulls. One
of these houses was built in a tree 100
feet high. All the lower branches had
been cut off, so that the stem was
quite bare until the platform, some
eighty feet from the ground, was
reached Access was had to the house
by a rickety ladder composed of rungs
twisted cane. When an attack is ex
pected the women and children take
refuge In these houses. while the men
keep watch. They warn each other of
the approach of a feet by curious
cry which once heard is never to be
forgotten. These houses are substan-
TALLY built, as often the inhabitants
have to withstand long siege in
them. The floor is made of plated
bamboo laid on a layer of bark which
rests upon the platform. The walls
are of bamboo, and the roof is thatch-
ed with sage palm. The particular
house to which have referred meas
ured 80 by 10 feet, and forty persons
had been known to take refuge in it.
If the attacking party land and the
men cannot resist them successfully
they. too, ascend to the tree house. A
pile of large stones is always kept
ready for emergencies outside the door
of the platform, and these the men
hurl down on their foes. Sometimes,
however, the enemy construct shelter
beneath which they can work away
and cut the tree down. and they have
even been known to ascend the tree
while the inhabitants were Off their
guard and set fire to the house.
Nowadays, however. head hunting is
INDUCED in only on special occasions.
Often. indeed, when a head is required
the chief gives notice of the fact to-
the different tribes and offers a reward
for one. The chiefs of the villages
look around. and If in any of them
there is a native who has made him
self Objectionable for any reason they
decide that his head shall come off and
the reward be earned. The victim is
not told of his impending fate, but is
carefully watched by man who has
been told to secure his head. He
watches every movement Of his vic
tim and when a favorable opportunity
presents itself quickly and remorse-
lessly kills him, cuts of his head and
carries it to the chief. who pays for it
in shell money. This even happens to
white men if they have made them
selves unpopular. Money is paid over
for the skull. which goes TO join the
chiefs collection.-John Foster Frazer
in New York Tribune