Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1912-06-06
CROSSING THE
EQUATORIAL Line
ODD CEREMONIES OBSERVED AS
SHIP ENTERS SOUTHERN
HEMISPHERE
Island of BOrneO and Malay Archi-
peligO Scene of Scientific
Exploration

peligo Scene of Scientific
Exploration
Batavia, Java, March 29-1912
We left Manila. and the hearty
welcome given by the Americans at
that city, will be long remembered.
"Our little brown brothers and sis
ters" of the islands did not appear as
cordial as the people of Japan. But
the Filipinos are essentially NAL
ayan race and inherited character
istics which will require the slow
process of amalgamation and educa-
ton to change. And then the cli-
mate is practically tropical and no
race of white men ever mbatted the
direct, hot solar rays and the moist
heat generated by them, with the
same success as the men with the
brown and black skins. The cli-
mate dominates in the tropics. You
can't ignore it, or forget it. The
white mans burden is a double one
here, if he has to reside here.
AS we passed out of the harbor Of
Manila and headed southwest for the
island of Java, we realized that we
were soon to "cross the line," to
pass over the equatorial belt, and
spend few days in the midst of the
most luxuriant vegetation in the
world. We witnessed splendid
ocean sunset behind the United
States Notifications of Corregidor
the headlands that guard the en-
trance to Manila bay and read in the
Manila papers that Congress had
decided to spend more millions of
the taxpayers money in this remote
part of the world, for army and navy
purposes by increasing the defenses
at Manila. Already vast sums have
been spent here for these purposes
and If the United States proposes to
hold the islands many more millions
will be necessary.
Home of the Wild Man
The next day we entered the re-
gion of shallow seas, numerous
light houses, and many islands, large
and small and several close togeth-
er. All day we passed along the west
coast of the great island of Borneo,
where the wild man" lives. We
searched the high wooded shores and
the flat coral reefs covered with a
few palm trees for the bad black
actor with his sharpened teeth, fear
some eye and hideous voice, but
failed to find any evidences Of him
anywhere. The glass revealed
high banks, sandy beaches, groves Of
immense trees and mountains cover
ed with jungle to their very tops.
Dense forests were seen coming down
to shore line but no signs Of any
human being except at the lonely
light houses. AS we passed close to
the shores at some parts of the is
land, dark ravines were discovered
which well might hide the savage
man and savage beast that are still
supreme masters of much of the in
terror of the islands of. the Malay
archipelago. A few small boats
having one sail, were seen with a
dark skinned native under big straw
hat holding the rudder. These little
boats skirted closely to the shore of
the islands and were evidently fish
ing boats. A long, low-lying coral
reef with the surf gently breaking
over it, covered with tall cocoanut
trees is a purely tropical prospect and
one that has a charm exclusively it's
own.
BOrneo
The steamers course carried us
between Borneo and the smaller is-
lands of Bellitung. We saw both
shores at the same time and the
mountains of Borneo loomed up In
the distance grand, gloomy and pc
culiar" and as far as the eye could
reach. 1t is said that numerous
savage forest-dwelling tribes live in
the unexplored interior Of these is
lands and that sumatra. Borneo, the
Celebes and even parts Of Java have
all the savage life that go to make
up q real dark continent"
Animal and Plant Life
Borneo is the fifth largest island