, 1912-05-04

pierced and the lobes of the ear, and vari-
Gus things hung thereon from u pencil Of
bone to circular pieces Of cane and the claws
of birds. 1t is remarkable that during our
whole trip we saw no evidence of tattooln9
nor any cicatrices or mutilatiOn Of the body.
Skin disense was exceedingly rare, and only
seen in one or two instances in the adults,
and rather more frequently amongst the
children. In fact, the natives generally
were a remarkably healthy lot OF people. In
time of war, and probably on festive occa-
sions, they paint themselves either wholly
or in part with yellow or red clay, or with
ground charcoal and oil. The women wear
a tapa cloth rami from waist to knee. They
also have tapa cloth cloaks which cover the
head and reach to the ground this l have
seen nowhere else in the territory. In their
dubus or communal dwellings they Keep
rolls of tapa cloth blankets, as the nights are
cold on the great plateau.
They have no pots or cooking vessels
they wrap their food in leaves and cook it
over the fire. May | claim for the Papuan
that this is the genesis Of paper,bag cook
erv, and that these dusky savages have led
tho way in o great culinary reform? The
only exception | saw was in the case of the
leaves of an oleaginous plant which they
boiled as d vegetable IN bamboos We saw
LIZ " POJ 0"JF
ty is that it is not largely practised. From
tue inhabitants we saw, the women folk
seemed less numerous thun the men, but
this may have been owing to the warriors
keepino them in the background. Children
seemed fairly plentiful. The time of the
men is principally occupied IN clearing
ground for gardens, hunting the pig, casso-
wary. and Aying-fox, building houses, max
ing weapons, and cutting down sHgo trees.
The women make all tie sago-a continuous
and exacting ocCupation-look after the gur-
dens, do the cooking, and carry the water
required for household purposes III bamboo5.
They also hammer out the tapa cloth from
the bark of a tree, and look after the rising
generation.
These bushmen are certainly not a no
madic people. Their buildings axe sub
stantinl, and, in every instance, they had
q considerable garden and a number OF
village pigs. Their weapons consist OF
the bow and arrow, a heavy pig spear
which is not used for throwing, and a
man killing club. Very rarely we saw stone
clubs; these Ind probably been introduced
from the coastal districts The bow and
arrow men wore plated gauntlets from wrist
to elbow On the right arm. III stone axe
and adze are largely used. The natives DO
little carving except on their arrows (Which
are made of bamboo, often tipped with bone
or II cassowary's claw, spears, and wooden
clubs. They also carve out wooden bowls
to hold water; these have no ornamentatlon.
The tribes on the western portion OF the pla-
teau seemed to be at war with each other
during our visit; they were frequently met
in full war paint, with bundles OF arrows and
killing clubs; in one instance they informed
us by signs that they were on their way to
fight a neighbouring tribe. Possibly, con-
slant interneciue strife keeps their numbers
down, and accounts for the comparatively
sparse population, as the climate is brbcing
and healthy and the natives sln1u'arly free
from disease and full Of vlgour.
Their method of making fire is superior to
the usual Papnan system They get a piece
of dry soft wood, spit one end and insert a
piece of tapa cloth, then taking Il piece of
cane, which they carry twisted round their
waists, they place it under the wood on
which they stand. Grasping each an en- of
the cane, they pull it backwards and TO
wards vigorously; when 1t has eaten la fw y
through the wood to the tnpa cloth thu heat
Generated is SO great that the cloth mou
ders and is blown into Anne. The W 'oe
.l:.lol ~ to. 90, Hft.o, 1o