Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1920-01-16

late Baron ROthschild, who sent ont 30
Papua a scientist TO collect rare in
sectS and birds. Another marvellous
insect, of the cricket class, is WHAT is
popularity called the "SiX O'Clock" bee
tie. This little creature exists album
dainty, and is really wonderful in its
| habits. 1t gets its name from the fact
that every night at precisely six O'CLOCK
| il gives forth a resonant, far-reaching
! chirp, exactly like a loud electric bell.
! AT six o'clock one will begin, and in a
| few minutes the mountains will rp-
/ sound with the deafening noise of these
! punctual timekeepers. But long after
the insects have ceased to chirp. the
| amazing echoes Of the hills will throw
! back the sounds, lasting for several
minutes. Travellers in doubt as 10
the correct time set their watches 80
this insects evening chirp.
A cvmpaniOnahle little mite also
known only to the mountains of Papua
is the Bell frog" which produces the
notes OF bell, sweet, soft, and clear,
and all day long can be heard the mu-
steal and friendly tinkle. A tiny gray
frog from under a stone is responsible,
and gives out it's cheerful sound as
warning that its home is not TO be dis
turbed by a careless foot.
In the mountains of Papua roam
pigmy-sized people. the pure PapuaRs.
They are IL race quite distinct from the
coastal peoples and with customs that
are very primitive and strange. Though
small, they are perfect in stature. and
the young people are quite good-loOk-
ing. They are now fast coming With
in the pale of civilization owing to fhe
splendid work Of the travelling magis-
trates of the Papuan administration
a very fine body of civil servants. A
few years back, before these magiS-
trates got in touch with these people,
they were constantly at war, one tribe
fighting another, sometimes destroying
or wiping out whole villages, or, more
often, killing the men and carrying on
the women. Men and women dress
very meagerly-in fact their main COW
ering is necklaces of dogs teeth or
shells, with long white bone pencii
stuck through the lower portion Of the
nose, and called "nose-sticks." The
men paint their bodies with red and
yellow pigments, and carry big bows
and arrows, much bigger than them
selves. The women, always very sub
ject to the men, are silent and shy.
and do not decorate themselves much
In time of widowhood or family mourn
ing they blacken their faces and hair,
already very black, with charcoal, Civ
ing them most grotesque appearance.
While the natives of the coast lands OF
Papua demand tobacco as present.
the hill peoples delight in common
coarse salt, and, given handful, they
will treasure it up to make it last an
long as possible.
Huts Built Up on Poles.
The native villages have the huts
built upon poles, and, while the family
live on the upper story, digs wallow in
awful filth below, and, III consequence.
it is possible to smell a village miles
away. These people are very fond Of
dogs and pigs as pets. Pigs are nat
ural to the island, but dogs are not,
and this is how the natives came to get /
them: Many years ago, vixen PapuaS
(then called New Guinea) wa%Nwsly1oc-
casionally visited by some pluckt Brit
ish traders, a dog belonging to be OF
them proved an immense attractk IN to
the natives; and the trader, see g q
good opportunity to make fnoneF FOR
rather, a cheap way to get large shp-
plies of copra (dried coooanupfor qiD.
of which the natives had plenty to bar
ter away--went to Australia and in one
of the Queensland towns bought UP all
the mongrel dogs that could be had.
He got quite ship full, and returned
to Papua, doing a roaring trade. every
dog selling for at least over twenty
pOunds--or that value in copra. In
turn. the coastal natives bartered their
dogs to the mountain natives, but the
breeds from mongrels have deteri-
GRATED until the wretched things now
seen are hairless, ugly creatures, petted
while alive, but much priced after
death for their teeth, which make the
native jewelry.
Papua will presently loom large in
commerce, for 1T is a land of marvel
Gus resources, and It's soil is of rich
fertility. Every tropical plant product
thriyes wonderfully. and British enter
prise has shown that, with wise and
progressive administration, this island
should be one of the brightest jewels
,f the British empire,