The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1920-01-17

"a continent, then Papua British
"a New Guinea) is the largest
island in the world. This terri
tory is made up of the mainland Of
Papua itself and many small island
groups. Papua lies to the north Of
Australia, and includes the much
talked-of territory formerly called Ger
man New Guinea 1t is land of Won
derful scenery, of strange peoples, of
the grandest commercial possibilities.
1t is the richest asset of the common
wealth of Australia, writes Thomas ].
Mcmahon in the Illustrated London
News.
Through the center of the island
runs a great mountain chain, termed
the central mountains, many of the
SUBMITS running from 5000 to 10000
feet in height. These mountains are
covered all the year round to the ut
most peaks with the most vivid YER
dure. Under the bright blue skies of
the tropics and the flashing sun, they
are at all times grandly imposing,
standing out, as they do, like masses
of FURNISHED gold. Away In the sum-
mits. seldom traversed by the white
man, are most uncommon scenic beau
ties. The effects Of sunlight and mists
to be seen In looking over the great
valleys are wonderful In the extreme.
Such mist effects are not to be found
in any other part of the world. Some
day tourists will flock to Papua and to
the wonderland of it's mountains. The
mists are remarkable, coming and go
ing, folding and spreading, rising and
falling, changing from a snow-white to
gray, and sometimes in the flashing of
sunbeams to brighter colOrs. At times
with magic suddenness the miSts van
ish. leaving the mountain tops above
and valleys below standing out sharp
and clear, and revealing the great red
gaps in the hillsides, from the amazing
landslips that are ever going on. ac-
companied by noise like the booming
of great artillery.
Mountain Villages and Valleys.
Round about and all along the noun
tain-sides are hundreds of small native
viIlages-brown spots for all the world
like the nests of some giant bird. These
villages are perched on the ends of
spurs, and even on the very Drinks of
precipices, and are approached only by
hidden tracks, such is the caution of
the natives to guard against the sud-
den appearance of any tribal enemy.
The valleys are superb as seen from
the mountain spurs and looking over
the dense, dark jungles, through which
are streaked flashing bands of silver,
the courses Of the mighty rivers so
numerous in Papua. Beginning in some
mountain torrent-some waterfall, per-
haps-these wide, swift-howing rivers
rush to the sea through jungles that
are thickly planted with an amazing
variety of commercial timbers. and
from which some day soon thousands
of sawmills will be sending to the coun-
tries of the empire immense quantities
of timber and the pulp for paper.
The mountain-sides are walls of
moss and fern. Giant trees of i'm
mense girth shoot up, the branches
thickly festooned with bright towering
creepers, the great trunks gripped by
monster vines with powerful clinging
stems. and leaves whose length and
breadth are measured in feet. High in
the branches sounds the strange, IN
musical cav of the gorgeous Bird of
Paradise; for this bird Of the most
brilliant plumage-more brilliant than
any other bird in the worlds, after
all. but of the mean, low family of the
common crow. Papua is the only
country in the world that knows it is
the home of the Bird of Paradise.
There is q wide variety, and the law
protects the bird with such severity
tina. very heavy punishment is in
flfcted for shooting it, or even for steal
ing its feathers. No sale of the feath-
ers under any circumstances is allowed,