The Cordova daily times., 1920-03-03

1 late Baron Rotnscm1u, wno sent out to Papua a scientist to collect rare in-
 sects and birds. Another marvellous insect, of the cricket class is what is popularly called the "Six o'Clock'' bee tie. This little creature exists abun- dantly, and is really wonderful in it's habits. It gets it's name from the fact
 that every night at precisely six o'clock it gives forth a resonant, far-rea ching l chirp, exactly like loud electric bell. At six o'clock one will begin, and in a few minutes the mountains will re- 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 to
 the correct time set their watches to this insects evening chirp.
 A companionable little mite also known only to the mountains of Papua is the "Bell-frog," which produces the notes of a bell, sweet, soft, and clear,
 and all day long can be heard the mu- sical and friendly tinkle. A tiny gray frog from under stone is responsible, and gives out it's cheerful sound as a
 warning that it's home Is not to be dis turbed by careless foot.
 In the mountains of Papua roam a
 pigmy-sized people, the pure Papuans.
 They are a 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 the splendid work of the travelling magis- trates of the Papuan administration l 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 off the women. Men and women dress very meagerly-in fact, their main GOV
 
 shells, with a long white bone pencil 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, giv- ing them most grotesque appearance. While the natives of the coast lands of Papua demand tobacco as a present,
 the hill peoples delight in common coarse salt, and, given handful, they will treasure it up to make it last as long as possible.
 Huts Built Up on Poles.
 The native villages have the huts built up on poles, and, while the family live on the upper story, pigs wallow in awful filth below, and, in 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, when Papua (then called New Guinea) was only oc- casionally visited by some plucky Brit ish traders, dog belonging to one of them proved an immense attraction to the natives; and the trader, seeing a
 good opportunity to make money-or
 rather, cheap way to get large SUD-
 plies of copra (dried cocoanut for oiD !, 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 l 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-
 orated until the wretched things now
 seen are hairless, ugly creatures, petted
 while alive, but much prized after l death for their teeth, which make the i principal native jewelry.
 Papua will presently loom large in commerce, for it is land of marvel
 ous resources, and it's soil is of rich
 fertility. Every tropical plant product
 thrives wonderfully, and British enter
 prise has shown that, with wise and
 progressive administration, this island
 should be one of the brightest jewels
 of the British empire.