The Cordova daily times., 1920-03-03


 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. It is land of Won- derful scenery, of strange peoples, of the grandest commercial possibilities. It is the richest asset of the common wealth of Australia, writes Thomas J.. McMahon in the Illustrated London News.
 Through the center of the island runs a great mountain chain, termed the central mountains, many of the summits 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 6ou yyil tO n the wonderland of it's mountains. The mists are remarkable, coming and gO- ing, folding and spreading, rising and falling, changing from 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 c0mpanied 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 villages-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 brinks 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 fnaps-these wide, swift-howing rivers rush to the sea through jungles that are thckly 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 inn
 
 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. un- musical cav of the gorgeous Bird of Paradise; for this bird of the most brilliant pluma age-mOre brilliant than any other bird in the world-is, 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 a wide variety, and the law protects the bird with such severity that a very heavy punishment is in- ficted for shooting it, or even for steal ing it's feathers. No sale of the feath- CTS under apy circumstances is allowed, and customs officers search tourists luggage very diligently for any hidden piece of plumage The wing or tail of a bird will be worth hundreds of pounds-one reason why they are sell dom seen in ladies' bonnets nowadays.
 Some Wonderful Insects.
 , In this wonderland of Papua is found the islands speciality, the giant butter hy. These beautiful, many-colored in- sects measure from twelve to eighteen inches from wing-tip to wing-tip, and they have bodies the size of a small bird. Specimens of these butterflies are to be seen in the collection of the