The Washington herald., 1921-04-24
By J. ID. Newsom

Dy u. Ds NCWSOlu
EOUR thousand years ago . great race OF
L seafarers and traders, from their base at
the mouth Of the Euphrates, found their
way ever eastward until they reached the
American coast. How many generations
elapsed before they finally set foot on the
new continent we do not know. Whether
any single voyaser, sailing from tie Persian
gulf, lived to see the towering Andes 10
matter Of dispute, but the outstanding tact
Is that a people carrying with them The
ideas associated with the cultnre Of ancient
Egypt, In time, centuries perhaps, reached
American soil and implanted the serms of
this culture.
There are still many weak links In ths
chain Of evidence, gap, in our knowledge
which require filing, faulty Jobsersafians
which require correcting. The ISLANDS of
the southern Pacific are the best held Of in
quiry, for here the natives have been little
influenced By contact with the white man
and have preserved unaltered their customs
and beliefs.
In the Early spring Of last pear Ne. my
wife and /, went to New Caledonia, the
largest island at the southern end Of The
Melanesian group, about 1900 miles on TIE
coast of Australia. to help forge, perhaps.
another link in the chain There We found
the native sufficiently free Of civihzaron's
restraint to answer every purpose.
Five days after leaving Sydney We reached
Noumea, the capital Of the island But
Noumea was not our destination, for II has
been in the hands Of the French colonists
for fifty years and the natives In the small
settlements nearby have lost al interest In
their original customs.
The steamship in which We Travelled from
Sydney to Noumea had been small enough,
but the Emu, which took us mp the eastern
coast Of the island, was still smaller. Be-
side It q Camden ferry would look like IN
Atlantic liner. The Emu had Q musical
comedy reputation. Though it Is minute, Its
skipper was enormously fat and round, with
q short, pointed beard. Beneath the beard
his quadruple chin ballooned, fold upon fold.
There were candle light cabins on board ths
Emu which gave directly onto the dining
saloon, where, at irregular intervals, a half
caste Chinese cook threw food on the long
common table Here we began to feel our
delinquencies mention because they seemed
to make Q deeper impression on my wife
than did some Of the grave hazards We en-
countered later. At dusk the Emu tied up
in the nearest cove, where It waited for day
Light to resume its course, and there IL Q
myth, which We were not able to verify,
to the effect that in heavy rsinzorms It alss
scuttles for cover.
A FTER q two days journey We reached
n AUsilu, where our work was TO begin, and
spent several days getting together the small
expedition which was to take % into the
interior. New Caledonia, shaped like a
cigar, il about 400 hlometers long and
seventy hlometers wide. Through the length
of the island runs a chain Of mountains,
abrupt, savage, volcanic peaks which render
the passage from coast to coast difscult, slow
and dangerous. Somewhere to the north Of
Uailu, in the tumble Of hills, there was, we
were told, an isolated tribe which We should
find sufficiently backward to meet our re-
quirements.
After 1--WE days travelling over narrow
tracks which skirted and wound steeply up
the sides Of mountains and down into river
beds We finally reached our destination, q
narrow valley tucked away between efif-
like walls
Confusion reigned In the village, for ws
had arrived unannounced! This, We dis
covered later, Is the height Of bad form
when dealing with natives who have had
occasion to come in contact with q mis-.
sionary. When they are free from prying
ins-a loin cloth perhaps or, II the day II
hot, merely q string of beads-but for state
occasions they cherish aged garments which
once belonged to oncials and traders IN far.
OF Noumea-
So we waited patiently in the blazing sun
Iixht in front Of the chiefs hut while the
latter donned the straw hat and faded blue
coat which comprise his ofhcial regalia. After
much whispered consultation within-it was
m vastly Ike children playing growns-ups-
the head of all the Gwappa tribe crawied
ont of his hut and came toward Us. We
EXCHANGED formal greetings through the in
terurstsr and suddenly the place was alive
with black humanity; men, women and chil-
dren appeared from behind bushes, rocks,
trees. huts; they formed Q swaying circle
which gradually closed In until they were
able TO touch and feel rs, while their syss
rolled with inquisitive excitement.
OF course, We could have explained to ths
ehisf that We were hunting for traces Of an
Egyptian culture, but the wiser, more
practical, member Of the expedition,
ny wite, restrained my enthusiasm and We
merely asked shelter, explaining that ws
came from q r-of land b visit the tribe
The chief, q gray-bearded, blaek-skinned
native with enormous shoulders, arms and
hands, looked rs over thoughtfuIy for &
few minutes while his henehmsn shouted
advice, then he guided us TO an empty hui
- ,,.A. clear 70 M that ve could MAKE