Perth Amboy evening news., 1921-10-13

'The huge island of New Guinea
is probably the most 'unspoiled'
savage country in existence today"
says a bulletin issued by the Ma
tional Geographic Sociey in regard
to the island the former German
portion of which recently has been
placed under the control of Austria
liza by the League of Nations.
Holland, Great Britain and Ger
many, who divided the island
among them-on paper-in 1883
have done little more than place a
tenuous fringe of outposts and mis-
sions along the coast. The spacious
interior has been left largely to the
numerous wild tribes whose chief
outdoor sport is collecting human
heads and who not infrequently
make cannibal feasts off the remaln
der of their enemies anatomy.
This out of the way island, with
IFS thousands of u q miles of I'M
explored territory, a been and
continues to be an interesting field
to the ~geographer, h naturalist
and the anthropologist. as well as
to politicians, statesmen n trad
ers. Counting Australia as a con-
tinent. New Guinea is Exceeded IN
size among the Islands only by icy
Greenland land it may therefore be
said to he the largest island in the
world which supports a considera-
BILE population. The number of the
inhabitants is not definitely known
but is believed to be close to one
million. The islanad is 600 miles
southeast of the Philippines and in
the latitude OF the eastern bulge OF
Brazil. The Equator lies only about
twenty miles eff its northernmost
Point.
Big as Half Dozen States
"This huge island of the tropic
seas covers a greater area than nan
a. dozen or more commemorative or
the United States. If it could be
laid down with it's southeastern
point at Norfolk, Va, it would ex-
tend across Virginia, West vlr-
ginia, Ohio, Indiana. Michigan, Wis
consin, Minnesota and most OF
North Dakota it's northwestern
point resting near the Canadian
| border not far from the Montana
line. And at its greatest width IL
would extend from near the north
ern end of Lake Michigan to a point
Just south of Terre Haute, Ind. The
area is close to 100000 square miles.
Australia has a keen interest in
New Guinea for it lies hardly a nun
dred miles to the north, and the
strait separating the two lands is
dotted with small islands. Since
1906 the southwestern quarter OF
the island has been a territory OF
the federal government of Australia
and the recent action of the League
of Nations now gives the common
wealth jurisdiction over more than
half the island
The costal regions of New
Guinea-practically the only por-
tions known are typical tropical
lands and. as might be expected, are
not particularly healthful. The
mountains of the interior reach a
considerable height, one peak in the
Dutch portion of the island being
more than 500 feet higher than Mt.
Whitney the highest peak in the
United States proper.
Must Live on Ground
"where the Papuans. the natives
of New Guinea originated is an
unsettled point among ethnologists.
The inhabitants of most of the ada
cent islands are relatively fair.
straight haired Malays. but the
Papuans are black woody haired ne
groes like those OF the far-away
Guinea coast Of Africa. 1t was be-
cause of this similarity hat the
name. New Guinea, was given TO the
island. Some of the Papauns have
become mixed with Malays so that
numerous racial gradations exist.
The Papuan seems to demand an