Evening star., 1926-05-09
FLYERS TO SEEK PYCMY RACE
BEHIND IMPENETRABLE JUNGLE
Plane Gives Stirling One
Chance to Reach
New Cuineans.
Rich Collections Likely
of Birds and Wild
Animal Life.

An airplane. backed by an army
of nearly 400 men, Is now launched
on the most determined attempt yet
made to explore the worlds last great
unknown land" and it's pygmy in
habitants. The airplane and the
army compose the American-Dutch
New Guinea expedition under the au
spices of the Smithsonian Institution
which DR.. Matthew w. Stirling is
leading. According to word Just re-
ceived at the Smithsonian from Dr.
Stirling. the expedition has started up
the Memberamo River, headed for the
Snowy Mountains.
For the 400 years since what is now
Dutch New Guinea was first seen by
Europeans, the mountainous backbone
of the country has resisted the at.
tempts of civilized man to penetrate
its secrets. The coastal jungle has
lnterposed its muds and thickets, its
levers and poisons, and many who
have tried have died or have come
away baffied. Since the jungle inter
feres, the obvious thing to do in this
day OF air flights to the North Pole is
to rise above the jungle, and that is
DR.. Strings plan.
The Memberamo River, by which
the expedition is entering the un-
known land, has it's mouth on the
north coast of Cape d'UrviIle The
expedition Is working south up the
river to the junction of the Rouffar
by which it hopes to gain access to
the mountains. 1t is establishing vari-
Gus supply bases, from one of which
the 1ackey transport plane which DR.
Stirling took with him from this coun-
try, will operate.
Eyes of Expedition.
The Yackey transport is to serve
primarily as the eyes of the expedi.
ton. 1t will reconnoiter the river
split jungle to determine the best ap-
proach to the mountains; it will at
tempt to find the hidden villages of
the pygmy peoples known to dwell in
the mountains; it will carry cartogra-
piers to make maps of this virgin
land. and, if possible, it will make
landings in isolated spots for natural
history collections.
When it left San Francisco last
Fall. the expedition comprised one
Yackey transport plane and five men:
DIR. Stirling, leader and anthropolo-
gist: r. X. Peck, photographer; Hans
II. Hoyte, chief pilot: A. f. Hamer.
assistant photographer and mechanic,
and s. A. Hedberg, historian of the ex-
pedition. Today it comprises a total
personnel of between 500 and 400 per
sons and has the official cooperation
of the Dutch East Indian government.
whose ships transport the expedition
and will maintain it's communications
with civilization.
The scientific personnel makes up
but small part of the 400 human
beings now making their way up the
Memberamo River under the leader
ship of DR.. Stirling. The bulk of the
party are native carriers. soldiers and
convicts. Their main function is to
transport and protect food supplies
for the explorers. Except for few
wild pig. wallaby, cassowary and
some game birds, the jungle of New
Guinea offers practically no animal
food. The main plant foods are sago
and coconuts, but these are neither
adequate nor certain and no foreign
expedition can subsist on what the
country produces locally.
Carriers Play Vital Part.
Carriers are therefore vital to the
expedition. DIR. Stirling has 20 Dyaks
for this purpose, recruited from cen
trail Borneo. In addition there are
more than 200 native JavaneSe and
Ambonese soldiers as we'll as Malay
convicts. They will work as earriers.
build the barracks necessary at the
various bases to be established and
protect the expedition from the dan.
gers known and unknown to be met.
A Dutch captain and two lieuten-
ants command the military detach
ment. A medical officer and two medi-
cal assistants are responsible for the
health of the expedition.
Since the expedition plans to ex-
plore an area of many thousand
square miles on which no white man
has set foot and which contains with
out doubt many species of plant and
animal life new to science. il includes
specialists in several fields so that as
little as possible may be missed.
DIR. Stirling himself will take care
Of the collection of data not only on the
mountain pygmies which he hopes to
find but on the Papuans who inhabit
the coastal plains. Both pygmies and
Papuans are among the most primi-
tive races of mankind. A British ex
pedition of 1911 found the PapuanS
still using stone axes and shell knives.
carving their canoes out of solid tree
trunks with these primitive instru