Evening star., 1937-07-03
Preparation
CONTINUED From First Page.)

very hard in the last two days repack-
ing the plane and eliminating every
thing unessential We have even dis
carded as much personal property as
we can decently get along without,
and henceforth propose to travel
lighter than ever before I have re-
tanned only one brief case, in which
are my papers as we'll as my extra
clothing and toothbrush.
All Fred Noonan has Is a small tin
case which he picked up in Africa. 1
notice it still rattles, so it cannot be
packed very full
Despite our restlessness and disap-
pointment in not getting off this
morning, we still retained enough
enthusiasm to do some exploring of
native villages few miles from Lac.
We commandeered truck from the
manager Of the hotel and with Fred
Noonan at the wheel. because the
native driver was i'll with fever, we
set out along dirt road We forded
sparkling little river. which after a
heavy rain, so common in the tropics,
can be turned into a veritabla torrent,
and drove through a lane of grass
taller than the truck We turned into
beautiful cocoanut grove before A
village entrance. The natives grow the
cocoanuts mostly for their own use
and few are exported from here for
the commercial markets.
The village was built more or less
around a central open plaza. All huts
were on stills and underneath the dogs
and pigs held forth. We were told
that the natives train pigs as watch
dogs" Fred Noonan said he would
hate to come home late at night and
admit being bitten by pig.
Some Of the huts had carvings
around under the caves, grotesque
colored animals and crocodiles being
the most numerous They reminded
me of the work done by some African
natives.
In the village were several native
women, the first I had glimpsed. One
was bending over small black cook
ing vessel from which protruded two
enormous cabbages. l also noticed a
number Of familiar looking vegetables
which are grown hereabouts, but much
Of the food used is imported.
My only purchase here besides
gasoline has been a dictionary of
pidgin English for 2 shillings. It
was well worth the price to discover
that all native women are called Mary,
had some difficulty in understand
ing why ito sew" should be sew
im-up."
Plane Is biscuit Box"
The natives have their own names
Tor everything For instance, air
planes are called "balus," or bids. :"
Small planes merit only "bai nutung" !"
or insects" My plane has acquired
special distinction over all other metal
ones here, which have corrugated sur
faces. The Lockheed is smooth and
to the native resembles tins in which
certain biscuits are shipped from Eng
land. Therefore it Is known as the
biscuit box"
wish we could stay here peace
fully and get to know something of
the country. New Guinea is coun-
try subject to earthquakes and I
was told that a quake only a year
ago shifted several acres of land into
the bay, forming the present tiny
harbor. They told us that much of
the land Is really only silt, held to-
gether by tangled underground.
Along the rivers pieces Of land"
sometimes break off and, as islands,
f1oat hundreds of miles to sea before
disintegrating. Now and then animals
are trapped on them.
Then, Of course, there is the ever
present jungle to lure one into ex-
ploring. Like the desert or sea it has
q strange fascination for some hardy
souls. We shall try to get of tomor-
row, although now We cannot be
home by the Fourth of July as We
had hoped.
Copyrishs. 1881