Year: 1876

An Australian correspondent Of the Lon.


don Times writes An Interesting case Of
naturalization Of white man among sava-


yes has just come to light. Seventeen


wears AGO the French ship St Paul. with


three hundred and twenty-seven Chinese


coolies for Australia. was wrecked on q reef


Of Rossel Island in the LouiSiade Archi-


peiugo. east Of Uf New Guinea. The coolies


were landed On an island, where they We're


left by the captain. The story Of the China


men i = short one. for. a the natives hap


pened 10 be cannibals. It seemed good to


them to fetch of the tatteSt every day and


eat them. 80 that when at last ship came


to fetch them away there were only seven


teen left. The boat containiU- the captain


and his crew Of eight Freuchmen made the
coast e Australia near Cape Direction, on


the Cape York Peninsula, and the captain


aud crew landed in search Of water. Among


them was boy twelve wears old. named


Nurcisse Pclletier Of St Giles, near Bor-


dcaux, who cut his feet badly in walking


over the rock. and unable to keep up with


the others consequently. when the boat


started on is course he was left behind.


and remained three days alone on the coast.


IL was lying asleep under 4 tree when .


gentle shaking made him aware that he was


in the presence Of three black men and two


black women who made signs Of surprise


and commiseration. They gave him some


food. and led him away without any vio-


lence TO their camp, where he was received


by others Of the tribe in an equally friend


Is manner. He became one Of the tribe


and adopted their way Of living, which, as


he describes II. Is. perhaps. A. primitive as


any that can now be found. Shelter and


clothing are dispensed with altogether, ex-


cept that the women wear 4 small tringed


girdle around the hips. Their food con
sists Of fish which they take entirely by


sPearing and harpooning. fruits, and few


animals They use FIRE for cooking, obtain


ing it by rubbing two pieces Of dry wood


together. Their personal ornamentations


consists Of few scars made by cutting the


flesh with broken bottles and pinching UP


the incision repeatedly until a cork-like ex-
cre>cence Is formed. The design, as cx-


empiicd in his person, consists Of two


straight cords across the lower part Of the


chest the longer Of them about ten inches


in length. about third Of an inch thick


in the middle. and tapering of to the ends,


the other somewhat smaller four or FIVE


short lines parallel to these and above them


on each side Of the front Of the chest all the


lines being about an inch apart some similar
short lines or cracking in front Of the right


shoulder and a few slight ones in front Of
the left besides that he has hole through


the lobe Of the right ear large enough to
hold u piece Of wood Of the size Of five
franc piece when stretched, and finally a
hole through the division Of the nose to ad-
nit a piece OF bamboo as large as a common
lead pencil Just below the n0striIS. They
DO not practice any other mutilation or


modification ot any part Of the body, but
they cut their hair which l. black and
straight-nOt curlcd in the smallest degree J


with broken bottles The incisions applied
to the women differ only in pattern from
! those Of the men. When it rains heavily
! they Try to shelter themselves with pieces
Of bark or branches. but they have not even
I the rudiment Of hut. They seldom stay
/ long in one place They have no stone i'm
I plcments in use their weapons and fish
spears are tipped with iron, obtained from


hoops Of casks picked up on the beach.
Their language, about hundred words Of
which have been written down from Pelle-
/ tiers dictation, does not appear to have any


thing in common with Malay, OF any Pa
puan dialects, Of which vocabularies are at
/ hand 1t abounds in nasal sounds They
are wholly unable TO count, and have no
/ words for numbers. Their relations between
/ the sexes are those which obtain among
animals othsr than man. TIE strongest