IN THE WILDS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 245, 16 October 1934, Page 5

IN THE WILDS.

MISSIONARY LIFE.

CANNIBALS OF PAPUA.

NATIVES FORBIDDEN LIQUOR

Tie wilds of New Guinea and the hostile and cannibalistic tendencies of some of the natives hold no terrors for some people, says the "Evening Poet." They certainly do not for the Eev. B. T. Butcher, F.R.G.S., or otherwise he would not have spent thirty years on behalf of the London Missionary Society blazing the trail of Christianity in those parts. Mr. Butcher is one of the senior members of the London Missionary Society, and he is a through passenger to Sydney by the Makura, which arrived to-day from San Francisco. He is en route to Aird Hill, Papua, where he is stationed. He has been on eighteen months' furtough in England and is returning to resume the work which he started at the beginning of this century. Mr. Butcher is a brilliant conversationalist. In a short time he recalled the massacre by natives in 1901 of Messrs. Chalmers and Tomkins, two members of the London Missionary Society, and their eleven native bearers, and said that he followed in the footsteps of these two unfortunate men. They met their fate at Goaribari, which is about 100 miles east of the Fly River, almost immediately after they set foot h) the country. Mr. Butcher, therefore, commenced the missionary work in that part of New Guinea, and he said it was '"ost fascinating because the subjects gere cannibals. A look of surprise on the face of the reporter at this statement drew a smile from Mr. Butcher, «'ho said that his main difficulty with the natives was to try to understand them. "I had to learn to speak their language to get friendly with them, and « was most exciting at times," he said. Since then, however, we have got setwork under way and we are now aiming at building an indigenous church. « is a slow process, but I think it will materialise It is easy to put churches m places, but it is much harder to get a church that will stand on its own."

Two Distinct Types. There were two distinct types of people in New Guinea, continued Mr. Butcher. The eastern people were Melanesian and were really allied to the Maori, and the western people, among whom he worked, were known as the delta people, because their houses were built in the mud on the sides of the streams that formed the delta. The delta was formed by a series of rivers, including the Fly River, which was 50 miles wide at its mouth. In the district where Chalmers and Tomkins were killed the houses were entirely different, some of them being up to 700 feet long. Some of the dwellings, which were thatched, were solely for men, the women being admitted only on special occasions. In the houses were images at the bases of which were the skulls of people who had been killed and eaten. Although it was gradually being stamped out, cannibalism was still rife in certain districts. Within the last year cannibals had made a raid near Moresby, but under the influence of the native administration in Papua, which was one of the finest in the world, the practice was becoming less common. "Less than three years ago I called in at the Government station at Daru when on my way home and was informed that a group of cannibal raiders from the Fly Biver district had just been captured," said Mr. Butcher. "On an investigation being made about a score of dried heads were found strung up underneath one of the native houses." When he first went to the country, said Mr. Butcher, he had to build his own house, but this had now been replaced by an up-to-date two-storey dwelling which he had also built. The original house was built of native timber, but the white ants had destroyed it. He also built a- launch, and a photograph shows it to be a creditable effort. Clothes Not Encouraged. Everything possible was done by the Government and the Missionary Society, remarked Mr. Butcher, to prevent the natives from wearing too many clothes, which were considered to be unhealthy. There was a great deal of rain in the country, and if the natives got wet they would not change their clothes nor would they keep them clean. Every effort was made to see .tiiat they lived as near to the native condition as possible. Difficulty , however, was experienced by traders selling clothes to the people, many of whom greatly prized the European dress.

Intoxicating liquor was absolutely forbidden among the natives, and a person supplying it was liable to a line of £20 for the lirst offence. Consequently, little trouble was experienced as a result of drink. The Government also secured the native ownership of land and nobody but the Government could buy it. This was only done when the Government felt that the native did not need it. All land was leasehold; nobody could make it freehold.

During his leave, said Mr. Butcher, he travelled about 14,000 miles in the British Isles speaking and lecturing.