A DECLINING RACE.

Northern Advocate, 27 January 1922, Page 6

A DECLINING RACE.

INLAND PEOPLE OF NEW G TINEA

AUSTRALIAN EXPLORATION,

There are few places in the world today to which white men have not penetrated, yet until the Federal scientific expedition lately reached a point 200 miles up the Ramu River on the mainland of the New Guinea mandated territory the natives there had never seen a white man (states the Melbourne "Argus"). Mr TV". J. Jackson, the Cinematograph, operator sent by Australasian Films, Limued, with the expedition, by arrangement with the Commonwealth Government, lays stress upon the dfficulty that was experienced in gaining the confidence of the natives. Nearer the coast natives are, it appears, recruited for the plantations, but after 100 miles had been travelled up the river it was all virgin territory ' as far as previous exploration was concerned. > "From, this point," relates Mr Jackson, "we passed a number of small native villages. In each was a Targe hut j used by the elders as a meeting place. At night time, the women being exclud-,! Ed, the men hold wild festivals to propitiate their deities, or rather, I should say, their demons. In the wet season there is much sickness, and this is generally attributed to the machinations of the demons of neighbours. War is declared, and sanguinary fights occur. A dusky warrior proudly showed us four cuts on his left arm near the shoulder, and we were given to understand that he had killed four men in the last tribal fight. What struck me most was the small number of children in the villages. It is undoubtedly a declining race.

"•They are a happy-go-lucky people. There is abundance of tropical fruits and vegetables—bread fruit, wild bananas, sago, sugar-cane, and nuts of all descriptions. Then there arc wild pigs, and the river is full of fish, which the natives catch in traps. The cooking arrangements, while simple, are effective. Fire is made by rubbing two pieces of wood together, and fuel is always handy. Earthenware pots made out of clay are suspended from bamboos over the fire, and each member of the family has his or her little bowl in which the meal is served. These bowls are often beautifully carved. The bamboo is the native's chief standby. It serves to build his house, and is a ladder to get into his house, as a receptacle for water, and also to make roads and bridges. One would hardly credit a race such as this with artistic taste, but some of the carving I saw indicated the possession of artistic knowledge. The native is also a capable engineer. He builds suspension bridges over .wide rivers, hung from trees on either side. From the bridge a pathway with a rail Q(Q one side is suspended.

"I saw no sign of any intoxicating drink being manufactured, but what is just as bad is that the natives ' dope' themselves with the betel nut. They dip it into a mixture of lime, which changes its colour, and they then chew it until they become stupefied. They all smoke —men, women and children all go about with big cigars in their mouths. This will appear curious. Tobacco grows wild; they dry the leaf, and roll it into the shape of cigars. I smoked several, ; and found them very acceptable.

"Talk of fairy glens in pantomimes! What I saw one day, about half a mile from the river, was more entrancing than anything I had ever imagined. Attracted by the sound of tom-toms and reed pipes I strolled to the village. Round a big fire were seated many natives, and standing in the middle was the orchestra. All about were coco trees. The light from the fire reflected among the trees created .a fairy palace, with hundreds of weird-looking columns leading up to it. The music was wonderful. Perfect time was kept, and the performance had evidently been well rehearsed.

"So far the missionaries have not gome far up the river, but they are numerous on the coast. I understand that the associations were obliged to register as limited companies in order to be able to employ native labour. Both these associations of German Soman Catholics are powerful and enterprising. Among the members are expert mechanics, electricians, engineers) and other skilled men, who teach the natives trades. The associations build motor ships, and have a fleet of such vessels on the coast. They have the only sawmills in the mandated territory, and seem to be very successful in their operations. "I saw no traces of metals being known to or used by the natives, but I heard rumours about a Frenchman having before the war secured a concession to work metals between the Waria and Markham Rivers. He had, it was said, to fulfil certain conditions, but. the war intervening, the eon-

cession may have elapsed. Fabulous wealth was said to exist in the shape of osmiridium and gold, but whether this was all idle rumour or not I had

no means of ascertaining. It is very possible that precious metals will be unearthed, but the Germans do not seem to have done much prospecting work. I was told that orders were sent from Germany to concentrate upon the production of copra, and this I can understand. From what I could see and learn tie copra wealth is enormous. Hundreds of islets or atolls, not more than 6ft above sea level, are densely covered with coco trees. To come into full bearing takes about 10 years, and then there is an uncpasing harvest. The nuts fall to the ground when ripe, and this goes on all the time. There is no season.

"Orchid-hunters are understood to have made rare discoveries in the Pacific Islands. We saw no orchids of any value. Though in every direction the eye' rests on green foliage, on luxuriant vegetation, there is a great I.ick of brilliancy of colour and of the gorgeous masses of flowers generally associated with descriptions of the beauties of the tropics. It is possible that some travellers have had different experiences, but I can only describe what I actually saw. Occasionally, I gathered an odd • flower of beautiful hue and shape, but within a few hours it always withered away. Of course there may be other districts better favoured, but all along the River Ramu the or-chid-hunter would have, I think, a bad time.

"The natives were so timid, and we had such difficulty in making them understand and in understanding them, owing to every tribe using a distinct dialect or language, that I could learn little of their religious beliefs. As far as I could make out they believe only in spirits. Polygamy would seem to be prevalent, and the more wives a man can obtain the less work he does. The woman is the beast of burden. She collects wood for the fires, and does all the rough work. It is to this that I atributc the small number of children, as the baby is so ill-cared for that unless very strong, it rarely survives its early years."