GLIMPSES OF THE SOLOMONS.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11630, 11 May 1912, Page 2

GLIMPSES OF THE SOLOMONS.

(By B. 'Kelly.)

The Solomons Islands, whence :f Spanish legend is to be believed, King Solomon obtained the treasures that enriched the Temple of Jerusalem, may be reached' in about a week's steam in a north-easterly direction from Brisbane. The group consists of 14 large islands, and innumerable unimportant ones, and is disproportionately divided between Great Britain and Germany,- Great Britain owning considerably the greater territory. The total land area is 15,000 square miles, and the native population is roughly estimated at 200,000. The chief product of the Solomons, as of all the Pacific Islands, is copra, of which more than £50,000 worth is exported annually from the British protectorate alone. Other articles of trade are ivorv nut shell, and pearl shell, and beche-de-mer, but these are regarded as "side lines." their total annual value being less than £2OOO. The vovage thither is not without its minor discomforts, for the vessels that trade with the islands are designed, more for the accommodation, of cargo than for the convenience of an occasional passenger. The copra boat on which you make your journey is pervaded 'everywhere by the rank Oily smell of the product, .which, although you become accustomed to it, and even grow to like it later, is at first decidedly nauseating. And for a day or two you may be mildly irritated at the proximity of 'the numerous' protesting pigs and various other live stock that bear you company. Later, however, when, you are Hearing the equator, and the Pacific begins to wreathe its inevitable spell about-you.-the discomforts dwindle into and you find yon are content to 101 l in. your deck chair and marvel at the wonderful color of sky and ocean, or abandon yourself altogether to the delicious langour of the atmosphere. Soon the ocean becomes dotted nnd lined with coral reefs, some standing boldly out of the sea, others discernible only by the discoloration of the water. More than' once, faintly outlined against the horizon, you see the stranded hull of an unfortunate schooner that has ventured too close to a reef in sea.rch of beche-d'e-mer. Early one morning you awake to find the great Lion Mountain on Guadalcanax looming indistinctly in. the distance, and i day later you arrive at Tula.gi, the port of'the Solomons and the headquarters of the resident commissioqier. A score of tfhite-sailed schooners, awaiting the arrival of the trading vessel, are anchored, with the dingy, oldfashioned gunboat, in. the harbor. The Union Jack hangs limply from Government House, an unpretentious, weatherboard- building, set on the summit of a precipitous hill. As the vessel d'rops her anchor, native canoes in dozens dart out from the benches, and soon the ship is surrounded by a horde of excited islanders. "Tubbac! Tubbac!" they clamoir, insistently, immediately their presence ;s recognised. "What name yon speak tubbac' you rebuke them, and a shrewd-faced native answers with the ready tongue'of the experienced cadger. . "Mary bclonga me pleiity sick, suppose she no critchem tubbac, she die nnish." ' You give him a stick ot the blacktrade tobacco as a reward for his ingenuity, and he does not wait until your back is turned before he begins to fill Ms own cavernous pipe. You leel that "Mary" will not be much benefited by the gift. Ashore, in the shade of a clump ot palms, a group of traders arc exchanging experiences. They are bronzed, vigorous fellows, with square-jawed, resolute faces; men who it is easy to see. are possessed of more than the average amount of courage. Most of them-have come to the islands filled with- the idea of making speedy fortunes, for. reasons known only to themselves. They are of all nationalities, and maybe, of all shades of character, but here no questions are asked. So long as he "plays the game," a man is a man,, provided his skin is white. Inside the store of a big trading company, a brisk business is being done. The steamer lias brought in fresh supplies, and the natives are anxious to spend their month's wages—a matter of 10s —uu •'tubbac," and lava, lavas, and other gaudy rubbish dear to the heart of the blackfellow. For two days the port is astir. The traders conclude their holiday, and. after seeing their copra aboard the steamer, leave for their respective trading grounds; the natives have spene their money, and once more the place settles down into its habitual quietude, which is not likely to be disturbed again for a month or more. Here at Tulagi, you do not see the natives in their true, natural conditions. Gradually they are adopting the customs of civilisation that do not happen to clash with their indolence, and. in consequence, the picturesqueness that n other parts they have some claim to, is in this locality entirely absent. European clothing, in all stages of disrepair, is much in evidence; a hat and usually very ragged and altogether insufficient singlet being regarded ; as full dress. In one respect, however, their filthiness. the natives hereabouts are in harmony with their brothers elsewhere.

Not- far distant from Tulagi is Savo, a- small island which has the distlncton of containing a volcano, whose 'ast eruption is still remembered, with teiTor by many of-' the older inhabitants. A dense, formidable jungle extends-from the mountain to the sea. The beauty of the Vegetation is incomparable. Pines and rattans, twining and intertwining in the 'utmost confusion, • endeavor vainly to smother the lank cocoanut palms along the coast. Occasionally a wild banana vialm, laden with its unpalatable fruit, or a heavy-topped paw-paw tree, breaks defiantly through the undergrowth, and' here and there flaming crotons, or the great scarlet blossom of the hibiscus, create dazzling patches of color and add to the .wild riot of nature. It. is impossible to' find your way through the jungle unaided., "and you must pay a heavy bribe of tobacco, as much as "ten feller stick," to obtain a guide to:. conduct .you to the 'crater. Even, then you must make the latter, part of the journey alone, for no native would dare to venture the whole of the way. For a dreadful tale, much resembling the Japanese legend of Fuji, is attached to the mountain. Many years ago, it seems, a great chief was lured from the side of has wives one moonlight night by a woman more beautif ill than his latest bride, from Florida. FTe has never since been seen', but often, when the moon is shining, the medicine men still hear him screaming deep in the heart of the mountain. And the screaming of his ancestor sadly disturbs the, peace of the ruling potentate. Many times the debil debil, in the form of a wooden image kept safely in n bouse set apart from all other dwellings, has been entreated, and, indeed, commanded, to stop 'tiro perturbing noises, but without avail.

The interviews with the clebil debil are of a most impressive character. All the adults of the village assemble at the clebil debil house, decked in the colored grasses' and feathers that once adorned them on.their head-hunting expeditions, before there was a mighty Commissioner to place restrictions, on their pastimes. The women seat themselves in a row, and rhythmically beating the torn toms, or clapping their hands after the manner of Salvation Army lassies, chant a monotonous, though not unmusical, dirge. At a. given signal the men rush forward until they are within a. few y'afvls of the women. Loudly stamping their feet on the hard earth, they circle about, now advancing, now receding, swaying their bodies in th-° attitudes of the utmost abandon, and threatening each other with furious gestures until you are fearful of a general melee. Just as the excitement appears to have rear-hod its highest pitch, the chanting of the women ceases abruptly. The men fall breathlessly back . into their places, and the medicine man. wearinga towering headdress and . a mask of fearful aspect. a>nd carrying in his hand a long, stout stick, stalks haughtily into the debil debil house. Fo.r a time he pleads in a low. impassioned voice, but" if the image prove obdurate, the pleading soon changes into'a wild, harsh remonstrance. Often, indeed, the medicine man. irritated hevond forbear-inoe. belabors the debil debil soundly with his stick, and there have even been instances when lie has dragged the image .-.forth, and caused it to be ignominlously burnt as am 'impnster. When he reappears, he iuforms the affrighted natives of the result ..of ;■ the interview,' and. with badly

shaken nerves, they hasten away to their huts, glancing apprehensively into the darkness that may contain, who knows, how many roving debil debils much more to be feared than the material On©; ■;; .- t .. j. In appearance the debil debils oi every village are strikingly alike. Ilie face is long and oval-sltaped, the lorehead broad and prominent, the chin pointed, and the mouth a thm, cruel line The eyes are narrow, and) sliglrtiy slanted, and a small tuft of hair stands upright from the centre of the head. The images are generally from eight to ten feet high, and the whole aspect is most malevolent. They are carved under the direct supervision ot the medicine men, but how each tribe has come to adopt tlifesame figure and features, neither of which conform to those of anv of the types of Solomon Islanders, must remain a matter for conjecture Not many years ago there was a skull house in every village of any importance. Now. howeverj the natives. clearly understand' that retribution; swift and severe, will follow if evidence is forthcoming that head-hunting is still practised, and. therefore, alt-hough they are still known to indulge in the pastime on occasions, they are careful not to display their trophies where they might be discovered by the inquisitive eye ot the man! vake (white man). In consequence most of the skull houses have disappeared, and those that ar& left are generally in the last stage of disrepairThese houses have little to distinguish them at- first sight from ordinary dwellings, the chief difference being in the doorway, which is a. wide, high opening, instead of the small hole that in the ordinary native huts serves as a means of ingress and egress. The outer walls in many cases are adorned by primitive drawings of strange, unreal creatures. What these drawings . are intended to represent is not clear, and the natives cannot, or, what is more likely, will not, enlighten you on the matter. '"^\\ b , feller all-a-same brother belonga you. you ask. pointing to a figure somewhat resembling a. human being, and a. native stolidly assents, although he knows all the time that it is nothing of the kind. Inside the huts skulls of varying sizes, some bleached dead white, others blackened- by smoke, grin, horribly from the' walls and rafters. The Solomon Islanders do not observe a uniform method in preserving the skulls. The heads are sometimes placed' in a fire until the flesh is loosened, and -then taken to- the sea, where the women scrape the bones clean with a sharp shell. But more often they are msrely smoked over a fire "until the fle-sh i> dried: and" withered. Tho atmosphere of a. skull house is very unpleasant, and in any case yon do not care to linger long in the vicinity, for the natives plainly resent the intrusion of strangers, and a 'glance at the evil countenances of your guides awakens the thought that they may even now be coveting your head, and may momentarily forget the existence of a stern "big feller master stop a'longa. steama" —in other words, the Commissioner and his gunboat. Origin-ally only the heads of enemies killed in warfare were placed in these bouses, but there is evidence that of late years the natives have taken to displaying in thein the skulls of relatives or friends who have died from natural or other causes.

The native villages, with their cleverly constructed!, .leaf-thatched l huts, are most picturesque, but a day spent in one of them leaves you with feelings' only of resentment and' disgust. Filth of all kinds is allowed' to lie about the houses, to ba squabbled, over by the long-nosed flat-sided' pigs, and the attenuated dogs that prowl discontentedly about- the village. One thing you will immediately remark is that nil the dogs have lost their fangs, for their inhuman, masters invariably deprive the animals of their teeth, which are greatly prized, as ornaments, generally being made into a, neck-lace, to be exchanged sooner or later for a bride. Inside, the huts are dark and foul-smelling. In one, where the stench is more than usually oppressive, you discover the carcase -of a dog, which is being used to poison the barbs of arrows —a nirst effective method, certainly, but one not calculated to increase your love of the islander. Tn another, side by side with a woman who'is suckling a young pig that has lash its natural parent (a not infrequent spectacle), a. skin-disoaspd native is calmly bathing his festerin.u: sores in the. water that will, in :0\ probability, be afterwards used; for domestic purposes. This ignoring of all the law's of sanitation has its inevitable result, and tlie 'majority .of ihe islands are suffering from some malignant disease or other. Bukwa and gur guii are appallingly prevalent, and leurosy is more common than is ceuerally believed, especially among the "saltwater" tribes of the western Hand's. Every village has its t'r>ro and sweet nntoto patch close at hand in the bush. These gardens are tended' entirely by the women, while their husbands stay at home tendinsr their bows and arrows, or building their canoes, or. as is more often the -case, sitting idlv under a rndm tree and gazing stunidiy.- animallike, into vacancy. Among many tribes it is the . practice to place a "taboo" on the young taro patches until the yams are well grown, and a hid time is in store for the unfortunate thief who makes d'oprcd at ions on a gardNi and afterwards learns that it was under the protection of the'spell. If he has eaten- the taro. he immediately becomes very ill. and- if his faith be strong, he knows that his end is near. He repairs at once to his hut. nulls a mat ever'his face, and refusing henceforth all food and drink, calmly awaits his.death.