IN MUD CLOTHES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 82, Issue 305, 24 December 1938, Page 3

IN MUD CLOTHES

Native I ribes of Remote New Guinea

they live within three degrees of the equator, the natives of part of northern Dutch New Guinea feel the cold so much in high latitudes that they daub themselves with mud in lieu of clothing, writes a Sydney correspondent. News of this discovery by Mr. Richard Archbold, the millionaire leader of the American Museum of Natural History expedition, was brought to Sydney by Mr. R. R. Regers, pilot of the expedition's flyingboat Cuba, when he flew to Rose Bay recently from New Guinea. The purpose of the visit was to obtain equipment which is arriving from the United States. Mr. Rogers said the expedition’s •main camp base had been established at Lake Habbema. at an altitude of 11.000 feet and 250 miles inland from Humboldt Bay. Two hundred people and scores of tons of stores had been flown to the lake aboard the Guba, including 60 Dutch soldiers and 80 Dyaks brought specially from Borneo. The expedition had discovered that Take Habbema region was one of the thickest populated parts of New Guinea. In a valley leading from the lake was a hitherto unknown popula-

i tion, estimated at 40,000. These people had highly organised gardening systems, cultivating chiefly sweet potatoes, with elaborate irrigation systems. They were friendly and peaceful and willing to trade. Captain Rogers said that the scientists had already collected hundreds of specimens, including a bird of paradise, of which only two specimens had previously been obtained. From observations at Lake Habbema, it was believed that mountains that were permanently snow-clad existed further in the interior. Mount Carstenz had been snowclad since June. Mount Wilhelmina (13,400 feet) was ascended by Mr. Archbold for the first time in October. “The expedition's coastal station in Dutch New Guinea is Hollandia, a fishing village about 700 miles from Port Moresby,” said Commander Yancey, the navigator of the flyingboat. “Mr. Rogers has been regularly flying heavy loads of supplies from the coast and landing on Lake Habbema, which is 11,000 feet above sea level. Since July, Mr. Rogers, who is a famous flying-boat test pilot, has flown 330.0001 b. of equipment and 215 men inland.'

“At the Grand Valley camp base there is a population of between 60,000 and 70,000 natives. They are of the Stone Age type, and have no metal implements, but have plenty of sweet potatoes and pigs. Our third base, Edinburg, is about 150 nautical miles from Hollandia. Associated with the expedition are six scientists, including four entomologists, a botanist, and a timber expert. The work of the expedition is progressing quickly and, at the present stage, it would appear that we will be there for another three months.” The airmen of the expedition have nine tree-climbing kangaroos, which they captured and tamed. They have grown fond of the animals and declare there will be trouble if the scientists of the party want to kill and skin them. The Guba is a large two-engined American naval bomber and is worth £60,000. It was flown across the Pacific to New Guinea last June. The Guba’s flight from New Guinea to Sydney took 114 hours, at an average speed of 160 miles an hour. The Guba was the first American flying-boat to land in Australia waters after a direct flight from beyond the Commonwealth. It was the first overseas machine to fly direct to Sydney. On its arrival at Rose Bay, the yellow quarantine flag was hoisted on a flying-boat for the first time.