W. D. Pitcairn

“ The boatswain, in cutting some of the rigging adrift, received a severe blow from one of the boats as it was clean lifted off the deck by the wind and carried over the bulwarks into the raging sea. He was laid up in his cabin for a fortnight. Having got rid of her heavy spars, the schooner righted herself, but what a wretched spectacle she presented! Stripped of all her beauty, robbed of her tapering spars, what was once a model craft had now become a mere hull.
In a hurricane the sea is never rough, but the surface is one seething mass of foam, with a blinding mist ”

“ Imagine a man 3 feet 6 inches in height, of a chocolate colour, 35 years of age, having a Herculean chest, with arms the length of a child's. An immense head covered with a shock of hair falling on his neck in ringlets, a flat nose, and a mouth stretching from ear to ear. Add to all a light summer suit consisting of a palm leaf round his loins, and the picture is complete. He was, without exception, the most monstrous specimen of Papuan humanity in the whole of New Guinea. As both he and I understood the language spoken on the southeast coast, we soon became on friendly terms. ”

“ Every few miles you come upon a settler's homestead smiling with cultivated fields and orchards, where all kinds of tropical fruits are grown, such as the mangot, granddilla, banana, pine-apple, lemons, oranges, pomegranates, paw-paws, etc. Small herds of cattle are to be seen grazing in the bush, and there is the lovely tropical bush itself, with its variegated colours, whose silence is broken only by the mournful cry of the curlew or the peculiar weird note of the mopawk. ”

“ In navigating the waters of New Guinea and touching at the various islands and mainland, if you be on a trading expedition, great care must be exercised, as the sight of a large quantity of "Trade," such as tobacco, hatchets, etc., immediately kindles a desire in the natives to acquire it, and unless you keep a careful watch and are well armed, they will kill you for the sake of the booty, and then set fire to the vessel. Many a vessel and many a white man have met that untimely fate during the last three years, and among them several of my friends. ”

“ At the time of my visit to Wari I was the only white man on the island. The day after I landed I had an attack of fever, and what with sickness and the gale still holding, I had perforce to remain here for a week.
All the natives are passionately fond of chewing the betel-nut; they take with it lime, which they make by burning coral and then crushing it into a fine powder. It is carried in boxes made of coco-nut and beautifully carved. They also eat with it a leaf which is rather peppery but pleasant to the taste. ”

“ When a woman dies beautiful wreaths of wild flowers are placed on the corpse, which is laid on the knees of two of her nearest relatives in the house. Her friends gather round, and weep and wail all night long, making the darkness hideous with their groans, but some of them feel real grief at their loss. At sunrise a canoe is in waiting, which conveys the body to her native place, which may be an island a few miles away. ”

“ When sunset approaches, the beauty and tranquillity of the scene are enhanced by the exquisite tints thrown on mountain, scrub and sea. There is no twilight here. It is dark immediately after the sun has set, so there is little time to drink in the glories of the departing day. ”

“ We were in about seven fathoms of water, and in dangerous proximity to a coral reef, just on our lee. To add to the mortification of our enforced imprisonment, the breeze was every moment increasing in strength. Of course we might have slipped our cable, but what should we have down with only a light anchor to depend upon? We should have been obliged to relinquish our voyage, and return to China Straits. Seeing some natives on the beach we hailed them, when they at once boarded us. Upon offering them several sticks of tobacco, three of them dived and attempted to free the anchor. ”

“ We may deplore the brutality of these intertribal fights, but it is the sefights or wars that perpetuate the race by saving its members from the fatal effects of sloth, and a lack of interest in life. If in Europe even, all war or chance of war were at an end, the spirit of true manliness might in time languish, despite the duties, occupations, and generous ambitions of civilization. ”

“ In New Guinea you eat your Christmas dinner in the open air, with the thermometer at over 100° in the shade. All nature seems weighed down by the oppressive atmosphere. One feels too enervated for any exertion, beyond imbibing cool drinks or smoking a cigar in a cane lounge. ”

“ The land of New Britain was dimly visible in the distance, and a dewy freshness filled the air. Had we made it, the weather could not have been more propitious. Our British ensign was run up to the masthead, the anchor hoisted in, and precisely at 10.30 Mr. H——r, having taken up a position on the wharf, fired his revolver as a signal to be off. We were close in to the shore, and as there was no room to manœuvre, our skipper, S——g, sang out, "Get out an oar and pull the bows round." ”

“ The strongest wind blows from the westward and is known to the natives as an "Arras." It occurs in the months of February and March, and as a rule lasts for a couple of days, when there is a lull. It blows with great force, causing a nasty sea, so when anchored it is wise to "pay out" plenty of chain, or you may find your vessel has dragged and is being drifted away by the tide at the rate of six or seven knots an hour. The tide runs parallel with the coast. This is comforting, as, should you drift away in the night unawares, you run no risk of being stranded on a coral shore. ”

“ All the men have the fully-developed breasts of a woman. This is all the more remarkable, as such a peculiarity, as far as my knowledge goes, is unknown in any other part of New Guinea.
The distance across Milne Bay, from the South Foreland to East Cape, is about ten miles, and from the mouth to the head of the bay somewhat over twenty. Its shores are lined by numbers of villages, all of them densely inhabited and in a prosperous condition. The villages are a mile or so apart, and the natives dwelling in them are of a light brown colour, some approaching in fairness to Europeans. ”

“ Sugar growing has always been an important industry in Queensland, and was most profitable, but if the Government carry out their present intention of prohibiting the importation of Kanaka labour, the above industry will be crushed, and the immense capital sunk in mills and machinery will be irretrievably lost. In North Queensland the climate is very hot, and it is impossible for white men to work in the fields, cutting the cane, also the high rate of wages that would have to be paid them would take away most of the planter's profits. ”

“ At first I mistook her for a half-caste, but I reflected that such a breed is unknown in New Guinea; and afterwards, from my enquiries, learnt that both her parents were natives, pure and simple.
There are splendid plantations of yams, taro, bananas, plantains, sweet potatoes, and groves of sago, coco-nut, and the betel palm, extending from the beach for several miles inland. Behind is a vast amphitheatre of mountains, with numerous rivers and creeks.
The soil on the flats is most fertile, and capable of growing anything. ”

“ The days were scorchingly hot, the decks not fit to stand upon. We were obliged every few minutes to throw buckets of water on them to enable us to move about, and to prevent the seams from opening. It was anything but a pleasure having to steer for four hours beneath such a sun. Down below in the little cabin it was just as bad, more stifling, if possible. How we longed for night to cool our fevered brows! ”

“ It is as much a standard coin of the realm as the sovereign is of the British Empire.
New Britain is the only savage country I have been in where the natives have a true money currency of a standard value. Some of the men wear this money in circles round their neck, and a few of them are the happy possessors of a mile of it. This money, which is called by the natives "Dewarra," is never used as an ornament but solely as a medium of exchange. The men clay their hair all colours, red, yellow, etc., it has rather a pleasing effect. ”

“ There is a plantation of them at Su-au (South Cape) , and on Wari (Teste Island) . This industry, if undertaken by Europeans, on a large scale, would, I have no doubt, pay handsomely. In Queensland it pays, and why should it not in New Guinea?
In Fiji and Samoa, cotton, sugar and tea are grown to advantage. The climate there is much the same as that of New Guinea, therefore there is nothing, so far as I can see, to prevent them from being cultivated in the latter country. The two things most necessary to develop the above-mentioned industries are cheap land and capital. ”

“ All the girls are dressed in their best, which means a clean grass petticoat, with beautiful garlands of wild flowers round their heads and a necklace of beads encircling their throats. It looks lovely. The men paint their faces in the most gorgeous style, using different pigments, and vieing with each other as to who can look the ugliest. They are also decorated with bands and streamers, and in their own opinion are dressed in the height of fashion. After gorging themselves with food and coco-nut milk, the musicians strike up, using the "tom-tom" a kind of drum, and singing a New Guinea carol ”

“ When the unwholesome food and change in the climate is further considered, one cannot wonder at the result. Such is nearly always the case in new gold-fields.
All the native houses on Sud-Est are built on the summit of the highest hills or mountains. I should estimate the total population to be from 3,000 to 4,000.
The natives I saw are smaller than those living on the mainland, in fact, as far as I could judge, they seemed to be half-starved. The coco-nut trees are very few and far between, and yams anything but plentiful. ”

“ This is undoubtedly the reason why they build their houses in such inaccessible places, invisible until you are close to them. The natives of Brooker Island constantly make expeditions to Sud-Est in their large war canoes for the express purpose of obtaining heads, and as they are more powerful than their opponents, seldom leave without a number of these ghastly trophies. No wonder the natives of Sud-Est live in mortal dread of them. ”

“ They stayed on the island all night, but were unsuccessful. Being anxious to earn the tobacco, and knowing that "no turtle no tobacco," was our motto, they remained another night, and succeeded in capturing a huge turtle weighing close on four cwt.
Their plan is to choose a clear night. They then lie in wait near the beach; the turtle leaves the sea for a moonlight walk, when the natives, armed with big sticks, rush upon it and turn it over on its back, in which position it is helpless. They have a cruel practice of burning the shell off the turtle when alive. ”

“ The natives living on the south coast manufacture different kinds of pottery, such as cooking-pots, dishes, bowls, water-jugs, and the like. They are also very clever at making fishing-nets, mats, baskets, lime-bottles, and last, but not least, canoes. As we have our shipwrights, so they have special men who understand canoe-building. It is astonishing how well they make them, considering the rude tools they have to work with. ”

“ When one of their tribe dies they believe that his spirit tenants his former home, and if he be a "Taubada," that is to say a person of importance, a neat fence is erected round his grave. Quantities of yams, taro, betel-nut, and sometimes his native tomahawks, shield, &c., are then placed within the enclosure, which is held sacred or "Tabu." Should he perchance die in Queensland, his spirit will not return to his birthplace, but will, according to their belief, be lost; the natives therefore will be wild, and will in all probability kill the first white man they come across, as an equivalent. ”

“ She herself is a half-caste Samoan, and as intelligent and accomplished a woman as any European.
The house is situated on the top of a high cliff, commanding a magnificent view, with Blanche Bay a few miles to the north-west, the Duke of York Islands in the distance, and to the eastward loomed the towering mountains of New Ireland.
On the far side of Blanche Bay, the eye is arrested by two mountains named respectively the "Mother" and "Daughter," conspicuous from their peculiar formation. ”