Missions -- New Guinea; New Guinea -- Description and travel
It was near here, a few years after, that a _beche-de-mer_ party of seven
were murdered; and on the opposite side of the bay two cedar-seekers were
waylaid, and lost their lives. We went into Sandbank Bay, and I landed
at the village of Domara. What a scene it was! The women rushed into
the long grass, and I was led, after a good deal of talk, up to the
village--only to see, at the other end, grass petticoats disappearing,
the wearers hidden by the quantity of stuff they were carrying. One poor
woman, heavily laden with treasures, had perched above all her child, and
away she, too, was flying. Never had white man landed there before, and
who knows what he may be up to?
The following incident illustrates the shocks a traveller must put up
with in New Guinea.
It was resting-day at a village, far away from the coast, and, spreading
my chart out on the middle of the floor in the small native house in
which we were camping, several sitting round, I was tracing our journey
done, and the probable one to do, when strange drops were falling around,
a few on the chart. They came from a bulky parcel overhead. Jumping up
quickly, I discovered that they were grandmother's remains being dried.
Our chart was placed on the fire, and the owner was called lustily, who
hurriedly entered and walked away with the parcel. It was altogether a
hurried time, and spoiled our dinner. Feeling convinced that a suitable
locality for the settlement of teachers might be found in the
neighbourhood of Orangerie Bay, I resolved on returning thither, and we
anchored at Kuragori, on the east side of Dufaure Island, on April 25th,
1879. I went ashore, and found the people delighted to meet me. The
chief, Tutuaunei, seems a fine young fellow. The people are
good-looking, clear-skinned, and very few suffering from skin disease.
They were quite at home with us, and a number accompanied me inland. In
strong trade winds, the vessel could lie under the lee of the mainland
opposite. We got on board, and steamed round to the north side,
anchoring off Bonabona.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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