Two Years Among the Savages of New Guinea.: With Introductory Notes on North Queensland.Pitcairn, W. D.
History
Two Years Among the Savages of New Guinea.: With Introductory Notes on North Queensland.
Pitcairn, W. D.
New Guinea -- Description and travel
"On the 25th we continued our ascent, poling, pulling, or dragging the
boat. We passed a number of rapids and by night found ourselves with
hills on all sides of us. We passed a large rock on the right bank of
the river, which seems to be quite exceptional in its formation in this
part of the country. It is a grey stone, full of crystalline needles,
like manganite.
"After we had pitched camp I went to examine a native-built
suspension-bridge, which our hunting party had discovered up stream--a
remarkable structure, occurring in such a locality and built by such a
primitive people as the inland natives are in this district. At the
spot where the bridge stands the river is narrowed by a rocky point
that encroaches on the left bank from a steep hill immediately
adjoining; advantage has been taken of this in building. The bridge,
which is thus only about 70 yards long, is chiefly supported by a large
banyan tree, which grows on the rock on the left bank, about 20 feet
from the water's edge; it starts from this tree at an elevation of
about 50 feet above the pool below, descends in midstream to about 12
or 15 feet from the water, and rises to about 20 feet on the right
bank, where it is suspended to a tree not sufficiently large or strong
to receive the whole of this end of the bridge, and is therefore
supplemented by a post put into the ground, and this again is
strengthened by a cross-bar to the live tree and fixed by stays
extending backwards to trees behind. The material employed is rattan
cane. Of these, fifteen are used to form supports, but as they have not
all been long enough to cross the river, some of them have been joined
by knotting. The floor of the bridge is formed of four of these canes,
but as two appear to have been broken, the second pair have probably
been laid down in effecting repairs. About two feet six inches from the
floor there are two rattans on each side, and about two feet three
inches above these again are three rattans on the lower, and four on
the upper side. They are not plaited or twisted, but are kept in
position by split cane worked from the floor to the middle and top
rattans, which serves the double purpose of connecting the several
strands and would probably prevent anyone from falling into the river
should one stumble in crossing. A transverse section of the bridge
would show it to be nearly V-shaped, but with the sides slightly
rounded. The height of the V is about five feet, the width at the top
about three feet six inches, and the distance of the middle strands
from each other, about two feet. The top strands are kept apart by a
cross-stick, the ends of which are tied to the top of each strand.
Suitable platform approaches have been built at the ends, and the whole
structure is both strong and graceful. Five of our party crossed it at
one time, and from all appearances many more could have done so.
"On the 26th the river had become narrower as we advanced, and we had
to contend with strong rapids.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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