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THE SAVAGE SOUTH SEAS by Ernest Way Elkington




AGENTS

 America    The Macmillan Company
            64 & 66 Fifth Avenue, New York

 Canada     The Macmillan Company of Canada, Ltd.
            27 Richmond Street West, Toronto

 India      Macmillan & Company, Ltd.
            Macmillan Building, Bombay
            309 Bow Bazaar Street, Calcutta




 [Illustration 1: OFF TO THE DUBU DANCE, BRITISH NEW GUINEA]




 THE SAVAGE
 SOUTH SEAS

 PAINTED BY NORMAN H. HARDY
 DESCRIBED BY E. WAY ELKINGTON
 PUBLISHED BY A. & C. BLACK
 SOHO SQUARE · LONDON · MCMVII

[Illustration]




NOTE


There are various ways of spelling some of the place-names of the South
Sea Islands, _e.g._ Samari, Tupusuli, and Elevera are so spelt in this
book, but the forms Samarai, Tupuselei, and Ela-Vara are commonly met
with. Ambryn, however, is a misprint for Ambrym.




CONTENTS


 PART I

 BRITISH NEW GUINEA


 I • Chiefly historical—Concerning certain discoverers,
 their aims and ambitions—The story of New Guinea, the
 Solomons and New Hebrides, and some things that might be
 altered • 3


 II • New Guinea natives—Port Moresby and its two native
 villages—Huts on poles and trees—Native superstition and
 its result on two tribes • 13


 III • Natives who grow crops of hair—A word or two about
 the women—Duties of married women—How they carry their
 babes, and the philosophy of childhood • 25


 IV • Concerning love and grief—How love is made in New
 Guinea, and some of the charms used to ensure love and
 constancy—The grief of a New Guinea widow • 37


 V • Some native dances and queer costumes—Novel
 blackmailing methods—Woman’s vanity and a censured
 dance • 48


 VI • Outrigger Canoes, their appearance and
 construction—The famous Lakatois—How the natives catch
 their fish; and a few words about fish that climb trees—A
 trip down the coast, and an unpleasant experience • 57


 PART II

 THE SOLOMON ISLANDS


 VII • South Sea traders good and bad; their ups and
 downs—Nicolas the Greek—The Mambare river massacre—Some
 queer creatures with queerer ways—“A fitting end to a
 wasted life” • 71


 VIII • Natives who have had no chance; their villages
 without streets and their curious huts—The tambu and
 canoe houses—An unlucky trader • 84


 IX • Solomon Islands—Ingova’s head-hunters—How whole
 tribes were wiped out—Savage invasions and clever
 tactics • 94


 X • Clothes and the men—Love of adornment—Natives
 who are not keen on eating—Methods of cooking their
 food—Betel-nut chewing • 104


 XI • Some clever ways of catching fish—How the bonito is
 landed—Native nets—Pig-hunting—The sly opossum and the
 crocodile • 113


 XII • A curious religion—Burying the dead, and some
 graveyards—Dances and music—Native artists and how fire
 is made • 124


 XIII • What “hope” is to the Solomon islander—The use of
 the evil eye • 134


 PART III

 THE NEW HEBRIDES


 XIV • Islands that are advancing rapidly—Native houses
 with modern improvements—A horrible method of getting rid
 of the old men, and other burial ceremonies • 143


 XV • Ancestor worship the religion of the New
 Hebrides—Temples and strange figures, and some sacred
 dances • 153


 XVI • Concerning witchcraft—More about burials—The
 gentle art of making love—The rain-makers • 163


 XVII • Native clothing and ornaments—Their arts and
 industries, their canoes and weapons, and their way of
 fishing • 172


 XVIII • The cultivation of copra—The labour traffic when
 slavery really existed, and the traffic in natives of
 to-day • 183


 XIX • A short sketch of the missionary work in the South
 Seas—Concerning John Williams, James Chalmers, and
 others • 193


 SKETCH MAP OF THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS • 204


 INDEX • 205




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS


 1. Off to the Dubu Dance—British New
 Guinea • _Frontispiece_

 2. By Reef and Palm • 6

 3. Off to Market, British New Guinea • 14

 4. Motu Village from the Sea • 18

 5. The Island of Elevera from the Mission Station, Port
 Moresby, British New Guinea • 20

 6. Tree House in British New Guinea • 22

 7. Motu Village, Port Moresby, British New Guinea • 24

 8. In the Pile Dwellings at Hanuabada, Port Moresby,
 British New Guinea • 26

 9. Native of British New Guinea, showing the manner of
 wearing the hair • 30

 10. A New Guinea Dandy • 32

 11. Woman with Baby in bag. Fairfax Island, British New
 Guinea • 34

 12. Dinner Time at Kwato, British New Guinea • 36

 13. A Kaivakuku, Roro Tribe, Central Division, British New
 Guinea • 48

 14. Harvest Dance, New Guinea • 50

 15. Ready for the Dubu Dance • 52

 16. The Dubu at Rigo, British New Guinea • 54

 17. Tattooing, British New Guinea. • 56

 18. Large Trading Canoes, British New Guinea • 58

 19. Old Women making Pottery, British New Guinea • 60

 20. Spearing Fish, British New Guinea • 62

 21. Marine Village, Tupusuli, British New Guinea • 64

 22. Natives of the New Hebrides having a drink • 66

 23. Gold Miners leaving a trading ship, British New
 Guinea • 72

 24. Johnnie Pratt with his Ivory Nuts at Simbo, Solomon
 Islands • 74

 25. Solomon Island Boy climbing after green cocoa-nuts,
 near Gavutu, New Florida • 80

 26. Solomon Island Village, near Marau Sound, New
 Florida • 84

 27. Early Morning, Gavutu, Solomon Islands • 86

 28. Old Ingova’s War Canoe House, Rubiana Lagoon, New
 Georgia, Solomon Islands • 90

 29. On the Fringe of a primæval Forest, Solomon
 Islands • 92

 30. Portrait of a Solomon Island Cannibal • 94

 31. Sacred Skull Shrines, British Solomon Islands • 96

 32. Ingova’s Head-hunters, British Solomon Islands • 98

 33. A Canoe showing the “Totoishu,” New Georgia, Solomon
 Islands • 100

 34. A Lagoon in New Florida, Solomon Islands • 102

 35. Native of New Georgia wearing Sunshade; a sort of
 crownless hat made of grasses: it can be worn at any
 angle • 104

 36. A Rubiana Native, Solomon Islands • 106

 37. A Stormy Day in Rubiana Lagoon, Solomon Islands • 108

 38. Cooking the Meal, British New Guinea • 110

 39. The Reef near Simbo, Solomon Islands • 114

 40. Native Archer shooting Fish, British Solomon
 Islands • 116

 41. Searching for small Octopi on the Reef at low tide,
 Samari, British New Guinea • 118

 42. The Home of the Crocodile, British Solomon
 Islands • 122

 43. A Shrine or Tomb of a Chief at Simbo, Solomon
 Islands • 126

 44. Solomon Islander playing the “Ivivu” or Flute • 130

 45. A Tapu Virgin, British Solomon Islands • 136

 46. Beneath a Banyan Tree, Malekula Island, New
 Hebrides • 142

 47. The Rapids, Williams River, Island of Eromanga, New
 Hebrides • 144

 48. Mount Marion, the active Volcano, Island of Ambryn,
 New Hebrides • 146

 49. A Village in Santo, New Hebrides • 148

 50. Chief’s House, Ambryn, New Hebrides • 150

 51. The “M’aki” Ground and the Jaws of the sacred Pigs,
 New Hebrides • 154

 52. A Memorial Effigy, Malekula, New Hebrides • 156

 53. Drum Grove at Mele, New Hebrides • 158

 54. Leaving Santo, a View of the Mountains, New
 Hebrides • 162

 55. A Sacred Man, Aoba, New Hebrides • 164

 56. The Stone “Demits,” or the Souls, with their attendant
 wooden figures, Malekula Island, New Hebrides • 168

 57. Old Cannibal Chief whom the Artist met on the Island
 of Aoba, New Hebrides • 172

 58. Type of Man from the Island of Tanna, New
 Hebrides • 174

 59. Finishing off a Canoe, British New Guinea • 176

 60. Old War Canoes, near Malekula, New Hebrides • 178

 61. Havannah Harbour, Rathmoy, New Hebrides • 180

 62. Passing the Reef, Aoba, New Hebrides • 182

 63. The Island of Samari, British New Guinea • 184

 64. A Trader receiving Cocoa-nuts, Aoba, New Hebrides • 186

 65. Copra Boys off to the Shore, New Hebrides • 188

 66. The “Blackbirders” in the Solomon Islands • 190

 67. A Yam Shed on the Island of Tierra Espiritu Santo, New
 Hebrides • 192

 68. The Artist’s Guide on Malekula, New Hebrides • 196

{1}




PART I

BRITISH NEW GUINEA


{3}




CHAPTER I


 Chiefly historical—Concerning certain discoverers, their aims and
 ambitions—The story of New Guinea, the Solomons, and New Hebrides, and
 some things that might be altered.

In these days when distance hardly counts, when the cry is heard
that new outlets are wanted for capital, when there are thousands of
unemployed crowded in London, and people are anxious to find adventure,
eager to see new things, to conquer new lands, exploit new industries
and gain more knowledge, it is worth while turning our attention to the
South Sea Islands.

It is strange that so little is known of them, and that so few people
have bothered themselves to visit them. A few missionaries, explorers,
and adventurers have written about and spent a few months on them,
but what is this when there are miles and miles of the most beautiful
country crying out for people; there is wealth, both mineral and
vegetable, waiting for the industry and enterprise {4} of good men
to reap, and, above all, there is a delightful climate and a race of
savages who in themselves repay the inconveniences of the journey.

The chief island is New Guinea, which is the largest in the world
and contains some 340,700 square miles, much of which has never been
trodden by white men. There are no sandy, dried-up districts in New
Guinea or the Solomon Islands, and no long droughts; but rather a
full fall of rain which makes the ground bring forth its produce in
abundance.

There is land out there which some day will surprise people, and when
one considers the difficulty Australia had to persuade the British
Government to annex it, one cannot help laughing at the ignorance
and short-sightedness of the men of those times. It was not until
1884 that the Government sent Commodore Erskine to the south-eastern
portion of New Guinea to proclaim a protectorate over it, and then
only after receiving a guarantee from the Queensland Government that
they would undertake to find £15,000 per annum towards the cost of its
administration.

The Queensland Government had, a year before this, already annexed it.
They knew its value, and had it not been for their prompt action these
{5} valuable islands would now all have been in the possession of the
Dutch and Germans.

Accounts of the islands date back to 1512, but many things go to
suggest that both the Malays and Chinese knew of their existence and
had visited them long before that date. The first Europeans we hear
of who sighted them were the Spanish sailor, Alvaro de Sacedra, and a
Portuguese whose name is not known.

Prior to the arrival of Captain Cook, in 1770, there were numerous
adventurers who gave accounts of these islands. Luis Vaez de Torres,
after whom the Torres Straits were named, passed them in 1660 and
sent to the world a full account of his voyage, but little notice was
taken of it. We next hear of De Bougainville, the French navigator
who arrived there in 1768; then came Captain Cook, and after him many
others sighted the shores of New Guinea.

It was, however, the Dutch who first made any movements to attempt
to find out its geographic and scientific value. They began in a
neat business-like way by annexing that section west of the 141st
meridian of east longitude, and despatching the _Dourga_, commanded by
Lieutenant Kolff, to examine and report on it. He was a zealous man
and, like many other enthusiastic sailors who have visited {6} new
lands, found many things there which no one else has been able to find,
and which have since been proved never to have existed. But some excuse
for him can be found, owing to the disadvantages he was under and the
savageness of the natives. He probably thought that no one in his time,
if they followed him, would live to tell the tale, so he wrote what he
thought “might have been.” Then came the Postillion Expedition in 1853,
followed by the Trinton Expedition and the Scientific Expedition of Van
der Crab in 1871. Dr. Meyers followed in 1873, and many other Dutch
enthusiasts came after him during the next few years.

During this time, however, England was not quite asleep. In 1842 H.M.S.
_Fly_ was sent on a survey expedition and remained there till 1846,
attention being devoted to that part of the island now known as British
New Guinea. The Expedition also discovered and named the rivers Fly and
Aird, in districts where later on many brave and good men lost their
lives at the hands of the natives.

 [Illustration 2: BY REEF AND PALM]

Following this ship, in 1846, came H.M.S. _Rattlesnake_, and good work
was the result of her stay. Captain Moresby visited the island in 1871,
and thoroughly explored many parts of it which were {7} unknown
before his time. He landed at the harbour now known as Port Moresby,
and gave such glowing accounts of the island that it was visited by
many eminent naturalists immediately afterwards; and then the work of
the pioneer missionaries, who had been busy there for some time, began
to be talked about, and considerable interest in these islands was
aroused.

Queensland, acting under the advice of Mr. Chester, a prominent man
well up in the value of New Guinea, sent out Sir Thomas M‘Ilwraith
to take possession of it in the name of the Queen. But the British
Government refused to acknowledge this act, and thereby aroused the
indignation of the Australians. A conference was held in Sydney and the
British Government communicated with, with the result stated, that they
saw their mistake and Sir Peter Scratchley was sent to New Guinea to
act as High Commissioner.

His term of office was short, as he contracted malaria in 1885 and
died. The man who took his place was a Queenslander, the Hon. John
Douglas, who understood the position, and did valuable service to his
country by making a study of the natives and the possibilities of the
country.

In 1888 Sir William MacGregor, M.D., {8} K.C.M.G., was finally
appointed Governor, and during his ten years of office showed that
he was the right man in the right place. He was succeeded by George
Ruthven Le Hunte, Esq., C.M.G.

To-day the affairs of British New Guinea are on an excellent basis. An
Administrator is appointed by the Crown, whose duty it is to consult
with the Governor of Queensland and report to that Government on all
matters of importance. The Administrator is supported by two State
Councils, the Executive and the Legislative, the first being composed
of the Administrator, the Chief Judicial Officer, the Government
Secretary, and a Resident Magistrate. The second is composed of the
Executive Council, together with any officers they may appoint.

Petty Sessions Courts are also established and presided over by a
Resident Magistrate, who has the same powers as a Police Magistrate in
the Colonies. Europeans and natives have equal rights in the courts,
and an appeal is allowed under certain circumstances. Native police
preserve order in the towns. An amusing thing about them is that they
are chiefly ex-convicts, and are given the appointment as a reward for
good behaviour whilst in gaol. {9}

The discovery of the Solomon Islands is credited to Don Alvaro Mendana
de Meyer, who went out there in the hope of discovering from whence
King Solomon’s wealth came—the supposition was that the islands of the
Pacific supplied much of it. That supposition no longer exists.

On sighting the Solomon Islands, and believing them to be the islands
he was seeking, he named them Islas de Salomon. This was in the year
1567. After this he thoroughly explored many of them and gave them the
names they now bear—Guadalcanar, San Christoval, and Isabel. Whilst
thus engaged he decided to found a colony, and with that end in view
he returned home and gathered together a number of men anxious to make
their fortunes. He returned with them, landed at a place he thought was
part of the Solomon Islands, and called it Santa Cruz. The colony was
not a success, as most of the immigrants, including the discoverer,
died, and the survivors returned to South America.

One of these survivors was De Quiros, who subsequently discovered the
New Hebrides.

Bougainville and others, many years afterwards, again came across these
islands, and