Adventures in New Guinea | Page 9

token of mourning--an improvement on their ordinary attire, which is
simply a short grass petticoat--the men nil.
After a short stay, we returned to where we thought of camping for the
night, but for want of water we went on to the village we had visited in
the forenoon. We slung our hammocks in the reception room, had
supper, and turned in for the night. It felt bleak and cold, and the
narrowness of the ridge made us careful, even in our sleep, lest we
should fall out and over. On coming across the highest peak in the
afternoon, we had a magnificent view of Mount Owen Stanley, with his

two peaks rising far away above the other mountains by which he is
surrounded. It must have been about thirty miles off, and, I should
think, impossible to reach from where we were. We were entirely
surrounded by mountains: mountains north, east, south, and
west--above us and below us. I question if it will ever be a country
worth settling in.
We were anxious to spend the Sabbath at Port Moresby, so, leaving the
most of our party, who were too tired to come with us, to rest till
Monday, Mr. McFarlane, Ruatoka, and I set off on our return very early
on Saturday morning, and had strangely difficult work in getting down
the mountain side and along the river. Fireflies danced all round in
hundreds, and we awakened many strange birds before their time,
which gave forth a note or two, only to sleep again. Before daylight, we
were at Mr. Goldie's camp, where we had breakfast, and hurried on for
the river. We rested a short time there, and then away over plains to
Port Moresby, which we reached about midday, tired indeed and very
footsore. Oh, that shoemakers had only to wear the boots they send to
missionaries!
Early on Sunday morning, a great many natives went out with their
spears, nets, and dogs, to hunt wallabies. A goodly number attended the
forenoon service, when Mr. Lawes preached. A good many strangers
were present from an inland village on the Astrolabe side. There is not
yet much observance of the Sabbath. Poi, one of the chief men of the
place, is very friendly: he kept quite a party of his inland friends from
hunting, and brought them to the services. Mr. Lawes preached again in
the afternoon. As we went to church in the afternoon the hunters were
returning: they had evidently had a successful day's hunting. During the
day a canoe came in from Hula, laden with old cocoanuts, which were
traded for pottery.
In the evening, an old sorceress died, and great was the wailing over
her body. She was buried on the Monday morning, just opposite the
house in which she had lived. A grave was dug two feet deep, and
spread over with mats, on which the corpse was laid. Her husband lay
on the body, in the grave, for some time, and, after some talking to the

departed spirit, got up, and lay down by the side of the grave, covered
with a mat. About midday, the grave was covered over with the earth,
and friends sat on it weeping. The relatives of the dead put on
mourning by blackening their bodies all over, and besmearing them
with ashes.
On the 31st, the Bertha left for Kerepunu. As I was anxious to see all
the mission stations along the coast between Port Moresby and
Kerepunu, I remained, to accompany Mr. Lawes in the small schooner
Mayri. We left on the following day, and sailed down the coast inside
the reef. We arrived at Tupuselei about midday. There were two
teachers here, and Mr. Lawes having decided to remove one, we got
him on board, and sailed for Kaili. The villages of Tupuselei and Kaili
are quite in the sea. I fear they are very unhealthy--mangroves and low
swampy ground abound. The Astrolabe Range is not far from the shore
we were sailing along all day. There is a fine bold coast line, with many
bays.
In the early morning, our small vessel of only seven tons was crowded
with natives. We left the vessel about nine a.m. for a walk inland,
accompanied by a number of natives, who all went to their houses for
their arms before they would leave their village. They have no faith
whatever in one another. We passed through a large swamp covered
with mangroves--then into a dense tropical bush, passing through an
extensive grove of sago palms and good-sized mango trees. The
mangoes were small--about the size of a plum--and very sweet. At
some distance inland I took up a peculiar-looking seed; one of the
natives, thinking I was going to eat it, very earnestly urged me to throw