Part 5 (1/2)
We told hiar He insisted it was salt, and we gave hiust on his face orth seeing; he rose up, went out, spat out what he had in his et the natives to move; they say they are tired, and will have to rest until to-, and they are also afraid of their enereat, but what it all means is difficult for us to say Noon: all have cleared out with spears, clubs, and shi+elds, two one to get hold of thegear, with faces streaked, they do certainly look ugly
After being so the eneone off to the back , and had to carry our things, no natives acco us When about four s and accoood deal of descending and ascending Oriope, the old chief, was delighted to see us His wives and children have gone with great burdens of betel-nuts and taro to trade at the seaside The old fellow goes with us We are now 1530 feet above sea-level, east-by-south from last careat friend
He used to live in Munikahila, but trouble through reatly attached to Ruatoka He is a terrible talker, long-winded and deafening
29_th_--We had a strange sort of a hut for sleeping-quarters on the top of a rock The house, being open all round, felt exceedingly cold when the fire went down The people here seehter than at the other place, and the children have a more pleasant expression Basaltic rocks lie scattered about in every direction We had our flag flying, and the ad it from underneath then fro new About half-past eleven we left The old chief and four carriers ith us After crossing the head of the Munikahila Creek we passed through fine thickly- wooded country, that may yet beco for some hours, we camped 1800 feet above sea-level On the way the carriers struck and were for going back, but we insisted on their going on a little further Strange fore seee basin, one side of which is bare perpendicular rock There is a good quantity of cedar, but so difficult to get away that it would never pay to work We are north-east from Uakinumu
30_th_--We started late, continued our journey along the ridge, rising gradually to 2250 feet, and then along a fine level country for soan shouting, and received an answer fro way off Close by us was a very steep descent, dohich ent till we careat rock, where we rested, and in about an hour up came ten natives unarmed, touched our chins, and we theirs, then all squatted to so, had been to the coast, and knew Rua; his joy at now seeing hireat A shot had been fired at a cockatoo before they heard the shouting, and they were much afraid When all seemed satisfied, and the crust of the news broken, I proposed a start, so up bundles, and aent When having gone about two iven to understand we o on to the village” ”No, you o on”
”If you go on you will be devoured by the _boro on; they called to those in the village, and on being answered we again went on for about half a ain we had to listen to the unintelligible story of the wild animal or aniet them to see as we did, that a house was necessary for our co up, and soon the rain would be down on us--let us be off for the village They had a long confab with those in the village on the ridge, which, when ended, seee ent When halfway up they halted, and wanted us to cathe rock, I joined myself to thee Under the first house in the village sat aand scratching, as if to keep it quiet; and as ent alonggreat pigs under the houses Certainly they were savage-looking pigs We were given an open house, and the rain was co fro beast the natives told hie plantations of ya we had crowds of men and lads--no woht copper-coloured, others are very dark; nearly all are dressed with cassowary feathers; many with ruffs round their necks made from these feathers There were none very tall, but all seeood muscle They have the sa as at Kerepunu Some chunam sticks made from cassowary bones are well carved They are a very noisy lot; one would think they were trying to see who could speak the loudest They tell us it is impossible to cross to the other side, as further inland the ridge ends--and there is nothing but bare broken rook--inaccessible all round The majority of the men are bearded and moustached, and have cassowary feathers like a pad behind, on which they sit They dress with a string The derains are picked up, and friends are supplied with a few grains froagara, 1810 feet above the sea-level, ENE fro and coht Our old chief, Oriope, had a conclave round the fire, and it took hiners), not forgetting the toilet At tiain It was useless telling him to be quiet All men and lads have the nose and ears pierced A number of women and children are about Some of the woht-coloured as Eastern Polynesians The children are lithe, blithe, and hearty--soe quantities of taro for salt Oriope is very sleepy, and I have every now and again to wake hiht he
My na old father of the village At present I a out after birds The natives are very friendly They relish salt and ginger, which I have tried with theood Ruatoka and Maka have returned; they shot a pig, which the natives who accompanied thereat over the division, and the whole asse the day's proceedings, acting the shooting of the pig, to the intense delight and a is put on the fire until the hair is well singed off; then division is made, then re-divided, and eaten They take a piece between the teeth, hold with one hand, and with a bamboo knife cut close to the mouth A bird is turned on the fire a few tiust_ 1_st_--Left this e village about one mile from here, and were joined by sixty men, all armed with spears and clubs, and faces painted They accompanied us for about four miles, and then turned away to the south
We continued on the ridge for soreat inaccessible ins with the Astrolabe, extending west until Vetura is reached, and then away east by south until the centre of the range is reached In some places it has a perpendicular rock face of many hundred feet; in other places it is broken rock with bush growth, and only at very long distances can tracks be found, and even then it is difficult to get up We descended to the river, a large one, floest, through great rocks, often lost, so here and there until, soht hundred feet above sea-level, it coood bath, and, of course, the inevitable _kuku_, and then skirted the side of the ridge, passing close by and under great rocks and overhanging cliffs, and up a ar-cane and taro plantations Weary, we sat down and ate sugar-cane under the shade of a great rock This West Indian ”long breakfast” goes hen thirsty and hungry The natives who acco, turned them on the fire and ate them
A truly wonderful country! What terrible convulsions of nature there reat boulders were displaced and rolled about like es are so built that they are accessible only on two sides by very narrow tracks We saw no game of any kind, yet the cassowary must abound soreat head-dresses and neck-ruffs hest ascent to-day was to 2360 feet above the sea-level; we call it Mount Bellamy; it stands out alone, and from itthe Astrolabe, Vetura, and Munikahila
2_nd_--We left thisand cassowary hunt, but were unsuccessful We bagged four cockatoos, one green parrot, one brueros, and three pigeons Ofhtful precipices, down precipitous es, on hands and knees at tilad when a tree offered a little rest and support I gave it up at last, hungry and weary, and let the others proceed I stayed with a party of natives ere getting a kind of large almond with a very thick fleshy rind, the nut inside very hard, which they broke open with stones, filling their kits with the kernels They call the nut _okari_ They fed ot leaves for me to rest on They had all their arhly comfortable with them Only once in New Guinea have I carried a weapon, and then we had spears thrown at us I consider a htfully steep and trying to wearied and hungry folks
3_rd_--Youths busy with feathers of cockatoos got yesterday,head- dresses They take the feather, strip it down, throw the quill away, fasten all the stripped feathers neatly together, dry in sun, then bind round their co fro native cloth by chewing the bark, and no wonder he coave the children presents of beads thisthey ought to have had them; but I did not understand them It is very convenient at tihly native We have been asking them if they will receive teachers, and they all say yes, and at once, for it means too and get the two teachers at Munikahila and bring them here now” We here are in excellent health and spirits; a little disappointed at not being able to cross Certainly we have not lived on the best, and we have camped anywhere I like these mountaineers--free, independent, and kind When they cook taro, if near, we get a hot taro to eat, and often they bring hot taro to the house They bring their presents of taro and sugar-cane and at once walk away They have very good houses, thatched with grass, some with a verandah on two sides, and all built six feet and round When ere away yesterday, a wild boar froe Often when the natives are in the bush they have to seek refuge in clie tuskers, especially if they have been speared, and are deternify that it is ”resting day”
The natives very seldo the body in a house set apart for it, which they often visit When a nue and settle sorave here, near to our house, on which a tobacco plant is growing, a baside, and a few sticks on end with ya in the grave
4_th_--We left Kenakagara this , accompanied by natives Our friends soon left us, and we lost our way, and after so found ourselves in a thick bush and surrounded by precipices
It has been up hill and down dale with a vengeance, trying hard to get to the south-west At last, wet through and thoroughly tired, we camped to have breakfast, dinner, and supper in one We were ten hours on the traht's rest
5_th_--We see where we are; but how to get out is the probleone to look for a track We had a fine night, a roaring fire at our feet, and so enjoyed sleep Ca in native huts, far more comfortable and enjoyable; but for our work it is better for us to be with the natives Uakinumu bears south-west-by-west from us now, and could be reached in a few hours, if only we could get down the precipice Rua has returned When so, and responded, when our old friend, who had been looking for us in a great state of fear, shouted his na at the camp soon after
He was so excited he could not speak, but embraced us all round, and then sat down
After breakfast, we set off, each carrying a bundle The travelling was difficult, until we arrived on the path leading to the creek and up to Uakinumu When on the spur, the old man shouted for the youths to come and help us; they cooeyed back, and we hoped to see the and no one co slowly along and saying others were following I felt sure they delayed their coe, where they would take the bags and receive tobacco and salt; but they were sold; we trudged on, and would not let the We took no notice of those we s we turned a deaf ear The chief's eldest son ca No, on no condition The poor old chief was in a sad state; but as we are likely to require their services some future day, it is necessary to teach the, and hoping to get tobacco and salt, their hopes are futile We reached the village, and Oriope did all he possibly could to keep us No, on ill go; his sleepy boys randchild who accoood-bye, and away
6_th_--Here, and in all the villages we have been, we have seen very feo irls when born?
7_th_--Left this s of the Laroki from it We had to descend 1000 feet, and then ascend 1800 Fro abound in the gullies about this e and five cocoanut-trees We couldof the Laroki, because of thick bush on top We saw that the Munikahila creek floest and south, until, due north of this, it turns sharp and flows north-by-east and falls into the Goldie We reached cahly whetted appetites, and enjoyed breakfast and dinner of pigeons and taro
We call the mountain Mount Elsie It is north of Vetura, and west and south of Keninues close to one another where a teacher could ell We have now five positions for teachers, and I hope before we have finished with this inland trip to have thirty, giving four and five villages to each teacher In crossing one of the spurs, a native and his son brought us bananas, and water in a bamboo It is difficult to drink out of a baradually, look out, here it co over you and nearly choking you
Try again--well, a little better, yet far fro, are you? Never mind, practise, and you will soon be an expert--a native in drinking, truly The natives have been having a feast They began with boiled bananas and finished with a large snake cooked in pots It was cut up and divided out aer than a good-sized fowl's egg They seeht of They say pig is nothing compared to snake Ah, well, tastes differ