IN THE WILDS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 226, 24 September 1928, Page 8

IN THE WILDS.

VISIT TO PAPUA. AMERICAN EXPEDITION RETURNS. SUGARCANE INVESTIGATIONS. UNKNOWN COUNTRY TRAVERSED. USE OF AN AEROPLANE. With an aeroplane hoisted up on the “for’ard” deck the Aorangi arrived from Sydney this morning, and it was learned that the plane had played a prominent part in the exploration of unknown Papua, where an American exploration party has been making investigations to collect varieties of sugarcane cultivated by natives of the country or growing wild—cane which might be resistant to mosaic or other diseases—and to gather evidence of the principal species of commercially cultivated sugarcane. The expedition was sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture, with the co-operation of the Hawaiian sugar planters and the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, Ltd. The members of the expedition included Dr. E. W. Brandes, principal pathologist of the United States Department of Agriculture, Dr. Jeswiet, Mr. R. K. Peck (United States Government aviator), and Mr. C. W. Pemberton (entomologist of the Hawaiian Sugar Producers’ Association). “In the course of our investigations we flew over 1000 square miles of country that no white man had previously seen, and discovered fourteen lakes,” said the leader of the expedition (Dr. Brandes), when interviewed. on the Aorangi this morning. Natives Scared by ’Plane. Proceeding, Dr. Brandes said that the party arrived at Port Moresby, Papua, in early June, 1928, and dispatched food and fuel supplies, together with a white patrol officer, fourteen native police, native carriers, servants, etc., to the first base camp on the Strickland River, a tributary of the Fly in Western Papua. The 60-ton auxiliary ketch Vanapa was chartered for this purpose. . She reached the base camp site, 254 miles inland, on July 17. The scientific party, after several reconnaissance trips to various rivers flowing into the Gulf of Papua, proceeded by sqaplane to the base camp, in five and one-half hours, making the journey that had required nearly three weeks for the boat. From the base on the Strickland most of Western Papua was explored for sugar-cane by seaplane and by double canoes fitted with outboard motors, capable of carrying several tons of supplies. . Within three weeks all objectives in this part of New Guinea had been reached, including the middle Fly and Strickland Rivers, Lake Murray, the Upper Fly and its tributaries, the Alice and Palmer Rivers. On one trip the party flew to the rolling foothills of the Victor Emanuel range, nearly six hundred miles in the interior. The head-hunting cannibals of Lake Murray were visited three times, and the race of pigmies dwelling in tree houses 500 miles up the Fly were encountered on one trip. These races are both very primitive, wearing practically no clothing, and judging by the evidence of defensive measures they live in constant fear of surprise attacks by hostile neighbours. Their agriculture is very crude, and in some instances negligible, the natives depending solely on nature for their food supplies. Sugar-cane was found everywhere in this region, either wild or in the native gardens. The natives of the middle Fly and Lake Murray are very fierce and self-assertive, but aside from inviting members of the party to enter the Dubt\, houses for certain rites (the usual method of enticing strangers to their destruction) they made no demonstrations suggestive of hostility. For the most part, the natives were so abjectly terrified by our sudden descent from the sky that it required hours of patient persuasion to get in contact with them.

Camp was broken on August 8, and the service personnel was returned to Port Moresby in the Elevala, a Government boat generously furnished by the Administration of . the territory of Papua. At the end of August Dr. Jeswiet and Pemberton, with police escort and 75 carriers, proceeded in the Elevala to Kapa Kapa, east of Port Moresby, thence inland on foot to the mountains of the interior. Here the greatest assortment of sugarcane varieties was found growing in profusion, every village visited cultivating many different kinds. On account of the declivitous nature of the country, travelling was arduous and progress slow, but the natives were friendly. Flying Blind.

Continuing, Dr. Brandes said that, with the aviator, he flew directly across the island, flying blind most of the time at an elevation of 14,000 ft over the cloud-mantled ranges of mountains, then following the,north coast in a westerly direction to the Markham River. Here a number of interesting varieties were collected. On August 26 they flew to Marienberg, 60 miles up the Sepik River, the huge stream that flows from the central mountains to the north coast in the western part of the territory of New Guinea. From Marienberg as a base the river was explored for 650 miles inland, many villages being visited and a large number of cane varieties collected. The furthest point reached on the Sepik was less than 100 miles from the point reached on the Alice River when ascending from the Gulf of Papua on the south side of the island, but a range of huge mountains intervened. In some places on the Sepik the culture of the natives is greatly developed compared with the Fly natives, but here the practice of head-hunting persists also. At one village about 300 miles up the rP i men and women go about a bsolutel y naked, not even wearing the sneH and bone adornments so characteristic of the natives generally. p ° n M Pte K ber J* the ’ plane returned to Port Moresby Tia Sumarai, the trip «? r nm» a - I>Olnt 1() ° miles U P the Sepik to Sumara!, practically 1000 miles, being dMdeH n ° n ! y - - At Port Moresby th? Jhe reigned and embarked on the 8.8. Calulu for home, via Sydney. £ et ?® r the Party travelled 10,000 “biut b 4O0 P mii e ’ 600 ”? ileB by Canoe ’ and about 400 miles on foot in the territories of Papua and New Zuinea visit I X.t Pr ? Ctl^ Uy every Bection fro “ the coast to the most remote interior. A number of geographical features new to • 6 Y° v , er ? une nt were discovered, includes in the vaBt lake plain of the middle Fly, one of which was named Lake Herbert Hoover, the then Secretly of Commerce of the United States, who han done so much for commercial

New Canes Found. conclusion, Dr. Brandes said that 171 varieties of sugar cane were collected, and are being sent in duplicate to Washington and Sydney, where they will be studied in detail to attempt to throw light on the origin of sugar cane from wild forms, and also tested for resistance to mosaic.

The practicability of the aeroplane as a valuable adjunct in the equipment of scientific exploration has been amply proved by this expedition. The performance of the ’plane under the particularly trying conditions encountered there, high temperature, glassy water, lack of wind, torrential streams encumbered with floating logs, was perfect. It' required good judgement and skilful piloting, but whenever a landing was desired it was found possible to accomplish it. A new species of sugar cane, designated Saccharum robustum, was found growing along the banks of rivers in great abundance. It is the largest and most vigorous sugar cane yet discovered, and may prove to be of value in the improvement of cultivated canes by crossing. Three of the major diseases of the sugar cane plant, downey mildew, mosaic and Fiji disease, were encountered, together with an assortment of leaf spotting disease, and it is probable that thesed iseases originally spread to other parts of the world with the sugar cane from New Guinea.