MY ENCOUNTER WITH CANNIBALS

Hokitika Guardian, 3 December 1927, Page 4

MY ENCOUNTER WITH CANNIBALS

(By Jack .McLaren, the South Seas Traveller and Author),

Tho two white men and 15 native police who have just been massacred in the Solomon Islands, in the steamer Auks, were no doubt fully armed with modern rides and revolvers, while the savages of the attacking tv area noes would have had at best only a lew old-fashioned Snider rifles. Yet the whites would not have had much chance. For the Solomon Islanders are astonishingly adopt at making surprise attacks, and their war-canoes, instead of being merely hollowed logs, as

canoes are in some islands, are splendidly built craft, carrying 50 or GO men, which go out in fleets of a dozen or more. Weight of numbers alone would have been sufficient to overwhelm the unfortunate people in the Auks. The cry that war-canoes are coming is one of the most terrible that can he heard in the islands. Once as I was sailing in a lugger on the coast of Malaita—the island where This latest rising has occurred-—the cry j went ii]> from the crew-hoys; and pro-' sently, rounding a jutting point of the j land, we almost ran into a fleet of i nearly twenty.

Each canoe was crowded, the paddlers standing to their work, the warriors seated about the body of the craft, their spears and stone-clubs in hand. Ail were painted and be-feath-ered and hung about with shell-orna-ments; hut otherwise naked. Some had so outlined their ribs with white clay that they looked like dreadful skeletons. Others had painted their faces to look like devils. The bows and sterns of the canoes were .high and curved, and covered with grotesque carvings and inlaid with pearlshell. ! On each side of the bows was a

carving meant to* represent a. human eve—“so canoe can see where it. go- j ing.” a native explained to me later. 1 I hoy were travelling at a great rate, yet with absolute silence. -Mr crew-boys cried out iheir fear , and whimpered. I ran down into the cabin, brought up and distributed what arms I had, and headed the lugger seaward with ail speed. But the canoes kept straight on along the shore and we sighed our relief. If ,

they hnd attacked ns we should have ■had no hope whatever. I learnt later they were on their way to raid a neighbouring village, the men of which had stolen some of their women—the first of a series of raids and return-raids which did not cease till a gunboat interfered and the ring leaders were arrested.