WHERE GIRLS FIGHT-CROCODILES

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 213, 29 August 1908, Page 3

WHERE GIRLS FIGHT-CROCODILES

LIFE AS A BISHOP IN NEW GUINEA. The Pan-Anglican Conference brought ■ many, interesting figures to England—men who in serving their church have been called upon to face dillicultics as exacting as any which ever fell to the lot of a soldier or explorer. Few of them, however, can have enjoyed a more interesting experience thai) Bishop Sto'i,; Wigg, of New Guinea. [ Among the outposts of Christianity the See of New Guinea is 0i.% of the loneliest and least known. Away to 1 the north of Australia, far from the track of any but the occasional trader, the Papuans have lived out their lives with less interference than almost any , other native race. ! There are many good points about this strange, fuzzy-haired, child-like race of savages. Living in small villages ! scattered about the coast and dotted , through the thickly-wooded interior, , they afford a remarkable example of life '. on the socialistic plan. Contrary to the usual custom, they have no kings or chiefs, public opinion being the sole law | by which their conduct is controlled. ■ Respect for the older people is almost ' as marked a (enure as it is in China. . To a certain extent this is duo to the fact that tlie ciders in each village are j tho only ipeople in possession of the secrets in connection with the national ', religion. This knowledge is never pass- ■ ed on to the next generation until death is very near at hand. It is impossible to say what the actual religion of the Papuans consists of. It is unlikely that they could give any very definite description of it themselves. Roughly speaking, they worship nature in every manifestation. The sighing of tire wind, the howling of the gale, the moan of the sea, the sharp paitter of the rain, all seem voices _of various divinities to their imaginative minds. Beyond this, however, there is some more or less definite creed, probably the remnant of a forgotten faith that onco controlled the'island. At variousintervals (sometimes as long as sixteen years) a solemn feast is held, when a mango tree is raised on n platform by the witch doctors, and eighty pigs are sacrificed beneath its shade. Although not really brutal by nature, the Papuan is singularly callous to suffering. While the last feast was being celebrated, the bishop discovered that it was customary to slaughter off these inoffensive porkers under circumstances of atrocious cruelty. Making the best of a bad bargain, he, therefore, volunteered his services to dispatch them with a gun. This offer was accepted, though the witch doctors insisted on reserving one pig for a more painful fate, in ease the spirit of the mango tree should be offended at not hearing the customary squeals. After the feast is over, each man cuts off a small portion of the mango tree, and the remains are put away in a house, where they are. carefully guarded by the witch doctors. If any man loses his piece, he is allowed to come and obtain another. One cannot say for certain, but it is probable that the leii"th of the intervals between the feasts is regulated by tho time the mango tree holds out, ' Although there is a good deal oi lightin" between the various villages, the Papuans are not really of a warlike disposition. . £ That they are no means deficient ot courage may be gathered from the two following incidents: A couple of young children were playing on tho reef one day, day, when a big crocodile took them into its huge jaws and dived into deep water. Canoes wen; sqon In full chase, and when, the crocodile came us the men struck it over the head with poles. It dropped one child, and a native at once dived and brought him updead, of course. Then the monster came up again close to a canoe, from which a man caught the remaining child by the arm. The crocodile would not bt go, neither would the man, so he jumped overboard, and went down with the child and crocodile. He presently appeared safe and sound with the child in his arms, The second case is, perhaps, even more remarkable. A young girl placed her baby brother on the ground, and had just turned away, when a crocodile sud- ] denly appeared and seized the infant. Without a moment's hesitation she hurled herself upon the brute, and furiously dug her fingers into its eyes. . The amazed crocodile at once dropped its prey, and made off as fast as it could. "The governor was so struck by the girl's bravery that he hunted her out and made her a little present, but she did uot.seem to realise that she had I done anything courageous. If from these few lines anyone should feel interested in the bishop's vast diocese, he would be happy to let them know more of its strange, lovable, savage inhabitants, and the work of spreading the true faith in their midst.