AMONG THE SAVAGES OF FORUNKNOWN

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2053, 3 September 1885, Page 4

AMONG THE SAVAGES OF FORUNKNOWN

Thk hut In which I found myself, and it v/Ai a fur sample of the l eat, was of the rudoat possule doseiiption. The doorway was so small that it was a ta«k to get in ; the walls wans composed of Hie Imhiiclu'l of tiecs stuck into the gioand a little apaif, tli M uiteistices being filled with bits of chopped wood ; the loof was thatched with grass. Tlnee sides wcie occupied l>y raised l>aml>oo sleeping pl.itforui*, some fifteen inches nlxne the giuurid ; there were no windows.. At one hide was a slight depression in the giound, wli cli sened as a fireplace, logs of trees being laid over it, end to end, .uid constantly pu-,h(d faithcr in as they giadually consumed away All tin- ullage eiowded in -women, jouug gills, and elnldien of all si/es ; but the male 11,'cs, with the exception of those le fun li l to, w> ie .ill abtunt on a hunting expedition, having been gone sesei.il days. Kioin the roof weie .suspended \anous icquiMtes of the eh ise— bow \ avows, and dcci skuih— bu-idcj sumlr\ •nhckw of dumi'stic iw, all of tht liukst kind ll,i\iiig hid Biim« thing to eat, I *ti oiled out amongst the other huts, and eveiywhere was well ie cened. What pirtiLiilaily struck me was the feat kssness of the women and gnls and the frankness of the children, who were most intui eating. They ciine close up to me, examined my clothes with their large dark eye», pulled my whiskers, and were never tired of looking at my watch. They are bright, and 1 should say intelligent, and incomparably more interesting than Chinese children — so simple, natural, and unsophisticated. All smoke, from the youngest to the oldest of bot'i sexes, and it was tiuly ludicrous to sec tiny mites of certainly not three summers— stark naki'd— with pip(s in their mouths. The women and f;irl« carry thur pipis of bamboo stuck in their hair somewhat in in the style of the li<i»'//>n/'u't head duss of the Pekingese lailies, and keep the tobacco bns{B hung lound tlair neckh. Tl.ey at once olfeied me a smoke. Some of tlirin weie playing upon a unions kind of |C\\ '« harp, made out of a slip of bam boo with a thieail at caeli cud, whilst one girl, of about si\tfen, dinced The dance was neithci a fandango nor a bokro, nor \et a minuet, but boie some resemblince to all thiec ; it was so intensely giotesque that I laughed uncontrollably. No sooner had she finished than the girls came up to me, and, ofFering me a Jew's harp, made signs to me to dance. The harp alone was a «iimVent uijstery to me, but when the minuet was added, the tableau wai complete ; my audience threw theinsehes down and screamed and laughing. Fiom this performance I paucd to a scene of a somewhat different character— a few yards along a path, a »tcp to one aide, and I stood before a icattold of camphor branches on which icpoaed a grinning row of human skulli, the !ieti<iB of Chineso slain in ruidu.— A. Hancock, In " Good Worda " for Juno.

Ai'iM ication^ have been made for 200 tmrna in Hechuanaland. Ai.kh ci.n k\l Kimh'\tio\\ — With a view to continue the <,'ood work he was last year the means of inaugurating in i«everal parts of Abeideenslure, Lord Aberdeen h.ia been taking steps for an extension of <icieiitincacrictiltur.il education in that district. Mi Huckitiastcr, at the request of his Lordship, has ht.cn instructed by the vScience and Att Depart tnent to hold meetings and inters iews with .School Bo.uds in «u< h places as may be willing to accept his aeiviet«, with a \icw to the establishment of agricultuial night classes next winter. KOINBUKOH A«BICI T LTI T RAL SIIOW,— The fhow of the Edinburgh Agncultnral Society, w hich took place in Dean Park on Ist and 2nd July, prosed a gratifying success. Attended by biillmnt weather, it was well patronised by the public on both da\a, the turnout of spectators on tiro closing day being as fashionable as it was luge The draw ing? at the g.itcs iimoiinted to L2.il) ."s, living iT)7 ni'iic than I S.S;{ ; fioui tin. gi.ind st mil, I'H lls Gd, 01 £11 above the sum tiken at la~t show ; and fioui the f-ale of catalogues, £12 — making ,» total for the day of WQI! 1 7s (i.I The total diairings oxer the two days amounted to f(J3"i 12s, being '84 mote than last show. Only two cl.is=es wenleft o\er for the judges to d< tide on Thursday. There were tin competitors in the leaping contest for'hoise* tint had never won a jumping pn/e of the value of £.1, and the pcifonrances owr tlic hurdles were on the whole vuy Creditable, and elicited genei.illy the W.um plaudits of a large ciowd of onlookert. Miss Marson, of the Kojal Riding Academy, Tolleross, Edinburgh, was amid much applause aw aided the first pn/e with aspnghtly bay ; while Mi H. H. Ingl s, Abereromby Place, Edinburgh, w s phcerl second with a good leaping roan ; Mr Win Young, Melulle Street, Edinburgh, was third ; and Messrs James and Win. Cunie, Lutli, very highly commended There was also an exhibition of leaping by the ponies A Staktlim. SniMiF —The following letter, signed " Ktmi'Mir and Co," ap peartd m the Dunedin Htai : — "We have it on good authouty that aftei Su Juliu^ A ogel's West Coast Railway piopo&alhas c been fully approved, tliu next p.nt of the general sclieme, of which the fotiiicr is but an insignificant portion, will lie propounded to the fasomed pub lie of New Zealand only. It will be pro posed to construct a sti.ught cncul.ii tunnel from Canterbury railway station to underneath St. Parcras "ailsv.iy station in London, into svhich propeily constructed vehicles si ill be popped These will travel along three metal grooves in the sides of the tunnel alter the manner of a rifle bullet, without the rotaij motion. Transit to the centre of Unearth will be easy, rapid, downhill work, in the course of which it is confidently anticipated that an impetus will have been acquired sufficient to carry up the vehicles to within half a mile of theothei side of the eaith below St. l'aneras rail way station, at which depth pioper mechanic il and other atrinuements ian be made to take hold of the train of vehicles when it arrives, retaining it securely until unloaded of good«, mail", passengers, &0., alter which it can be re-filled ,vnd h t go for Canterbury— the through passage in either dnection occupying only ,")0 houis. In older to promote general confidence in this magnificent undertaking, 8u Julnn has, we believe, come nndei a bond to tiawl nlonc— if provided with plenty of groove grense— in the first through vehicle of what will thenceforth be known as the Grand Vogelian Transfico Mundane Lo comotion Campany, Unlimit. d. As gr.ivitition will he the only motive powei and the entuc plant self acting, needing no supervision, it has been leckoned by experts that a rate of one faithiiii> pel ton per mile will yield a laigc revenue from New Zealand traffic alone. Twentyw enty five per cent, (say 0 0(i) of this will he distributed free of tax amongst the lucky shareholders, and no less than 7.> per cent, (say 0 10) assigned na contingent eecunty and bonus to the company or syndicate, or person who may have constructed the West Coi«t Kiilway. The dirt that conits out of the hole mil be utilised for a railw.iv embankment fioin Canterbuiy to N,m I'V.uicisto via Auckland, Sydney, Fiji, ami Honolulu, or for a monument to Sir Transfico Mundane Vogel. So as ' there's pippins and cheese to come, boys,' why gmdge the seven millions odd for the West Coast Bailway? Oh, why, indeed !" l'ovrßT\ and Sen i Rise. — " I vvai dragged r)r nn uith debt, povortj, and siifFrnnff for v«\ir«, i iimd bv a Mrk family and larfre btlUfor dnrtorii „', uhirli did 11 rm no pood. I was romplclelj <li«rf)iira({Pil until one vcar ago, by the adviro of my p.Kt'ir, I procured Hop ]iitter<> and coinmrnced their use, and in one month we vvcrt all wil', and none of us hay c seen a mc k dn) since, ,im) I wart to say to all poor nion.jou c.in krt p jour families vv(lla\e.ir with American Co's Hup Hitti rs fur It bs tli hi nn< d» i toi 's vimlvm'l cost. 1 know it."— A Wokkino May. Read.