ETHNOGRAPHY OF BRITISH NEW GUINEA. 89 



in their own village. The policy of the "Government" is 

 to alter this in order to make some one more responsible for 

 order in his district. The only exception to this state of affairs 

 is in the Trobriand Group, where Macgregor found chiefs 

 who exercise real authority. 



Women take a good position in British New Guinea 

 and exercise considerable influence over the men, less so, 

 however, in the Trobriands. 



In the foreo-oino- social characteristics, in their lack of 

 hospitality and in most of their mental traits the Papuans 

 and Melanesians resemble one another, but the Papuans 

 appear to be more noisy and excitable. 



Of their weapons the stone-club is alone common to all 

 the tribes. The use of the bow and arrow is confined to 

 the Papuans and is universally employed to the west and in 

 the Papuan Gulf, about Cape Blackwood the bamboo bow 

 of the west is replaced by the palm-wood bow. Macgillivray 

 (i., p. 29) alludes to the bow and arrow of Redscar Bay, 

 Gill (1876, p. 249) says : "Their bows are made of wood, 

 not of bamboo, as on the south-west coast, and are very 

 inferior articles," and Moresby writes (p. 157) : " As far as 

 Redscar Bay (coming from the west) we saw toy bows 

 amongst the children, but beyond that point the bow ceases 

 altogether, till it reappears on the northern shores, west 

 of Astrolabe Gulf". Turner (1878, p. 488) alludes to the 

 bow and arrow of the Motu ; but this is a mistake on his 

 part. 



Heavy, sword-like, wooden clubs are common among 

 the Melanesians, and the sling is employed in the D'En- 

 trecasteaux Islands. The throwing stick and javelin 

 are used only by the western tribe of Torres Straits, 

 who have adopted the practice from the Cape York 

 natives. 



Only the Melanesians make pottery, it is made at Yule 

 Island (Navarre, p. 304) and at various places along the 

 coast as far as Aroma (Gill, 1876, p. 249 ; Turner, 1878, p. 

 489 ; Chalmers, 1887, p. 23). In the islands off the south- 

 east peninsula the pots are made in a different manner, the 

 clay being laid down in a spiral and no stone and beater are 



