44 



MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN 



VOL. XII, 



account of those found on the north-west coast of New Guinea and 

 in the Schouten and other islands in Geelvink Bay. 



The most important settlement in this region is Manokwari, the 

 seat of the Dutch Government in these parts. Missionary effort is 

 of long standing here, dating back to some time prior to Wallace's 

 visit in 1858. Since then the local Papuan has learned to crop his 

 frizzly mop of hair, and often sports an old jacket and dirty 

 trousers ; the barbaric adornment of his person with bangles, ear- 

 rings, and necklaces has largely been abandoned ; the big communal 

 pile-dwellings of former days have given place to smaller ones on 

 the Malay pattern; his superstitions and animistic customs may be 

 indulged in only in secret. The essentials of his life where they 

 concern hunting and fishing methods remain, however, much as 

 they were in the old days. This applies notably to his fishing boat 

 design, and the implements of his craft. The canoe hulls are 

 always dugouts, varying from a small two or three-man size used 

 for inshore work to big craft of 30 feet in length. All the large 

 sizes and most of the small are furnished with double outriggers; 

 a few of the latter for harbour use, have but a single one. 



The largest sizes are fitted with numerous booms connected with 

 the floats by means of upright stanchions. The number of booms 

 varies greatly, being governed chiefly by the length of the hull; at 

 Manokwari the largest number noted was eight (PI. II, fig. IIj, but 

 at Serui an exceptionally large one with as many as eleven booms 

 was seen. 



Fig. i.— Vertical stanchion attachment typical of Manokwari outrigger canoes. 



The booms are squared poles of light wood; the floats are of a 

 specially soft wood into which the sharpened ends of the stan- 

 chions can be driven with comparative ease. Each stanchion is 



