NEW GUINEA. 443 



first arrival. Possibly the man had come from a distant part of 

 the Bay either lately or some years before, or had only heard of 

 fire-arms and was a sceptic, or knowing that a gun would kill 

 birds, had thought that special magic, and not comprehended 

 that it would also kill men. 



A small party landed with Captain Thomson from the steam 

 pinnace for a short time, and Mr. Murray, led by some natives, 

 shot a few birds. These natives were friendly enough, but when 

 Captain Thomson approached one of the platform villages, the 

 women turned out with bows and arrows, and warned the boat 

 away, using the same signs of death as the man who discom- 

 forted us. 



A stay of some little time is evidently necessary in order 

 that the natives should become on good terms with visitors in a 

 strange ship, and possibly the natives had been maltreated by 

 the crew of some vessel since the "Etna's " long visit in 1858 ; 

 no doubt also the natives forget a great deal in the lapse of 

 sixteen years. 



As time could not be spared to wait and conciliate the 

 natives, and violent measures were of course out of the question, 

 landing was reluctantly given up, and the ship sailed for the 

 Admiralty Islands in the evening of February 24th. 



The bows of the Humboldt Bay natives are cut out of solid 

 palm-wood and have a very hard pull. They taper to a fine 

 point at either end, and in stringing and unstringing them a 

 loop at the end of the string is slipped on and off this point and 

 rests in the extended bow on a boss raised with wicker-work, at 

 some distance from the bow-tip. 



The bows are strung quickly by their lower ends being 

 placed between the supports of the canoe outriggers as a ful- 

 crum. If an attempt be made to string a bow, by resting one 

 end on the ground, the tapering end snaps off directly pressure 

 is applied. 



The bowstring is a thick flat band of rattan, and the arrows, 

 like all New Guinea arrows, have no notch, but are flat at the 

 ends, and are also without feather. The natives have never 

 learnt the improvement of the notch and feather. The men of 

 Api Island, New Hebrides, have most carefully worked notches 



