380 NEW GUINEA. 



bought for plain hoop-iron, as could also bows and arrows in 

 any quantity, and even the wig-like ornaments of Cassowary 

 feathers, which the men wear over their brows, to eke out their 

 mop-like heads of hair. 



The natives often attempted, and often succeeded in with- 

 drawing an arrow or two from a bundle purchased, just as it 

 was being handed on board. They understood the laws of 

 barter thoroughly, and stuck to bargains. They attempted once 

 or twice to keep without return the articles given beforehand 

 in payment, but often returned pieces of hoop-iron and other 

 things which had been handed down for inspection and exami- 

 nation, as to whether they were worth the article required for 

 them or no. One or two of these natives tried to fish things 

 out through the lower deck-scuttles from the cabins with their 

 arrows, but were detected and frustrated in their design. 



Many of the men wore a pair of Wild Boar's tusks fastened 

 together in the form of a crescent, and passed through a hole 

 in the septum of the nose, so that the two tusks projected up 

 over their dark cheeks as far as their eyes. Most of the men 

 had short pointed beards, apparently cut to that shape ; the 

 old ones had whiskers. One old man who was bald, wore 

 a complete but small wig. None of the men were tattooed, 

 but they had large cicatrized marks on the outer sides of the 

 upper arms, and smaller ones on the shoulders. 



The fungoid skin disease was common here as at the Aru 

 and Ke Islands, but only on the adults ; the boys and many of 

 the younger men were free of it. 



The men attracted attention to barter by the cries of " urh, 

 urh ! " To express astonishment they struck the top of the 

 outer sides of their thighs with their extended palms. Refusal 

 of barter or negation was combined with an expression of 

 disgust, or rather the two ideas are not apparently separated : 

 the refusal was expressed by an extreme pouting of the lips, 

 accompanied by an expiratory sniff from the nostrils. 



The forehead muscles were very little used in expression, 

 though they were slightly knitted in astonishment. In laugh- 

 ing, the corners of the mouth were excessively drawn back, so 

 that four or five deep folds were formed round the angles of the 

 mouth, the head was lolled back, the mouth opened wide, and 

 the whole of the upper teeth uncovered ; the resulting expres- 

 sion was most ape-like. 



I started with a party in a fully-armed boat with the intent 

 of landing. As we neared the shore, a native warrior ap- 

 proached, standing as usual on the platform of a small canoe 

 paddled by two boys sitting in the bow and stern ; the man 

 held up a yam and made signs that he wished to barter ; we 



