A TRIP TO THE TROBRIANDS 73 



Egham Islands are great sailors and skilled makers 

 of sailing canoes. They have in their hands almost 

 all the trade between Woodlark Island and the 

 Trobriands. 



When we arrived at Woodlark Island I lost one of 

 my staff, as Mr. Tim Barnard found that fever and 

 rheumatism were afflicting him so badly that it was 

 necessary to return to Queensland. We camped at 

 Suloya and at once I began collecting, to which I 

 added a little trading. At Woodlark Island one gets 

 that form of money very much prized in the South 

 Seas, called " tomahawk stones." The tomahawk 

 stones are made of a kind of dark jade. The natives 

 of Woodlark Island quarry this out of the earth with 

 the aid of fire and chip it into the shape of a tomahawk, 

 and then grind it down to very thin blades. Accord- 

 ing to the thinness of the stone and the size of it, so 

 is its value. It takes years of work to grind a very 

 good tomahawk stone, and such stones are treasured 

 throughout the east of New Guinea. Traders bring 

 to Woodlark Island to barter for tomahawk stones 

 the shells which are very general currency throughout 

 the island and which are worn as armlets. There are 

 two kinds of shell currency, small white shells with 

 black spots, and red shells which are found on the 

 underside of a projecting ledge of coral reef. These 

 latter have to be got by diving. 



Gold had just been discovered at Woodlark Island, 

 and one evening the natives who were collecting 



