146 A NATURALIST IN CANNIBAL LAND 



great deal of awe of my humble self. At no time 

 during all my stay there had I trouble at all with the 

 natives, and I was particularly gratified with the good 

 work of the collectors. 



Some observations on the methods of communication 

 between the hill villages in high New Guinea will be 

 interesting. The villages are built as a rule on the 

 tops of spurs and, as it is what I have called before 

 4 'switchback "country, the distance by path from one 

 village to the next is often very great. But a kind 

 of inter-village telephone system has been established 

 as a means of communication. Early in the morning, 

 while the air is very still, a crier from a village will go 

 to a selected spot and sing out across the valley to the 

 next village. As soon as an answering cry is received 

 from that village, the crier will chant the news that 

 he wishes to convey. Generally he will repeat his 

 message twice. When the man at the other village 

 understands fully he will sing back " koo koo koo." 

 If he wishes the message to be repeated he will sing 

 a single " koo." Then, perhaps, an answering mes- 

 sage will be sent or, perhaps, the message will have to 

 be conveyed further along to another village by the 

 same means. I came to know about this telephone 

 system in this way. I had heard that a man had died 

 in a village near by, and that his death had been put 

 down to " magic " on the part of people in the village 

 called Farn, some three days off. The Papuans have 

 many methods of trial for magic. In a recent trial 



