INTERESTING PEOPLE 219 



Crowds of people lined the river bank and some of 

 them, holding short bamboos in their hands, jerked them 

 in our direction and from the end came out a white cloud 

 of powdered lime, which looked like smoke. This custom 

 was noticed by RawUng when he first visited the village 

 of Nim^, and it was recorded by some of the early 

 voyagers,* but the meaning of it has not yet been 

 explained. The suggestion that it is a means of imitating 

 the appearance of fire-arms is ingenious, but it can hardly 

 be seriously considered. 



While most of the people stood on the bank to see us 

 pass, a number of men jumped into their canoes and came 

 racing after us. The current of the river was about two, 

 and the speed of the Valk was seven knots, so they had 

 to move quickly, but they easily overtook us and followed 

 us for some distance down the river. Their canoes are 

 simple "dug-outs," but they differ from those of the 

 Mimika in coming to a fine point at both ends. The bow 

 is roughly notched on the upper side, which gives it 

 somewhat the appearance of a bird's beak. They seem 

 also to be considerably hghter than the Mimika craft, and 

 so narrow that a man could hardly sit down in them. 

 The usual number of a crew is nine or ten men, who all 

 stand up and all paddle on the same side of the canoe. 

 The regular swing of their bodies and the perfect pre- 

 cision of the paddling was a sight prettier than any 

 " eight " I have ever seen. They called to us and waved 

 bundles of arrows, evidently anxious to trade with us, 

 but the captain of the Valk was unable to stop, so we 



* " Capt. Cook, H.M.S. Endeavour, 1770." " Kolff's Voyages in 

 Dutch Brig of War Donrga, 1825-6." 



