TREE HOUSES. IQl 



TREE HOUSES. 



PEOPLE THAT USE LADDERS TO CLIMB UP TO THEIR BEDS 

 IN THE BRANCHES. 



The natives of New Guinea climb like monkeys 

 and travel long distances from one tree to another, 

 without descending to the ground. In this country, 

 where birds build little fairylike cabins on the ground, 

 the people construct their houses in the tops of the 

 tallest forest trees. First, a native having climbed 

 the great trunk of the teak or cedar or oak tree he 

 has selected, begins by cutting oS some of the branches 

 the right length to support a platform of bamboo on 

 which his house is to rest. 



You would wonder how he could do anything 

 with the tools he uses, if you should see them. He 

 has no saw or eteel-edged axe, but only a sort of 

 tomahawk made of stone, and knives of bone or hard 

 wood. When, however, he has in some way man- 

 aged to get the limbs of his tree so cut and fashioned 

 as to support his house, his hardest work is done. 



The house itself is soon built, and is made of bam- 

 boo strips and thatched with palm leaves. All parts 

 are firmly lashed together with strips of rattan palm, a 

 very tough vine used by the natives in place of ropes. 

 It is not a large house, though it sometimes contains 

 several rooms, but it is a safe and secure retreat for 

 the women and children in case of sudden attack by 

 hostile tribes. 



