TREE HOUSES. 103 



But as the builder can scarcely expect his wife 

 and little children, to say nothing of his pet pigs, of 

 which these people generally keep one or more with 

 them in the house, to climb the tree, he has to pro- 

 v,ide some way of getting them from the ground to 

 the house. This he does by making a long ladder 

 of vines reaching from the earth to the platform upon 

 which his house is built. If enemies appear, the 

 ladder is of course drawn up, and those above rest 

 securely, far out of reach of any weapon known to 

 the wild men of New Guinea. These tree houses 

 also serve for lookouts from which to see coming 

 friends or enemies in time to prepare a suitable recep- 

 tion for either. 



There are several good reasons for building houses 

 so far above the ground besides those already given : 

 one is, that they are not reached by the low-lying bad 

 air that in this country causes fevers and sickness ; 

 another, that they are free from ants and mosquitoes, 

 two terrible plagues throughout New Guinea; and 

 still another is, that the breeze that gently rocks the 

 house, like a bird's nest in the treetops, is much pleas- 

 anter and more refreshing than the sultry heats 

 below. 



If you should climb the long ladder and peep in 

 at the door, you would find the family perhaps all 

 asleep, or sitting about on the floor eating yams, cocoa- 

 nuts, or bananas, and sharing them with their pet pigs, 

 parrots, or poultry. You would find there no pic- 

 tures, toys, or playthings, such as even the poorest 

 children among us possess ; no music and no books ; 



