ANTHROPOLOGY. 317 



(see p. 277 and D'ALBERTIS [1880, II, 189]) is not practised on the north coast of the Nether- 

 lands territory, and I fancy that a visitor who extends his right hand in European manner, 

 to a Papuan, practically invites the extension of the corresponding hand, in casu the left 

 one, from which a prevailing lefthandedness need not be concluded, as apparently by 

 D'ALBERTIS [1880, I, 248] in the case of people of Yule Island. 



Pain as a rule is dreaded; and not a few of my patients were so accustomed to 

 their chronic ulcérations, which were the prevailing complaint, that they were unwilling to 

 endure any pain on that account. 



Heat and cold the Papuans with whom I came in contact appeared very well able 

 to stand (see p. 35). Local freezing of the skin with ethyl chloride only caused surprise. 



Great ex ci tabili ty, amounting to noisiness, is commonly accepted (Haddon [1894, 254], 

 KRIEGER [1899, 138], KEANE [1899, 127]) as a characteristic of the Papuans, as distinguishing 

 them from the Melanesians. It has however often been pointed out that the tribes living 

 further in the interior possess in a much smaller measure the characteristic of being noisy 

 and laughterloving (Meyer [1873, 308], SCHELLONG [1891, 169]), — D'ALBERTIS [1880, I, 215] 

 calls the Ramoi the gloomiest people in the world, The noisy and rough réception of the 

 expédition in the year 1875 by the people of Humboldt Bay, caused ROBIDÉ VAN DER Aa 

 [1879, 268] to write of "savages", a term which should be avoided. Since then, no doubt, man- 

 ners hâve considerably improved, but still the Sentâni people living only a few miles inland 

 are much more sedate. With them playing and singing are rare ; when they saw any of my 

 objects which were new to them, they did not utter any exclamations, but later on discussed 

 them among themselves. Of the Sekânto, who live still further inland, MoOLENBURGH [1904, 185] 

 reports a decidedly depressed disposition. The people of Mapâr and Horna, places situated 

 4 and 6 days' journey resp. from the coast, were also very reserved in their behaviour, 

 although they were able to talk about festivities. Like MACGREGOR [1897, 32] I think that 

 the more active, intellectual trading life of the coast produces an intelligence of a higher order. 



Although not entirely agreeing with MEYNERS D'ESTREY [1881, 11]: "Les Papous 

 sont généralement mauvais caractère", still it is known that helpless beings as prisoners 

 (ANNUAL REPORT [1894 — 95, 42]), women, children and domestic animais are often treated 

 roughly. HAGEN [1899, 266] even found occasion to write of the Bogadjim that sympathy, 

 charity and gratitude are feelings unknown to them. I remember an instance when I had 

 narcotized with chloroform a Sentâni boy to operate on a large wound in his foot. At the 

 moment when I began to remove the granulation tissue with a sharp spoon, to prevent 

 too great a loss of blood in a quick, apparently cruel manner, the father of the boy uttered 

 a plaintive a soôà !" (from the Malay sobat = friend). I could very well understand this and 

 appreciated it in this father. Not so the spectators, his fellow-villagers, squatting round ; — 

 with a gênerai, loud "sis !" they silenced the man, afraid that for the sake of the father I 

 should interrupt this, to them unusual and attractive spectacle. They thereby showed a want 

 of sympathy as HAGEN 1. c. and ERDWEG [1902, 291] noticed in a still greater measure 

 towards people dangerously ill or dying. 



Gratitude very seldom finds expression. My patients often showed themselves very 

 well satisfied with the results of the médical treatment, to which I devoted much time and 

 trouble nearly every day, but only twice (and in both cases it was a woman), did they offer a 



