MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
say, scared out of their usual way of life by the 
presence of a large body of white men. I and my 
son went absolutely alone into the wilds with no 
white lieutenant. We cast ourselves, as it were, on 
the hospitality of the aboriginal Papuan (and can- 
nibal at that), but as the reader has seen, we had 
no reason to regret our draft on the bank of savage 
fidelity. 
In my second chapter I described the warlike 
Tugeri of Dutch New Guinea, a tribe whose ferocity 
has been such a thorn in the side of British and 
Netherland officials alike. I certainly should not 
have cared to trust myself with the Tugeri, but with 
the gentler people of the south-east portion of the 
island there was comparatively no great risk. My 
first close acquaintance with the Papuans was with 
the Motuan tribe, who lived around Port Moresby, 
and my earliest acquaintances were made among the 
potters of Hanuabada. The Motuans are fairly 
numerous, numbering, it is said, about 1400 in the 
Port Moresby district; they may be taken as the 
type of coast natives in this quarter, and roughly, 
for the purposes of this account, I may distinguish 
between ‘“coast-men” and “hill-men,” taking the 
former to extend as far up as Epa. The Motuan 
men are well-grown, standing about 5 feet 10 inches 
on an average, the height of the women being from © 
about 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches. Their 
features are very varied, and do not incline to any 
single type. ‘The colour is of a rich bronze, and 
they are well and sturdily made. Most of them 
have mop-like hair very much frizzed, and some wear 
292 
