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NEW GUINEA.

TALE OF A BIG DROUGHT.

MURDER AND CANNIBALISM,

After a cruise of over three months amongst the South Sea Islands and to New Guinea, the London Missionary So- i ciety's yacht John Williams returnod to Sydney on December 30th. She has been absent since September 10tb, and has i visited Barotonga, Penrhyn Islands, < Samoa, Savage Islands, Gilbert and Ellice < Groups, and New Guinea. Although everything was very quiet in l the islands, yet a bad state of affairs exists i in New Guinea. Some shocking tales of i cannibalism, as the result of very severe 1 drought, which was spread over New | Guinea, come by tho mission yacht. Mr i H. M. Dauncey, who has had fifteen years’ mission experience in New Guinea, and who wub brought to Sydney from Delena, a port about sixty miles west of Port Moresby, by the John Williams, states that the natives aro suffering terribly through no rain having fallen in that district this year. The season is the worst the Papuans have experi enced for over ten years, and thoy are faring vory badly all over British New Guinea. Early'in the year, ho says, there was a little rain, but none has fallen since. The native crops are all dead, or dying, and they have but little food, and are subsisting on almost nothing. At many places, and especially on the N.E. coast, the natives are eating ravenously groon wild fruits which immediately bring on dysentery, and from this complaint tho natives are dying in dozens. Tho other half-starved unfortunates are eating their dead tribesmen, and resorting to cannibalism to keep themselves alive. From Normanby Island, on the north-east coust, comes the sarno reports. The worst, too, has to come yet, as they are only in tho middle of the dry season, and hundreds of natives are dying at present. At Woodlark Island, 170 miles east of New Guinea, where there is supposed to be gold deposits, everything is at a standstill. There is no water to feed the-big crushing mills, three of which had been started there, and they have had to close down. The mines, too, have all stopped work, and many miners are idle. The inhabitants say nothing has been experienced like it before. Speaking of the murder of the two miners, Brackenburg and “Jimmy, the Austrian,” as thoy wero known, in the gold district of New Guinea, a messenger from that part said that the tribo who did the men to death intended to murder a good many more. These two men were many miles apart when murdered, and l tho Austrian was found with a piok driven right through his head into the ground. ; j. lls body, which was thus pinned down, i was badly mutilated, while all belongings f wero stolen. .. Brackenburg was discovered in a valley 3 with his brains battered out, and then s were many signs of his having been mur a derod in tho most ghastly fashion. lh< natives had secured big stones and rushei t the unfortunate fellow white he was dig i- bashing his brains out with the e ” to „cs. These fearful murders, and many others, had been committed just for the sake of stealing their belongings, A aunitive expedition was sent out to search [or tho tribe, and, finding them, taught thorn a severe lesson. It is Bta ‘ el JJ many weve shot, while others suffered in ° l In* their village were found innumerable miners’ dishes, pannikins pans. and miners’ utensils, which tho bloodthirsty wretches had stoleD from prospectors and m 's<fmo anxtoty was being felt when the mission yacht loft New Guinea over the prolonged absence of a party of throe men who went prospecting into the lute * lol ' They had been absent a long time, andl no nows had been heard from them. The i-ravest fears were entertained for the safety, and it was supposed that they had been massacred. Two other parties were out prospecting in the Mambare, Kamusi and Yodda Valloy districts, and good ioports of gold finds wero expected from them on tbeir return. _ Tho massacre of 25 natives is reported from Iverepunu. One of the Hill tribes swept down on a party of friendly natives and killed 25, just a little while before Christmas. One missionary had a narrow escape of being massacred. He set oul for a village one day just before thi natives were massacred, but lost his way and after wandering some time wa: brought into the villago of Kerepunn Ho afterwards heard that the natives o the village ho had set out for had com out to attack and kill him beforo h 3 reached tbeir village, but ho luckily los !i his way, and turned up among a friendl, . tribe. 1 „ In Dutch New Guinea settlers are rs e ported to bo dyiDg off faster than otbei 6 get there. They are raw hands direi from their native oonutry, and caum

stand the they get carryn. t the Dutch arc anxious to wi*. in to open up their country, but are afraiu they will never get them out once they get there.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GIST19030109.2.43

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Gisborne Times, Volume IX, Issue 714, 9 January 1903, Page 3

Word count
Tapeke kupu
856

NEW GUINEA. TALE OF A BIG DROUGHT. Gisborne Times, Volume IX, Issue 714, 9 January 1903, Page 3

NEW GUINEA. TALE OF A BIG DROUGHT. Gisborne Times, Volume IX, Issue 714, 9 January 1903, Page 3

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