Period of Inaction at Port Moresby—Christmas in New Guinea—A Scratch Dinner—A Christmas Privilege for Cingalese to obtain Spirits—Curious Effect on One Individual—A Noteworthy Character—An Excursion to Hula—A Fisher Community—A Piebald People—Picturesque Night Fishing by Flare Light—Fishermen often Killed by Gare-fish—Hula Houses—Various Traits of Native Life—A Walk round Hood’s Bay—Traces of Initiatory Rites at Kalo—The Kalo Houses described—On to Kerapuna—A Shooting Expedition—We lose the Trail—Class Distinctions at Kerapuna—Return to Port Moresby by Sea—A Perilous Voyage in a Little Canoe—Tragic Death of Flood, the Naturalist.
CHAPTER VIII
INACTION AND AN EXCURSION
As there was really nothing to be done until the beginning of the year, we settled down at Port Moresby in some spare rooms which Sam, my Cingalese head-man, let me have in his house.
We occupied our time with the despatch of our collections. The herbarium, of course, had perished, but the moths, butterflies, and birds had come safely down from Dinawa. We did not disturb the boxes already packed, but merely stowed them in large cases, packing them with cocoanut fibre and straw to resist concussion. Each box was tin-lined, and on receiving its full complement was soldered up.
For the procuring of empty cases I was greatly obliged to the courtesy of Mr. Ballantine, the Curator of the Intestate Office at Port Moresby. This work occupied us in all over a fortnight, and finally we despatched our collections to England by way of Australia.
Thereafter the days were very dull and uneventful. Christmas was fast approaching, but there was very little hope of its being a merry one—for us, at any rate. The stores of provisions were running very short, and our Christmas dinner was probably one of the queerest that was ever set before an exiled Britisher. I left the task of preparing the meal entirely to Sam, who managed somehow to procure some wallaby, a piece of bacon, and biscuits. Instead of pudding we had a Cingalese plum-cake, made by Sam’s daughter, and a glass of claret rounded off the banquet. Harry and I dined together on the verandah, and remembered absent friends, but we were not very festive.
There is one curious observance of the Port Moresby Christmas which may be worthy of mention here. At that season any Cingalese resident in the place may, on obtaining a Government permit, be served with spirits at the Stores.
The effect of this privilege on one Port Moresby worthy was truly deplorable. I saw him in the road, and I have little doubt that he saw more than one of me, but then, of course, it was a year since he had permission before. He was quite a character, and his residence was as peculiar as himself. It was built entirely of flattened paraffin tins and other oddments, a style of architecture which I have also noticed in the West Indies.
