CHAPTER XII
THE UNEXPLORED: AMONG PAPUAN PEAKS
Still Higher in the Owen Stanley Range—The Road to Mafulu—Beauties of the Forest—The Hill Step—Curious Habit of Walking acquired in Abrupt Ground—Cold at High Altitudes—A New Camp built—Alpine Signs in Insects and Flowers—Routine Work—Food runs low again—Native Thieves—Followers discontented—They fear the Hostile Mafulu People—Daily Threats of Desertion—Strict Watch—My Rule for Night Visitors—Compulsory Carrying of Torches and Disarming—Weirdly Picturesque Night Scenes—Further Privations—Bird of Paradise Soup—Ugh!—Decide to depart—Natives burn down Camp to ensure our going.
CHAPTER XII
THE UNEXPLORED: AMONG PAPUAN PEAKS
From the Kebea to Mafulu it was a five days’ journey along the most rugged, toilsome, and difficult path. At one point one has to traverse a ridge which turns in a half-circle, and at the very top it is scarcely more than 6 inches wide, sheer precipice running down on each side. The dangers of the road were, however, somewhat compensated for by the magnificent view which one could enjoy from that point, and a butterfly-collector had also something to reward him. As we rested there, after having passed the most dangerous part of the ridge, along which we had to crawl on our hands and knees, I saw some of the rarer Papilios in fairly large numbers. Unfortunately, they were all rather worn specimens and of no value for the collecting box, and I was sorry that I was not there earlier, so as to have captured these butterflies when they had freshly emerged from the chrysalis. They measure about 3 inches across from wing to wing, and are of a most brilliant pea-green, shot with a lovely mauve sheen on the under wings. The descent was very, very steep, especially the last portion of the road, where it descended abruptly to the creek. We had to hold on by roots and vegetation and to look most carefully after our footing, for a false step might have sent us down a precipice, falling sheer for 800 feet. But for the support of the growing things we could not have made the descent at all, and the marvel was how our carriers managed it with their heavy loads. They seemed, however, quite unconcerned, and took no notice of the dangers besetting them. They would never think of lightening or setting down their loads, but moved on in a zig-zag, catching hold of the creepers as they went, without effort. The bed of the creek, when we reached it, we found to be full of boulders. While my men took a bath, I examined the gravel in the river bed, for it looked tempting for the mineral prospector. By way of experiment, and to pass the time, I washed out a panful or so of gravel, and noticed a few colours in the sand that indicated the presence of gold. It is not improbable that the prospector who worked that creek would find considerable trace of mineral wealth. Here I saw the indigenous breadfruit, about the size of a cricket ball, and full of kernels smaller than a chestnut, only with a thinner rind and of a chocolate rather than a red-brown colour. The natives boil it, and we found it floury and very palatable, though slightly bitter. The Papuans are very fond of this fruit when they can get it.
ONE OF OUR CAMPS IN THE OWEN STANLEY RANGE.
Note the line of mist across the picture just below the summits.
We ascended, by way of one of the two villages known as Foula, for four hours, the climb being all the way through dense forest soaking with the humidity of the atmosphere. Even the hot sun seemed scarcely to affect the prevailing damp. The rocks which beset our path were covered with lovely-shaded begonias, ferns, and trailing creepers, intermingled in richest profusion of golden tints. In the early morning the forest is alive with bird-life. The trees are of strange magnificence, particularly the mountain Pandanus, with its aërial roots, which cover an immense space and all converge into one stem 60 feet above the ground, whence the trunk runs up perfectly straight. Around us everywhere were also tree ferns, some of them rising to 30 feet in height, and besides these there were the enormous Lycopodiums with leaves 10 feet long. These luxuriant forms of vegetation were thickly clustered upon the trees, and some of the masses must have been of enormous weight. They displayed a glorious profusion of scarlet, which had taken full possession of its supporting tree, for far above the domed mass of this superb parasite one could see occasionally large clusters of brilliant blossom here and there. More humble, but still very beautiful, was a little fern, similar to our Parsley Fern, which was distinguished by an exquisite iridescent blue all over the upper side of the leaf, while on the under side those fronds that were in seed showed a most brilliant golden yellow. Parrots great and small flashed about us, and now and then we caught a glimpse of the white cockatoo with the yellow crest that is found all over New Guinea. As we passed among the feathered colony, all these birds set up a tremendous screeching. The cockatoo, as I had occasion to know at a later period, can, when wounded, bite most cruelly. Of animals we saw little, for the inhabitants of this region are mostly arboreal and nocturnal. There are several species of the smaller animals, including the tree kangaroo, of which I wished I could have secured some specimens. These are born very imperfect, and are placed in the pouch; when they are once there the mother squeezes the milk into their mouths.
We found the village of Mafulu very small and the people extremely shy. One or two men were about, and the women were at work in their gardens. We sent on some of our men to discover the best possible camping-place, a work of considerable difficulty, for there are no plateaux in the Owen Stanley range, and the contour of the ground, as I have already indicated, is terribly abrupt. In fact, when one has travelled for some weeks in these regions, a peculiar habit of walking is acquired, which is somewhat equivalent to a sailor’s sea-legs. This acquisition the traveller does not find out until he returns to low, flat ground, when he suddenly realises that he is stumbling at every step, and some practice is required to recover the ordinary method of locomotion, and he has to break himself of the habit of lifting his knees almost to his nose. About an hour’s march from the village the men discovered a fairly level spot, and by the time we came up they had, with axes and knives, begun to cut a clearing of the undergrowth to enable us to pitch our camp. We set up our own fly-tent and the natives’ two tents and built a large fire, for it was very cold and the boys were beginning to feel the climate of that high elevation. Indeed, during our whole stay at Mafulu we felt the stress of the climate severely. That first night was very chilly, and it was necessary to serve out blankets to the natives in order to enable them to withstand the cold. They slung their hammocks on sticks or trees, sometimes one above the other, and close to these they built large fires and kept them going during the night. The sky at night was clear and starlit, but the morning brought clouds, and mists enveloped the forest, often accompanied by heavy rain that made the place most depressing. The view was entirely shut out; everything was dripping; our clothes were very soon saturated, and the whole situation was most uncomfortable.
The humidity of that region was proved by the fact that the under side of the leaves of various plants was covered with moss.