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THE SUMMARY TAKING MOVIES OF CANNIBALS {Continued frompagtS.) iaiide and aataida the bouse—that was so dirty as the women of that village. I afterward feand eut that for women te wash was strictly taboo. From birth to death water never touched their skins! I get nay cameras ready, bat the women hid in the houses and would not came out to be photo graphed. Finally Nagapate commanded them te eeme into the clearing, and they crept whimper ing from the low doors. Nagapate's wives were as wretched as any of the other women. We had beard from the natives at headquarters on the island of Vao that Nagapate had a hundred wives, but there were only ten of them. Osa presented them each with a string of beads and a small glass jar of eheap candy. They did not even look at their gifts. They wanted only to get the ordeal over and te esoane. During all our stay in the village the poor, browbeaten wretches never got up enough courage to look at us. Their lords aad masters felt our skins and our hair and our clothes, exsminiBg us with embarrassing free dom. But whenever we came upon a woman, he ;sqaatted down and bid her face behind her grass veil. 4fter the women and children appeared, we gained confidence and walked about the village, iaspeeting the houses As we approached, the children scurried off into the bush like frightened rabbits. The houses were wretched huts made ef poles with a covering of leaves and grass or, eccasioDBlIy, ef woven bamboo. Inside were the embers ot fires nothing mere. Magapate’s house stood off by itself. It was larger than the rest and more compactly made. But it was as bare as any of the others Tewards sunset we built a fire and cooked ear sapper. The natives gathered around and watch ed us in astonishment. They themselves made no such elaborate preparation for eating. Onee in awhile a man would kindle a fire and throw yams among the coals. When the yams wore burned black on one side, he would turn them with a stick and barn them on the other. Then they were ready for eating—the outside burned crisp and the inside raw. One evening some of the men brought in some little pigs, broke their legs, BO they could not escape and threw them, squealing, into a corner of a hut. The next day there was meat to eat. Like the yams, it was only half evoked. They tore it with their teeth as if they had been animals and they seemed es pecially to relish the crisp, burned portions. Each man was bis own cook. Even Nagapate made bis own fire and cooked his own food, for it was taboo for him to eat any thing pre pared by and inferior or cooked over a fire made by an inferior. He considered his super iors and ate greedily everything we gave him. He never shared his salmon and rice either with his cronies or with his wives. In fact, we never saw a woman eating, and the children seemed to live on sugar-cane aodnn clay that they dug up with their skinny little fingers. Our first dsy as Nagapate’s guest drew to an end. Just before dark a native came and motion ed to us to follow him. He led us to a new house and indicated that we were to make ourselves at home there. We were tired out after car long march; so we turned in without delay. We spread our blanketi on the ground and lay, fully dressed, on top of them. The camp soon became qoiet, but wd could not sleep. So far, everything had gone well, but still we did not feel quite safe. Our boys seemed to share our apprebeasion. They crowded around the but, as close to ua as they could get. Some ef them slipped under the grass walls and lay half inside the hut. We slept little and were up before dawn stiff from lying on the hard ground. We asked for water, and a native breugbt it in a bamboo bottle. Thera was about a pint ef water for each of the five of us The savage thar brought it looked on astonished as we washed our bands and faeea. It is net taboa for the Big Numbers men te bathe—but they rarely use their privilege. After a breakfast ef tianed beef, we sat te work. But if it had been bard to get good pict ures the day before, it is now almost impossible. Tba women had all left the village to get the day’s supply ef water, fruits and fire-wood. The men squatted in the center of the clearing, guns in hand. They were appareatly waitiag for aemething—for what? We were uaeasy. It may seem to the reader, in view ef the fact that we escaped with whole skias, that wa wara absurdly nneaay. But 1 shenld like te sea tba man who eould remain tttim when aurroundad as wa wara by lavagaa, ngly aad powerfnl, whaaa ealy plaasnre was mnrder, aad who, we were eeaviaced, ware eat- era ef human flash. All day leng enr hesta sqnstted about the gaint bee boos, staring at us or at the greuad ar tfae jungle or, sometimes, it seemed, at nothing at all. Now and than a single savage would coma out ef the jungle aad join the group, and immediately oneef the squatters would get up and ge into tha bush, taking the trail by which the neweomer had arrived. This coming and going and interminable squat ting and staring eontiaued nearly all day. Toward evening, we received an explanation of it from Altree,.Nagapate’s “ private secretary’*. Altrae had been “ blaekbirded” away from the island a- bout twelve years previous to eur arrival, in the days when natives were still carried off by force for servitude on.t be plantation of Queensland; and, by some miracle, when tbe all-white Australia law bad gone into effect and the blacks had been “repatriated'*, he had made his way back to his own island. He had managed, during his sojourn abroad; to pick up a little beehc-de-mer; so he aoted as go-between and interpreter in all eur dealings with Nagapate. He told us that a fight with a neighboring village was brewing. There had been a dispute ever some pigs, in which some body had get hurt. The relatives of the victim were preparing to attack out hosts. Tb^men who had come and gone from tbe clearing were the lookouts who guarded the village against surprise. A fight! My first thought was, “ What a pie- ture I ’ll get!'* But Osa, at my elbow, said mis erably, “1 wish we were btek in the beat,” and my conscience began te hurt. To reassure her I told her that our force was a match for half a dozen native villages. Before sunset, there was great activity in the village. Men kept eeming and going, and there was much grun sd consulition in the shadow of tbe boo boos. Tnat night an armed guard kept watch in the clearing. At sunrise, Nagapate cams and asked if we would shoot off our guns to frighten the enemy. I did nut line the ides. I thought it might be a ruse to get us to empty our guns and to give tbe natives a cbance to tush on us before we conld reload. However, since we did not wish to seem suspicious, we granted the request. But we fired in rotation, instead of in a valley, so that there would always be some anaong us with ready rifles. And I found that I was not the only one who had thought of the danger of empty cartridge-cham bers: 1 have never seen such snappy reloading as that of our black bo^s! After the shooting was over, everybody seem ed to take courage. Tbe natives moved about more freely. Only about a third remained armed and ready for summons. Thejr were apparently satisfied that their enemies, convinced that they were well supplied with ammunition, would be afraid to start hostilities. We ourselves were more at ease, and I went up to some ef the sold- eirs and examined their fighting equipment. Their guns were, as usual, old and rusty, but they all had cartridges, which they carried in leather cartridge cases slung over their shoulders. I was surprised to find that none bad clubs. Instead, they bad big knives, some of them three feet long, for hand-to-hand fighting. Paul told me that such knives bad become the most sought- for articles of trade. On the afternoon of our fourth day in tbe vil lage. Nagapate brought up a man we had nut seen before. “Rambi! Rambi!” grofvled Nagapate, pointing to his companion. Then tfae chief went through a rapid pantomime, in which he seemed to kill off a whole army of enemies. We gathered that Rambi was minister of war, as Indeed he was; but Osa dubbed him chief of police. Rambi wad a godsend. He enjoyed being pho tographed, although he did not have,the slightest idea of what tbe operation meant. Hs forgot his dignity and capered like a monkey in front of my camera snd actually succeeded in injecting alittle enthusiasm into the crowd. 1 eventually did mako them grow a little more confidential. I must have given out several dollars’ worth of tobacco a day. Ten years earlier, whoa 1 was on the Snark with Jack London, trade tobacco made frsm the stalks and refuse from ths Vir ginia tobacco factories 1 ad cost less than a cant a stick. Tbe supply I bad with me in Maleknla had cost almost four cents a stick. Thus the high cast of living makes itself felt even in the South Seas. Tinned foods, cartridgaa, gasoline, mirrors, knives and calico also have increased in price enormously since the war. An explorer must expect his expenses to be just abent feur hundred per esnt higher than they were ten years ago. And the trader is in a had way. For the natives learned bow to value trade stuffs years ago aad they iasist on buying at tba old rata. Increased costs and difflcalty ef traasportatien mean nothing to them. Late that afteraeoa, I missed Osa. I had somethiag of a bunt for bar, bat I finally found bar in tba shade at tba edge ef the elenring, play ing with a littln naked piccaninny. Altrae and Nagapate squatted aaar by, watchiag her with grave, iateat faces. Nagapsts was Osa’s eena- tant eompanion. The great chief had taksa a fmacy te the a bite “Mary.’’ Every day he sest her preseats, aad his yams and fruits and cscs- nnts pleased her more than if they had bcea sz- pensive presents ef civilization. They seemed to her an assurance of his good will. But tbe rest of us were a bit uneasy We had what I now be lieve to bo the absurd snipicien that all thcis gifts were tokens of savage wooing that per haps Nagapate was planning to massacre ui, if tho occasion offered, and keep Osa te share his wretched hut. The strain of constant watchiag, constant, suspicion, was telling on our aerrsi. We began to feel that it was time for us to go. Osa and I talked it over as we walked sbsul the village tbe following afternoon. We strayed farther than we had at first intended. 'We finally saw something that looked to be a deserted but. We walked around it and found, on the far side, a well-beaten path that led to a tiny doer. With- eut tfainkiog, I crawled through the dooway, and Osa fallowed me. It was several setonds before our eyes became accustomed to ths dim light. Soddenly Osa gasped and clutched my arm. All about us, piled in baskets, were dried ha- man heads. A ghastly frieze of them gtinaed about the saves. Skulls hung from tbe rafters, heaps of picked human bones lay in the corners. Oao glance was enough fer ns. We crawled eat of the hut and lost no time in getting back to ths Sinter of tbe village. Luckily none of the eavagis had seen us. We gathered Paul Mazouyer and Perrole and Stephens about us and told them ef our advent ure, and it dia not take the conference long te decide to return to the beach on tha following dsy. At dawn we were up. We did our patking in s hurry, and then we sent one of the natives for Nagapate* Tbe ebief tame acroes tbe clearing, slowly and deliberately, as always. With him was a tottering old man—tbe oldest native I ever law in the New Hebrides. As Oia and I went up te greet Nagapate, ths old man began to jabber excitedly. He came over to me and felt my arms and legs with both hii skinny hands. He pinched me and poked me is the ribs and stomach. All tbe time he kept up s running fire of excited comment, addreesed te Nagapate. To our relief, he finally stopped talk ing far want af breath. Nagapate spoke a few •harp words and the old man backed away. Osa’s face went white. And indeed, there ceuld be no doubt about tha meaning of the eld native’s p ntomins. 1 almost doubted the advii- abiltv of telling Nagapate of our departure. If he liked, he could prevent us from ever teach ing tbe sea, from which we were separated by BO many miles of jangle. But 1 decided u> take a chance. 1 had, by this time, rather more than a smattering of the language of Nagapate’s tribe. 1 always make it a practise, when among new tribes, to learn four words—“Yes,” “no,” “good” and \bad” . Tba language spoken by Nagapate and his followers was so primitive ard contained so many repetitions that I had been able te progress beyond these four fundamental words sod so, with the aid of gestures, I ceuld make our intention cloar. To my surprise Nag apate not only assented to ear departnre, but volunteered to accompany us to the beach. I invited the entire viltsgs to come to ths beach for motion-pictures snd tebaeeo, after an- set, the following evening. Motion-pictures meant nothing to them; but tobacco they understsed. So they agreed to corns. We left like hontrad guests, with an escort of twerty-five savages. It had taken twelve hours to climb up to Nagapate’s village. Tbe return journey required only three. When we arrived as the beach, we invited Nsg- apate and his boon oempanions, Altree and Rsni- bi, to come on board the schooner. There ws feasted them on hard tack and white salaasn. When bedtime ceme, the great chief indicated that it was his pleasure te sleep on board. I wss heartily astonished and a little ashamed. Altar ell our suspicions, Nagapate was voluntarily put ting himself iuto our hands, with tbs tonchiug confidence ef a little child. Our royal guest and his men bunked in tbe engine-reom. I happeatd to wake about midnight and task a peep at them. There they were, flat on their baeka en the hard grsaay fleor, sleeping like lege. In the morning I took my projector nahere. Soon I bad every thirig set up, ready fer the shew. Bnt when I tried out the prejecier te see if It was shipshape, I found that my generator wu out of order. Work as I would, I eenld not get n light. I wss bine and disconraged. Ihadbssn loaking forward to this shew fer two yonri, and new, apparently, it was net going to come off. Imagine going bsek aevoral hnndrod thonsaid years and showing man of tho Itone Ago motioa- pictnros of themselves That is what I bid plaa- nad to do. For the man of Maloknln ass in tha stage tors Ic Throu Tork 1 wan my ge wai w side tv ery th thougl not a motioi and, t went I acle h citamv Tne I had machi just S( in tbai they h were ( were i They ( eulmir I sa tested how tl armed round eould I my vis they V were » stay vs eye on to aea ment. Nagap beside about Firs screen a t ’ent ths sti tha': p ward i the tir form standi ent wi Nagap The pi them. O ja,” laught I hi frights my “ u familii anyth! me aa Then 1 orowdi follows Ban Fi Nagap known world I naueh succes pUoes ages ' these with p lands c Now feet ol sudden pate” ilaahe: pieiun about the flj Nagap rsgisU In abo we coa had fie the eni . for m apeak on tfae they h for af( ed, tl shouts nnd'^wi bad bs My mi tha pel over t( was er I lump i I« long Whs
