Chapter I: Part I: British New Guinea

I • Chiefly historical—Concerning certain discoverers, their aims and ambitions—The story of New Guinea, the Solomons and New Hebrides, and some things that might be altered • 3

II • New Guinea natives—Port Moresby and its two native villages—Huts on poles and trees—Native superstition and its result on two tribes • 13

III • Natives who grow crops of hair—A word or two about the women—Duties of married women—How they carry their babes, and the philosophy of childhood • 25

IV • Concerning love and grief—How love is made in New Guinea, and some of the charms used to ensure love and constancy—The grief of a New Guinea widow • 37

V • Some native dances and queer costumes—Novel blackmailing methods—Woman’s vanity and a censured dance • 48

VI • Outrigger Canoes, their appearance and construction—The famous Lakatois—How the natives catch their fish; and a few words about fish that climb trees—A trip down the coast, and an unpleasant experience • 57

PART II

THE SOLOMON ISLANDS

VII • South Sea traders good and bad; their ups and downs—Nicolas the Greek—The Mambare river massacre—Some queer creatures with queerer ways—“A fitting end to a wasted life” • 71

VIII • Natives who have had no chance; their villages without streets and their curious huts—The tambu and canoe houses—An unlucky trader • 84

IX • Solomon Islands—Ingova’s head-hunters—How whole tribes were wiped out—Savage invasions and clever tactics • 94

X • Clothes and the men—Love of adornment—Natives who are not keen on eating—Methods of cooking their food—Betel-nut chewing • 104

XI • Some clever ways of catching fish—How the bonito is landed—Native nets—Pig-hunting—The sly opossum and the crocodile • 113

XII • A curious religion—Burying the dead, and some graveyards—Dances and music—Native artists and how fire is made • 124

XIII • What “hope” is to the Solomon islander—The use of the evil eye • 134