The National Geographic Magazine 1908-08: Vol 19 Iss 8
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a Oe i ( ys Gie NATIONAL EOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE A. Zi Vol. XIX AUGUST, 1908 CONTENTS Further Notes on Dutch New Guinea. By Tuomas Barzour. Illustrated. The Pacific: The Most Explored and Least Known Region of the Globe. By Lzopotp G. Biackman. Illustrated. Biskra, The Ziban Queen. By Mrs Georce C. Bosson, Jr. Illustrated. - PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY HUBBARD MEMORIAL HALL WASHINGTON, D. C. SUBSCRIPTION, $2.50 A YEAR SINGLE NUMBER, 25 CENTS Entered at the Post-Office at Washington, D. C., as Second-Ciass Mail Matter Copyright, 1908, by the National Geographic Society, Washington, D. C. All rights reserved pendant
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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC | MAGAZINE Copyright, 1908, by the National Geographic Society, Washington, D. C. All rights reserved N IntustraTED Monruty, published by the NationaL Geocrapuic Society. All editorial communications should be addressed to GILBERT H. Grosvenor, Editor the Nationa GzoGRAPHIC MaGaZINE. Business communications should be addressed to the National Geographic Society. 25 CENTS A NUMBER; SUBSCRIPTION $2.50 A YEAR Editor: GILBERT H. GROSVENOR Associate Editors MAJ. GEN. A. W. GREELY DAVID G. FAIRCHILD Agricultural Explorer of the De- U. S. Army partment of Agriculture C. HART MERRIAM ‘ Chief of the Biological Survey, U. S. ALESANDSR GRABAM SELL Washington, D. C. Department of Agriculture DAVID T. DAY WILLIS L. MOORE ; Chief of the Weather Bureau, U. S. U. S. Geological Survey Department of Agriculture R. D. SALISBURY Oo. H. TITTMANN University of Chicago Superintendent of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey G. K. GILBERT U. S. Geological Survey Oo. P. AUSTIN ALEXANDER McADIB Chief of the Bureau of Statistics, Department of Commerce and Professor of Meteorology, U. S. Labor Weather Bureau, San Francisco ROB'T HOLLISTER CHAPMAN ALMON GUNNISON U. S. Geological Survey President St Lawrence University Hubbard Memorial Hall, Washington, D. C. i \ ene — oe ewe eee om — ee ee a
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Office Hours, 9 A. M. to 4.30 P. M. Telephone, North 306 NATIONAL — GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY Hubbard Memorial Hall Sixteenth and M Streets, Washington, D. C. WILLIS L. MOORE i ; ‘ ; President O. P. AUSTIN ; ; : Secretary JOHN JOY EDSON ; . ‘ . Treasurer HENRY GANNETT ; , . Vice-President GILBERT H. GROSVENOR ; ‘ Editor F. B. EICHELBERGER i Asst. Treasurer JOHN OLIVER LA GORCE Asst. Secretary BOARD OF MANAGERS 1906-1908 1907-1909 1908-1910 J. P, AUSTIN HENRY F. BLOUNT ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELi CHARLES J. BELL C.M. CHESTER HENRY GANNETT T. C. CHAMBERLIN F. V. COVILLE J. HOWARD GORE GEORGE DAVIDSON D.C. GILMAN A. W. GREELY JOHN JOY EDSON RUDOLPH KAUFFMANN GILBERT H. GROSVENOR DAVID G. FAIRCHILD T. L. MACDONALD GEORGE OTIS SMITH A J. HENRY WILLIS L. MOORE O. H. TITTMANN C. HART MERRIAM S.N D. NORTH JOHN M. WILSON Please detach and fill in blank and send to the Secretary Recommendation for Membership in the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY The membership fee includes subscription to the National Geographic Magazine DUES: Annual membership in U. S., $2.00; annual membership abroad, $3.00; Canada, $2.50; life nembership, $50. Please make remittances payable to National Geographic Society, and if at a distance -emit by NY. draft. postal or express order, willed hantariosieanicsininanie Sf MD Go the Secretary, National Geographic Society, Washington, D. C.: | nominate ERPS SOR ONC MN eee es a aN se ie rca areca XUM
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VoL. XIX, No. 8 WASHINGTON AuGusT, 1908 [ amg THE j NATIONAL |_j | GEOGRAPHIC [-? MAGAZINE a FURTHER NOTES ON DUTCH NEW GUINEA“ By THomaAs BARBOUR With photographs by the author N the previous number the houses of the Geelvink Bay region were de- scribed. It remains now to pre- sent notes on the houses of Djamna and the villages in Humboldt Bay. The houses of the former region are not over the water, but are set back in the woods. They have high-pitched roofs and are built of the midribs of sago-palm leaves. These are set up side by side and are held in place by rattan lashings. The roofs are covered with palm-leaf thatch, as usual. The only means of entrance or exit is a single square hole, often 10 feet from the ground; this is reached by a notehed pole, the usual substitute for a ladder, or a large log set up slanting, through which rattan loops pass at various levels. These houses are dark, smoky, and smelly, and as they were peopled by a tribe who were decidedly “put out,” or offish, for some reason, while we were with them, though they are usually quite friendly, our notes are not detailed as to their furnishings. In Humboldt Bay, on the frontier of German New Guinea, we have one of the most interesting and beautiful re- gions imaginable. The bay runs back from a wide mouth, its sides closing in after we have gone perhaps a mile and a half. In this constricted part the view into the inner bay is almost completely cut off by the little wooded islet of Metu Debi. On the innermost sheet of water, called the ‘Jotefa Bay, are several vil- lages, as there are also on two arms leading from the outer bay. These little towns are all most pic- turesque, as the photograph taken of ajo shows. When it was taken the water looked so blue and the beaches so white, from the top of a hill near the mouth of the bay, that it seemed almost as if it were the glimpse of another world. Way below, near the shore, a rough crowd of Papuans were talking over the steam launch which had carried us in here. In the boat it had been smoky and frightfully hot, while the crowd that waited for us was indeed a noisy one. Men of all ages shrieked and yelled and hopped up and down in their frantic efforts to give vent to thei~ excitement— men as naked as when they were born and who had evidently refrained from bathing for a long time. Many objects interested them, and most naturally. Cameras were a source of deep curiosity, as were butterfly nets and killing bot- * Copyright, 1908, by Thomas Barbour.
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528 Tue NationaL GeocraPHic MAGaAZI AN EARLY MORNING VIEW OF THE VILLAGE OF KAJO, IN HUMBOLDT BAY [he colors of the water here surpassed anything in the West Indies or the Mediterranean. Some of the hills and distant mountains were heavily wooded; some great stretches were covered with “alang-alang,” a tall grass of beautiful pale green. almost as beautiful on shore as in the water The contrasts of color were XUM
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JM Nores on DutcH New GuINnga 529 tles; but the most remarkable of all, to these and many others of the people, was their first sight of a white woman. That was indeed the event which will live the longest in the local traditional history. The villages are set on poles and the houses are arranged to form irregular streets. The various pictures tell better than words how pretty these little groups of curiously shaped dwellings are. All the towns are picturesque, but the palm is held by Tobadi, the largest town in the basin, and one which contains probably as fine an example of what the savage archi- tect can do, when impelled by religious motives, as exists. In speaking of these religious structures | will call them ‘*tem- ples.” The word “Warriwarri,” which is generally applied to them, probably means the building, but it may mean the spirit which is worshiped in it. In various localities we had seen the small square houses which serve as sacred buildings in the Geelvink Bay country. These, however, are mostly used as “bachelor houses,” where the unmarried men sleep while they are learning the net- making and basket-weaving and other things which every grown Papuan must know. ‘These houses are neither beau- tiful nor especially interesting. In Djamna, however, we walk back into the woods and a most astonishing structure stands before us. The general shape of this building is very similar to that of a house such as is regularly built in Djamna, but the ends are wonderfully decorated. Each is composed of hewn boards set up side by side and on each of these is a design running from bottom to top. The native artistic ingenuity of this folk is very well shown when we find that no two boards on either end of the building have the same design. The work is done by smearing with mineral pigments and the effect is singularly gro- tesque. The carvings of the entrance ladder on one end and of many of the supporting posts is as obscene as can be. A small square hole gives entrance to a large dark room in which is little in the way of furniture, merely a few places on the floor where clay has been laid down for fire-making. About the wall are piles of objects which can hardly be distinguished in the dim light. Soon a man steps up and takes hold of something, and we see that he has one of the curious hour-glass shaped drums, for drums are sacred and are kept in here along with the great flutes. These are very long and very difficult to blow and are usually only heard at night, a heavy mysterious roaring. Two men each take one of the instru- ments and stand opposite each other; they blow into the end of the bamboo, and the length runs out so far that each man straddles his partner’s flute. In blowing, the body is swayed from side to side in the straining effort to exhale as strongly as possible. The noise produced is like no other sound and to the Papuan it is sacred. The flutes play some part in the initia- tion ceremonies, but here our knowledge ends, for so far no one has successfully delved into the many secrets which go to form the religion of this people. They are reticent in giving information as to any of their rites. One thing we soon learn, no woman ever comes near a “temple,” and every article in it is forbidden to her to either see or touch. The people say that should a woman see, for instance, a sacred flute, she would sicken and die in less than two days. Entrance into a temple would be punishable with instant death; but such a thing would never enter a native woman’s head. At first the “korano,” or head man, and the warriors refused absolutely to let Mrs Barbour even look in; but finally, after much talking and many presents, they consented, and she entered, the first and only woman who was ever in the Djamna “temple” or who has ever seen the playing of the holy flutes. Now the “temple” at Tobadi is quite unlike any of the others—as unlike as is the house type of this village from that in Geelvink Bay. Here the temple is for sacred purposes only and the boys and
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GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE ' THE “KARRIWARRI” OR SACRED HOUSE AT DJAMNA The decorating is intricate and very varied. There is no means of lighting the house from without nor ventilating it. The square door with its curtain of grass is the only entrance or exit. The carved crocodile crawling up one of the supporting posts is a regular mark used to designate a sacred structure.
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UM Nores on DutcH New GuIngEa 531 A MAN OF DJAMNA STANDING BY THE BOW OF HIS CANOE The hair is worked up with clay so as to lie protecting the back of the neck from the sudden attack of a head-hunting neighbor. from the other Papuan types. Note the difference in physiognomy of this man
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$%2 THe NaTIonaL GEoGRAPHIC MAGAZINE DJAMNA ISLAND MEN OF XUM
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533 Nores oN DutcH New GuINEA de an id fer Be OOF SUPUT OIYM B AG UoppOs}, Uooq JOA JOAOU DALY YOryM Jo ysout ‘syiy MOL AueUT on Wil LOATOUINOTE “TUVdGOL JO SHMALIAMLS GAMOVS AIT > PUNOIS rq Ut tt] (UM
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534 THe NarionaL GeocraPHic MaGaAZzine LSA, Ne ( THE GREAT “KARRIWARRI” AT THE VILLAGE OF TOBADI, IN HUMBOLDT BAY Next to it may be seen the decorated shed where the elders of the tribe meet in council XUM
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UM Nores oN DutcuH New GuINEA 535 SCENE IN HUMBOLDT BAY young men on probation, so to speak, sleep in a building near by. They have free access to the “temple,” and work at ropemaking and net-weaving behind a screen of palm leaves, where they are hidden from the gaze of any woman. The building itself, which looks as if it were made of three cones set one upon the other by some Titan’s hand, is of great sanctity. The people here, who are as rough and noisy a set of savages as exist, become quite subdued when they enter it, and their voices fall to whispers as they converse. When we tried here, several times, to persuade the crowd to admit Mrs Barbour, a single gesture gave a final answer; that gesture was the swift passing of the hand across the throat. Happily during our stay onthe coast no case of death among the natives was witnessed. The Papuans do not believe in the occurrence of natural death, and it is quite impossible to tell who will be blamed by them for the causing of death by evil influences. Raids and bloodshed often arise from such causes, and many strange practices are used to discover the guilty party. In many localities the body of the de- ceased is slowly dried over a fire and the drippings are saved. These must be tasted by any stranger coming to the house, and should vomiting ensue, the party is considered guilty, as the cause of death. In other places this liquor is par- taken of by the widow of the dead man as an evidence of her fidelity to him. After desiccation has taken place the body is generally bent to a sitting posture and, after it has been wrapped in a mat, is hung up among the rafters of the house. The above leads naturally to the men- tion of a few other modes for the disposal of the dead. In Humboldt Bay they are simply laid out on a small island and left untouched. In other places they are buried in the ground, in a sitting posi- tion, and a fence is built about the grave, within which are deposited various arti-
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536 THe NaTIoNAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE ~ MEN OF TOBADI VILLAGE, HUMBOLDT BAY Fond of ornaments, they wear boars’ tusks in their noses, feathers in their hair, and in ‘ir ears almost anything. The boys, who are not yet full members of the tribe, have their ir cut as the picture shows. This is done by scraping the head with a splinter of shell from ie giant clam (Tridacna). It is indeed a bloody operation. C th XUM
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JM Notes on DutcH New GuINEA TRADING WITH THE NATIVES: HUMBOLDT BAY 53
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538 Tue NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE PAPUANS FERRYING THE WRITER FROM TOBADI VILLAGE TO METU DEBI ISLAND, IN HUMBOLDT BAY The man in the right-hand corner was one of our Malay servants and not a native of New Guinea WOMEN GOING CALLING ALONG A VILLAGE STREET OF TOBADI They are not allowed to use canoes with outriggers, as they might try to escape. No canoe without an outrigger could leave the sheltered bay without capsizing. ‘The men fre- quently get their wives by raiding neighboring villages. The women consequently would run away if they got a chance. XUM
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JM Notes oN DutcH New GUINEA A VILLAGE STREET IN TOBADI, HUMBOLDT BAY The women roll their curls with mud and wear many earrings 539
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540 Tur NatrionaL GEoGRAPHIC MAGAZINE PAPUAN GUIDES These two men were guides when I climbed a high hill to take some views of Humboldt Bay. Before we had gone far I gave them enough tobacco to buy the daggers, made of human thigh bones, which they carried in their arm bands. I followed them with more com- fort when | felt these daggers rattling in my own pocket. The men’s hair is decorated with blades of grass and orchids XUM
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UM AN Notes on DutcH New GulINgEA ARCHER AT HUMBOLDT BAY, USING A FISH ARROW The people here usually wear no clothing at all 541
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542 Tue NationaL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE RARE PROECHIDNA, PROBABLY THE VERY FOR cles which the deceased prized. In some cases they are placed in little houses set above the ground on short posts. These do not last long, on account of the inroads of hogs. In some cases dead children are re- duced to skeletons and these are placed in hollow bamboos. In the Geelvink Bay region the skull is frequently removed and placed within a large wooden head which is carved from a block of wood. This is consid- ered very sacred, and it is almost always impossible to persuade the people to part with one. In British and German Papua the cus- tom of wearing part of the skeleton as an amulet is reported. This is unknown in the regions called Papua Talandjang (The Land of Naked Papuans) by the Malays. It may be said that this region embraces Humboldt Bay and the neigh- boring country toward Cape D’Urville. We find, however, in Jendee, on Roon Island, in Geelvink Bay, this custom cropping up again. Here the mother often wears some of the bones of her dead child as a necklace. OR EGG-LAYING THE ANT-EATER: PHOTOGRAPHED ALIVE FIRST TIME The governmént of the people is simple in the extreme. There is often a chief, but in general affairs are decided upon by the men met in assembly. At Tobadi the assembly house is seen next to the great “temple.” In some localities these houses serve some sacred purpose, and the characteristic crocodile is part of the scheme of decorative carving. In Geel- vink Bay, on the other hand, no houses exist for this special purpose. The men meet regularly on the front piazzas of the great communal houses and discuss matters there. Agriculture, of course, has made but slight headway. Sago is here, as in many of the Moluccas, the great main stay of the people. Sago palms grow in great numbers along all the low-lying coastal plains. Sago is prepared in the usual manner. The tree is cut down and the trunk opened. Then the pith is beaten to loosen it and to render the subsequent washing more effective. This beating is done in the Geelvink Bay region with a heavy wooden club. About Humboldt Bay, however, a curious hammer-like tool XUM
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JM A PAPUAN Nores oN DutcH New GuINEA TREE KANGAROO CLIMBING (DENDROLAGUS URSINUS): FOUND ONLY IN THE FORESTS OF NEW GUINEA 543
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544 THe NarionaL GgeoGRAPHIC MAGAZINE A CASSOWARY AT The young birds are driven into nets stretched in the woods; They provide food, feather ornaments, hair combs, bone near the village until a feast time. SORONG, NEW GUINEA then they are kept tame daggers, and arrow-points of bone splinters and toe nails. is used, the head of which is made from the same stone as are the stone adzes, only instead of being axe-like in shape they are round, with a hollow in the front face, leaving a rather sharp rim. After the pulp is well beaten, water is run into the now well-hollowed trunk. This water is generally obtained by using other old tree trunks as leaders and turn- ing in a small brook. ‘The flow after passing the pulp, which is agitated by hand, is generally run into a large canoe. Here the starchy matter settles, and when the water is drawn off this is packed into a receptacle of woven palm leaves. The whole affair hardens and will keep thus, while dry, almost indefinitely. Wallace gives an illuminating account of how easily a deal of this food may be obtained. He says: “It is truly an ex- traordinary sight to witness a whole tree trunk, perhaps twenty feet 1ong and four or five feet in circumference, converted into food with so little labor and prepa- ration. A good-sized tree will produce thirty tomans, or bundles, of thirty pounds each, and each toman will make sixty cakes of three to the pound. Two of these cakes are as much as a man can eat at one meal and five are considered a full day’s allowance; so that, reckoning a tree to produce 1,800 cakes weighing 600 pounds, it will supply a man with food for a whole year. The labor to produce this is very moderate. Two men will finish a tree in five days, and two women will bake the whole into cakes in five days more; but the raw sago will keep well and can be baked as wanted, so that we may estimate that in ten days a man may produce food for the whole year.” These people do not by any means live on sago alone. Fish, flesh of pigs, kanga- roo, opossums, and of cassowary and other birds vary the monotony. The fish XUM
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Notes on DutrcoH New Guinea 545 may be speared, shot with arrows—a feat at which the Papuan is truly an adept—or taken with net or trap. The pigs are hunted and speared or the young are captured and brought up in the vil- lage. It is by no means uncommon to see a Papuan woman nurse a young pig. The young cassowaries are raised and wander about freely in some places. When the old birds are hunted, the peo- ple are very caulious in approaching them, for the kick of a big bird will do more harm than a wild boar can do with his tusks. Opossums and birds, espe- cially the Goura, or great crowned pigeon, are shot with specially made, small, light arrows. These are also used in obtaining the birds of Paradise. The notes of this and the preceding paper give in bare outline form some of our observations. The land is beautiful, the people are interesting, but far be it from me to paint the region as one suit able for any to visit except the naturalist or ethnologist. He expects insect pests, fever, heavy damp heat, an often most inhospitable reception ashore, and almost every other discomfort imaginable. These he will find in abundance. There is still grave danger from the natives in many localities, and the coast region is one of the most unhealthy for white men in the world. Curious to relate, our Javanese bird- skinners suffered more from fever than did we. Our head collector, Bandoung by name, reached Java barely alive, and for long his life was despaired of. | have heard since that he was recovering slowly. One poor boy from the island of Ternate, a garden spot in the Moluc- cas, lies buried near the beach at Mano- kwarl. Our thanks are due to many for as- sistance, especially to the officers of the little S. S. Both, to many officials in the government service, and to Mr Sedee, a merchant of Ternate. He has made sev- eral trading trips to Papua and his knowl- edge of local customs and of the Ansus dialect was always most courteously at our disposal. LEAVING NEW GUINEA Malay traders from the ship and Papuans in double and single outrigger canoes
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THE PACIFIC: THE MOST EXPLORED AND LEAST KNOWN REGION OF THE GLOBE" The Organization of the Pacific Scientific Institution at Honolulu By Lropotp G. BLACKMAN PRINCIPAL OF ALLUOLANI COLLEGE, MONG the most important of the great undertakings yet to be accomplished by the modern in- vestigator is a complete scientific explo- ration of the Pacific Ocean. Although some centuries have elapsed since the first adventurers of western Europe tempted the dangers of this vast region, the Pacific offers today the largest area on the globe for scientific investigation and locks within its mighty shores in- formation the acquisition of which would be of more benefit to modern knowledge than that to be derived from the prose- cution of any similar undertaking. Foremost among the great benefac- tors of our race have been numbered many naturalists, and the names of Dar- win, of Wallace, and of Dana will always be associated with those who have con- tributed much to the sum of modern knowledge. The researches of such workers have immeasurably extended the horizon of human intelligence and have helped our race to break away from the narrow confines and set formulas of an- cient habits of thought. The investigations of these great men were conducted in this same ocean re- gion to which the attention of the scien- tific world is now being turned. Impor- tant as was the result of their achieve- ments, it has only made us vaguely ac- quainted with the extent of the work yet to be accomplished and of the perplexing questions to which modern learning de- mands answer. The scientific explora- tion of the Pacific is fraught with so much importance that it will immortalize alike the patrons whose beneficence shall * The author is indebted to the U. S. accompanying this article HONOLULU make its prosecution possible and the workers who shall bring it to a success- ful issue. From the time the first hardy mariners of the old world entered the Pacific, ex- peditions innumerable have visited this immense ocean. In the early days of its history the vessels of Holland and Portugal entered from the west and strove for possession of the coveted Spice Islands; the keels of Spain ven- tured from the east in pursuit of the elusive gold, of which they were to find none, and have left only the empty name of Islands of Solomon to recall to us their vain hope; the English adventurer haunted its wastes to prey upon the weighted treasure-ships from Mexico laden with Spanish gold. EARLY GOVERNMENT EXPLORATIONS In less remote times came the early period of government expeditions to the Pacific. Of these, the English were foremost in enterprise and in the results which were achieved, although the French, Spanish, German, and Russian governments also did good work. The tragic fate which has befallen so many Pacific explorers is proverbial and has spread an atmosphere of mystery and romance over the story of adventure and discovery in this part of the world. Cook, Magellan, Mendafia, and La Pe- rouse are but a few of the illustrious roll of voyagers whose lives have been sacri- ficed in their endeavor to solve the mys- teries of the Pacific. The narratives of the early Pacific explorers afforded a wealth of eagerly sought literature, Bureau of Fisheries for a number of the illustrations XUM
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1M Tue Paciric: THe Least KNown REGION
] [oud | w™! « . i | . Midway Is .* | «Marcus! ee ~\98 o HAWAIIAN ow 9 on e = vor @® ISLANDS le PMariana ie or *Ladrone “P A? C L tr I C Islands ‘Marshall Is ‘) | 2 9 ics ) a z 8 “sg ae a! 4 , ” Gilb Howland|I #Christmas| Gi dHowlar «ls - ‘ Phe ’ Ma nr} 4 . bu ‘ O B “4 A +, &e e uf ‘ wear quesas Sant 3 SI Manat “caroline = Islands Zz 5 wer 2 pp - “Suvarof Is - bs SAMOAN “IS Ss *s chipe S¢ % Fidl 19 432, a £S!ex * Pn ity Te ‘¢ iJ Se fesyy wares or Paumota e : . @ > «or 3y ota es o QD, « . Tahi?, ~ a % . ‘ “© 2Tonea .Cookls i de 4 : vA Sa yalty ot 5 ® y ’ ¢ + ya! srAustral e Se en aye Oe p of Ca 1 of ' Paes Oy WORN ee ooh eer ep ------- ad re ) . NE ZEALAND Chatham Is s Bounty *1 Antipodesais ‘SAucklands Is.
0 500 500 Miles J J
SKETCH MAP OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDS whose influence has to this day tinctured the writings of the historian and novelist of this wonderful region. In still later vears the United States government has interested itself actively in various Pacific investigations and has added considerably to the oceanography of the region. The whaling industry also carried its toilers into many remote parts of the great ocean and left an indelible impres- sion upon the native population. To these legitimate enterprises are to be added the incursion of a host of pirat- ical and predatory exploiters, who have preyed upon commerce, pillaged and kid- napped the native races, and made the white man an object of hatred through- out the regions in which their nefarious work was carried on. THE MORE FEROCIOUS ISLANDERS AVOIDED In spite of these activities of the white man, whether of good or evil repute, the
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THE prewar + ty sere yen NATIVE ASSEMBLY The early Pacific explorers found such structures on many islands; HOUSE: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE BORA, SOCIETY ISLANDS great native gatherings were held in them Pacific Ocean remains today the most explored but the least known extensive region of the globe. After the days of early exploration the interest of the white man centered chiefly around those Pacific archipela- goes which were either situated on con- venient commercial routes or where the friendly disposition of the natives invited the newcomer to sojourn among them. This quality of racial disposition has been very instrumental in determining the development of certain island groups and accounts in part for the fact that among the various archipelagoes, these inhabited by the Polynesian race have been the great centers for the white man and have therefore departed from primi- tive standards most. In many cases the reputation of ferocity and cannibalism of islands inhabited by Papuans and other races hostile to strangers has warded off the tide of civilization for many generations and left the island con tinent of New Guinea and such archipel agoes as the Solomon Islands to this day very much in a condition of primitive savagery. In order to place before scientists the record of the Pacific which yet remains, there has recently been inaugurated at Honolulu, Hawati, the Pacific Scientific Institution, whose object is to stimulate public interest in the great work of Pa- cific exploration and to take definite steps toward its accomplishment. The main object of the institution is to promote and carry out a complete scien tific exploration of the Pacific Ocean realm. The chief interest will largely group itself around ethnology—that is, around subjects affecting the races of mankind which inhabit the ocean archi pelagt CS. More theories have probably been pro pounded and dogmatically asserted con- cerning the origin of the Pacific island- ers than of any other race of man. The study of this important question will not only seek to determine the mode XUM
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Tue Paciric: THe Least KNown REGION 549 of entry of man into the Pacific—for it is agreed that the inhabitants of this re- gion could not have evolved there, but must have entered it as emigrants, whether voluntary or involuntary, from some other branch of the human stock— but the inquiry will no doubt throw much illumination upon the evolution of the human race itself. THREE DISTINCT RACES Much valuable material will also be collected to assist in a better understand- ing of the growth of our own civilization from elemental savagery, for it is reason- able to suppose that the primitive wants of man in different ages and regions have called forth similar expedients to satisfy them. Other important objects of investiga- tions for the ethnologist will touch the various racial types in which the Pacific islanders are divided. Of these, three are generally recognized, of whom the Papuans and Polynesians appear to show the widest divergences, with the Micro- nesians occupying the intermediate ground and possessing affinities of race, language, and custom within the other two. [Eliminating the Micronesians from the question for the moment, the presence of two distinct races of man in the Pacific suggests two periods and sources of immigration and adds diffi- culty to an already perplexing question, for the demarkation between the divis- ions of the races is by no means well defined, but is complicated by the admix- ture of many other races of both oriental and occidental origin. The Papuans may be generally said to inhabit New Guinea, the Solomons, New Caledonia, Australia, and Fiji. Their most obvious characteristics may be briefly summed up by stating that they are irreligious, democratic, quarrelsome, cannibalistic, and hostile to strangers. They possess no hereditary chiefs, paint or scar the body rather than wear clothes, cook in earthen pots, chew betel, and their speech is broken up into a number of apparently irreconcilable dia- lects. The Papuans are the least attrac- tive of any Pacific islanders, and the island groups which they occupy are among the least known of the Pacific and have been for many generations shunned by mariners and associated with everything that is of evil repute in the record of the ocean. The Polynesians in many attributes are greatly at variance with the Papuan islanders. They generally speaking, an elaborate religious system, an established order of hereditary chiefs and well-defined social castes. They are friendly to strangers, fond of dress, ex- pert manufacturers of Kapa cloth, and intrepid seamen and navigators. They tattoo instead of scar the body, seldom practice cannibalism, cook in earthen ovens instead of in earthen pots, drink awa, and possess a common language understandable throughout New Zea- land, Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti, and the Paumotu Islands. Of all the Pacific races the greatest interest attaches to the Polynesian isl- anders, but it is unfortunately these peo- ple whose primitive customs and racial types have been most broken up by mod- ern intercourse. The study of the Polynesian language will afford a most fascinating field of inquiry, and _ its proper investigation will require a knowledge of the tongues of the people inhabiting the region between the east- ern coast of Africa and the western coast of South America. The Malayo-Polynesian language pos- sesses the distinction of being spoken by indigenes over the widest area of any language of the world, for it embraces two great oceans and extends from the island continent of Madagascar to the isolated islet of Rapanui. This latter in- significant output of Polynesian culture is distinguished as affording specimens of that remarkable ideographic writing which lifts the race well above the plane of savages and proves it to have ad vanced toward a culture worthy of com- parison with primitive civilization. The deciphering of the Rapanui records has not vet been accomplished, but its solu- tion should be achieved when all speci- possess,
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550 Tur NarioNaL GEOGRAPHIC MaGAZINE MABU, A VILLAGE IN THE FIJI ISLANDS XUM
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JM Tue PaciFic: mens of the art have been assembled for comparison. The translation of their writing will perhaps unlock knowledge of immense value to many questions of the origin, migration, and history of the Pacific races. DID THE MOON COME OUT OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN Of not less importance will be an in- vestigation affecting the origin of the Pacific Ocean bed itselfi—the greatest de- pression on the globe. Many ingenious theories have been advanced on this sub- ject, and among these the two following are interesting: The first hypothesis suggests that the Pacific area was formerly occupied by a land-mass which has subsided below sea- level, probably by volcanic agency. The volcanic system extending round the Pa- cific littoral of Asia and America lends considerable color to the theory, and would represent the edge of the sunken plain. At this point of fracture the sub- jacent molten contents of the earth have found vent, and thus by dispersal have built up the coast mountain chains. If this be true, the present island groups of the Pacific would represent the summits of former mountain systems. Whatever the cause of the isolation of the present archipelagoes, evidences are not lacking that they have at some time been connected with other land-masses. The absence of mammals of any im- portance, however, would suggest this period to be so remote that the severance occurred before the evolution of these creatures. The land mollusks, whose nearest affinities must be sought in geo- logic fossils, also point to the islands as having been isolated in the remote past. The second geological theory of the Pacific which has claimed credence is that the land-mass which formerly occu- pied its depression was, in the age before the solidification of the globe was too far advanced, whirled off by centrifugal force, and now composes our satellite, the moon. A comparison of the shores of west America and east Asia with other evidence suggests some truth to this re- Tue Least KNown REGION 551 markable theory, for the coast lines will be seen to bear the same relation to one another as that possessed by the inden- tures of a legal document. Why do Pacific mammals, reptiles, and birds become more scarce as we progress across the ocean from east to west? What is the origin of the Hawaiian birds? How did the flightless birds of New Zealand originate, and what was the evolution of the gigantic wingless moa? Why is the nearest living rela- tive to the extinct dodo found in Samoa? What is the import of the presence of the same species of a fresh-water fish in two rivers situated on opposite sides of the Pacific? Have the Australian mar- supials a common origin with those of America, and does their presence con- tribute to the theory of an intervening continent? These are a few of the many interesting questions whose solution would contribute much to the establish- ment of truths of material importance to modern knowledge. The investigation of all the above questions, except perhaps those affecting such stable subjects as geology, must be undertaken in the immediate future if any satisfactory result is to be achieved. The total disappearance of the inhabit- ants of some islands has created a gap which is now as impossible to bridge as that between our own civilization and the European Stone Age. In this way much that is necessary to a true under- standing of the Pacific has forever dis- appeared, and many perplexing prob- lems can now never be solved. The work of the early navigators was suffi- cient to the knowledge of the day in which it was conducted, but the signifi- cance of habits, of custom, of rites, of legends, and of arts was ignored or wrongly interpreted, and an inexhaust- ible store of priceless information re- mained unheeded until it has been ef- faced and has forever passed away. THE EXTRAORDINARY CIVILIZATION OF THE POLYNESIAN \nd here it may be said that the plane of culture which has disappeared before
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gg2 Tue NarionaL GeocraPHic MAGAZINE re erere Pa ae) euyeecy | Bg btn? os ON KAMBARA ISLAND, FIJI XUM
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THe PacirFic: NATIVE FIGHTING MAN: MOEN THE Least KNown REGION ISLAND, TURK LAGOON, CAROLINE ISLANDS > J 3
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554 a hardy and aggressive civilization ,has in some cases been of a much higher order than the intolerance of the early white man could appreciate. With re- gard to the Polynesian race, this is espe- cially true. The elaborate religious system of this people had attained a perfection and elaboration of ritual such as has been equaled by few other people. The ori- gin of the dreaded taboo and its develop- ment into a wonderful religious and po- litical engine indicates an intelligence of no mean order. The ceremonial by which the hereditary castes and offices was maintained and in which social svs- tem was upheld bears witness to a suc- cession of remarkably endowed political rulers. The tremendous irrigation tunnels by which mountain ranges were pierced re- quired alike great mechanical skill and some knowledge of the principles of sur- veying. Their elaborate code of water rights, their knowledge of the movement of the heavenly bodies, their familiarity with the currents of the great ocean and their protracted voyages thereon, their evolution of a system of writing, are all matters which excite our admiration and bear testimony to the fact that the Polv- nesians, so far as permitted by the ma- terial accessories around them, had de- veloped a culture which compares favor- ably with that possessed by other races at the dawn of authentic history. The ethnological result of the mission- aries’ presence among the natives is also to be recorded. The motive which actu- ated these workers is irreproachable, but as a class the ministers of the gospel have been singularly deficient in real- izing the importance of preserving an account of native customs and _ habits. Many noteworthy exceptions, however, occur to this statement, and such names as Ellis and Chalmers will always be associated among those who have con- tributed to Pacific knowledge. By the not unnatural antagonism of the Chris- tian missionaries to the heathen cult, all that pertained to the native religion was sternly suppressed. The native converts THe Nationa, GEosraPpHic MAGAZINE to Christianity, in the zeal and bigotry of their new faith, in turn did everything in thei. power to suffocate the early re- ligion, and thus effected the extinction of much which cannot be determined. Together with the ban placed upon the native religion, the whole realm of myth, genealogy, legend, and history fell into disrepute, until, instead of preserving a more or less accurate record of their race in their elaborate oral traditions, the native tribes in many instances now present the condition of isolated units, lacking the record of their past and sev- ered from their affinity to other peoples. One beneficial work of the missionaries was the translation of the Bible into many native tongues, which has thus helped to preserve a record of the lan- guages of the region much in their early purity. AN IMMEDIATE EXPLORATION NECESSARY It is probably not too much to say that in the Pacific as great changes are now wrought ethnologically in five years as without the influence of the Caucasian would be brought about in many gener- ations. Another ten years will probably be too late in which, with any prospect of satisfactory result, a complete ethno- logical exploration of this region can be conducted. Unless the work is actively undertaken long before this period has elapsed, the value to be derived there- from will be very greatly diminished. The exploration, therefore, must be vigorously prosecuted now, or on the present generation will lie the reproach of having refused to preserve informa- tion of vast importance to the scientific workers of future generations. We of our time cannot content ourselves with the plea upon which we can acquit our ancestors of having neglected this work. They at least erred ignorantly, and even had they been cognizant of its impor- tance were not so well equipped for un- dertaking it as are we of the present day. Many of the causes which have con- tributed to the destruction of the inhab- itants themselves have also been at work in underm ing the majority of the Pa- XUM
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KUM Tue Paciric: cific fauna and flora. Protected by their isolation from the struggle for survival which continental species must contin- ually maintain; nurtured in an environ- ment admirably tempered to an easy ex- istence; rendered non-resistant to intro- duced disease by long generations of im- munity; situated on small islands which afforded no means of retreat, the native species of both animal and plant life have in most cases proved unable to exist in the aggressive competition with hard- ier types. The decay of the native bird life in many islands is remarkable, although other than exotic influence has assisted in their destruction. On the island upon which Honolulu is situated, more than half the native species of birds have be- come extinct during the last century. Upon the land mammals of the region the effect has been even more disastrous, and most of the few aboriginal species have so utterly disappeared that no re- liable description of them has been pre- served. In some cases even their former existence is questioned. The botanical species have in the same way _ been crowded out by more persistent foreign plants or have been destroyed by domes- tic animals. Upon marine life very little modifica- tion appears to have as yet taken place, and it is safe to presume that, unless some altogether unexpected factor arises within the region itself, this will long remain stationary. There are, however, evidences which suggest that the Ha- waiian coral reefs are not in such a vig- orous condition of growth as formerly. ADVANTAGES OF HONOLULU FOR PACIFIC EXPLORATION Situated in mid-Pacific, Honolulu af- fords the best center from which this great work can advantageously be con- ducted. The foundation of the Pacific Scientific Institution proves that the op- portunity of this favored city is appre- ciated by its inhabitants, and that the work which has lain so long neglected will soon be commenced. With headquarters at Honolulu, it is THe Least Known REGION 555 proposed to dispatch parties of trained workers upon a specially equipped vessel to the various island groups. At con- venient centers, substations will be estab- lished, through which communication with the home office may be maintained. Each expedition will consist of a corps of experts, who will carefully record all that is found of sufficient interest to pre- serve. A careful and elaborate series of anthropometric data will be tabulated; the languages, religion, law, mythology, legend, and genealogy of each people will be recorded; their technology, art, and medicine will be exhaustively studied. Series of mammals, birds, reptiles, in- sects, and botanical specimens will be preserved; the coral reef, the marine fauna and flora, the ocean currents, the geology and the meteorology, will all be investigated, until the whole realm of nature has yielded up its store of scien- tific data. It is anticipated that the work of ex- ploration will be completed in fifteen years. As soon as they can be pub- lished, exhaustive accounts upon the eth- nology, zoology, and botany of said groups will be issued. The most impor- tant work of publication will be deferred until all the data of the various expedi- tions have been received and reduced to: order. Under the assistance of the fore--. most scientists of America and Europe, the records of the whole exploration will be then examined and compared. The publication of these final volumes will probably rank as one of the most inter- esting and important additions to human knowledge that has ever emanated from a single press. During the fifteen years in which the exploration is in progress, many other scientific institutions will be established by the central one, supplemental to its work. Of these, one of the most impor- tant will be a botanical garden and gar- den of acclimatization, in which will be grown and studied many of the impor- tant plants procured by the collectors. The production of new and improved varieties of tropical fruits and flowers will be an important work of this depart-
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558 THE NatrionaL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE ment and = one which should make it famous throughout the world. When it is considered that our present varieties of such fruit as the apple have been evolved by care- ful selection during many generations, the future of many tropical fruits which have as yet not similarly been operated upon seems almost limitless. The un- rivaled situation of Ha- waii and the diversity of climate available from sea- level to mountain peak should in time render a botanical garden estab- lished there as_ beautiful as any in the world. A zoological garden for the reception of the Pa- cific mammals and_ rep- tiles, including an aviary to accommodate its rare and wonderful birds, will also be established. A wholly untrodden field of practical research awaits the economic study of the birds of this region, the importance of which work can scarcely be oveéresti- mated. The accession of fishes to the already es- tablished Honolulu Aqua- rium will without doubt make the exhibitions in these three institutions one of the most complete collections of the fauna and flora of a single re- : Res sgt. a ere gion which has ever been ag eT at assembled together. MSE eS . The study of marine be a i 8 ras ‘ life will also be pursued P5er is hos | ah OD and a_ biological station S 2 ei ' “= will be equipped for this x5 purpose. Ilere will be established tables for the study of marine biology, DAUGHTERS OF CHIEF NAKIRORO, OF TARI-TARI ATOLL, ; : to which will resort stu- GILBERT GROUP XUM
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UM Biskra, THE ZiBAN QUEEN 563 dents from many other countries. Sci- entific men have come to regard the biological station as one of the most im- portant fields of original research, for from the study of the elementary cellular creatures of the ocean it is expected that the baffling enigma of the origin of life may at length receive enlightenment. As the result of the survey, a wonder- ful collection of ethnological specimens will also be assembled in Honolulu. The disposition of these among the various institutions of the world which collab- orate in the undertaking will be an im- portant consideration. ‘The main collec- tion should, however, be retained to aug- ment the already goodly collection of the celebrated Bishop Museum. As time goes on and when the whole series of establishments are in operation, Honolulu will rank among the foremost centers of scientific research. The an- tiquarian, the ethnologist, the zodlogist, and the botanist will look to the Ha- waiian Islands as preserving the record of many of the most interesting objects of their various departments of learning. It is anticipated that when the estab- lishment of the Pacific Scientific Institu- tion becomes known, many patrons of science will avail themselves of the op- portunity of contributing to an undertak- ing which will so greatly benefit our race. The manner in which the Institution has been incorporated and the trustees under whose administration it has been placed assure us that the long-delayed work of Pacific exploration will shortly be com- menced. BISKRA, THE ZIBAN QUEEN By Mrs GeorGe C. Bosson, JR. The photographs accompanying this article were sent to this Magazine by Miss Louise Coleman, those on pages 578 and 579 being taken by her, while the others were purchased. ©O the uninitiated, what vision rises at the thought of an oasis in Sahara? I confess that in my mind there used to be the picture of sparse grass struggling through smooth yellow sand, a few tall, fronded palms, a well and some camels, with burnoused Arabs kneeling in the background against a setting sun—a tout ensemble traceable, doubtless, to a cut in some primary geography. I know I never expected a miniature city, with churches, clubs, mar- kets, hotels, barracks, shops, with cafés- chantants and wickedness sufficient to have earned the sobriquet of “la petite Paris’—on my word, no. I always had a latent romantic leaning toward the bold Bedouin and “king of the desert,’ and to the desert we went to get a nearer view. We had left behind us the snowy state- liness of the Atlas Mountains and the Kabyle villages with their vivid impres- sions of Eastern existence. We _ had seen Jacob and Joseph, as one imagines them to the life, Ruth in the fields and Rebecca by the well, and a white-robed patriarch coming down the mountains with a light about his head as the sun’s last rays burst upon him, and in his arms a petted, straying lamb. And as we sped on in the twilight, the shepherds watch- ing their flocks by night, “all seated on the ground,” and one shining star above, made peace on earth seem nearer, though in the world of telegrams and news- papers which we had left far behind wars and rumors of wars were cruel and rife. At Setif, a French garrison village high up in the mountains (Setif is at an elevation of 3,700 feet), we spent the last night before entering the desert, and
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THe Nationa, GEoGRAPHIC MAGAZINE panthers yet lair. “Beyond there pate fer : ghir e ° Ghed LM, ) RO Ct ay ah ; paw Z | ae eA CGE RTA - Eare seh pee / aad "J é oe * nee x. bianca at cea akg Mie lives the Said,” says the Arabs in the respectful tone in which they always mention the King of the Atlas, and a sample of Arabian philosophy is _ their proverb concerning his majesty: “He who kills him eats him, and (| he who does not kill him is eaten | by him.” On again, across rocky dunes and by salt lakes, vegetation ap- |] pearing only in tiny bunches of sage-brush among the stone and SKETCH MAP OF ALGERIA the combination of colonist and native in the tiny town made us realize the im- portance of the problem which, together with the “question Kabyle,” now con- fronts the French republic. The little hotel was comfortable and clean, and the pale blue and scarlet coats of the military men, the white burnouses and gold-em- broidered waistcoats of the Arabs, the black cassock of a priest, and the fur- trimmed jacket of a visiting chasseur d'Afrique gave the place almost the ap- pearance of a costume ball. The colonel of the regiment was dining alone, and within joking distance were five spruce young officers, whose grades of rank were almost as evident from their man- ner as from the number of stripes on the bright kepis ranged on the wall beside them. An early start next morning was an effort to a lazy woman, but the keen air, the glorious sunrise, and the sights of Setif in morning light were generous re- wards. From glimpses through open doors, and dark circles under the eves of very evidently up-all-night officers, I have an idea that absinthe and seductive green baize tables may be almost as responsible for the worn and jaded look of the bronzed Algerian soldiers as are African suns and forced marches. At Batnah a stop for lunch, and a dis appointed woman listened hard but failed to hear “the lions’ roar come down the Libyan wind,” for here we are near the great cedar forests where lions and sand, with rare clumps of fennel, rosemary, and candytuft, seem- ingly strayed trom a New England garden, once in a while an encampment of Kabyles, surrounded by a corral of thorn-brush, and long lines of cactus and aloe standing out against a burning blue sky. A herd of antelope pass in the distance, and beyond is a billowy waste of plain in an indescribably yellow, mellow light, with bare hills like sentinels in the back- What is that slow-moving line of dark? What but our first sight of a caravan, twenty or thirty camels with their striped packs, a little herd of goats, Arabs on horseback trot along the line, and plodding, patient figures bring up the rear. And as we go on over the billowy sands, seemingly our course is stopped ; for a line of sharp, needle-like, castellated red mountains of fantastic outline ap- pears, like fortified heights with bastions round their sides, to bar our way. but no, there is an opening, a gate—a gate, indeed, El Kantara of the Arabs, Fro- menti’s “Porte d’Or de Sahara,” and the Calceus Herculis of the Romans; and here was it that the famous Third Au- gustan Legion was quartered. Vanished are the visions of the oasis of geography days, the oasis veritably bursts upon our gaze, and we have our first sight of what Murray says is one of the three most wonderful views in this wonderful world of ours, while Lamartine’s “tu parais, le desert s'anime,” comes to our thoughts. We are told that there are fifty thou- ground, XUM
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Biskra, [He ZiBAN QUEEN 565 ZOUAVES sand trees in this oasis of E] Kantara— date-palms, oranges, and figs, the first predominating. ‘There is a waving green sea of foliage set down in the burning sand, with quaint Arab houses nearly hid- den in the trees, and square, high watch- towers looming among the palms. These towers are towers for the guards who watch the fruit when ripe, for the Arab has notoriously vague ideas of meum et tuum. Water everywhere, in wells, in pools, in irrigating ditches among the trees, for the Arab proverb says that the tree of the desert “must grow with his feet in water, his head in fire.” As sud- denly as it began, the emerald verdure ceases, and there is the golden desert stretching on again in its vastness. Not level though, and here again has the pri- mary geography somewhat deceived us, for in this region Sahara is mountainous and rocky, though this phenomenon is not seen north of Biskra. Presently some Roman ruins are pass- ed, fragments of cornices and shafts of AT SETIF columns, remains of an aqueduct and masonry, and the ruins of a square fort built in the reign of Caracalla, he of bath fame, who, with his brother-emperor Hadrian, the traveler concludes, must have been a very busy man. Along our way the sand-hills are white with salt- peter, and at the end of a limestone range is the Montagne du Sel mentioned by Herodotus, a hill of bluish-gray rock- salt. The south boundary is the Djebel- bou-Ghazal, and as we approach Biskra the ruins of a Turkish fort are passed, and then, en face, appears the square and sturdy outline of Fort Saint Germain, the French fortification guarding the precious possessions of the “Ziban Queen.” We resort to Murray for facts, and learn that we are 360 feet above sea- level, that the oasis is six miles long, possesses 170,000 date-palms, beside tam- arind, fig, and orange trees, and likewise possesses what is claimed to be the most perfect climate in the world from No-
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566 THe NaTIonaL GEoGrRAPHIC MAGAZINE SHIPS OF THE DESERT XUM
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5 Biskra, THE ZIBAN QUEEN VumNsiad OL aqvou AHL NO
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XUM VUNSId OL ALNOY AHL NO LYASAG AHL SSOYDV ONIMOO’ a as o> - Re a a; te. sean t ge ne ere — MAGAZINE GRAPHIC Ture Nationa, GEo r 568
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—— we ee eve & Biskra, [HE Z1iBAN QUEEN vember till May. Its genial temperature, clear sky, and luxuriant vegetation are indisputable charms, and its dry atmos- phere makes it particularly curative for pulmonary diseases. A _ gentle shower during one day was the first rain that had fallen for seventeen months, and yet there is that never-failing supply of deli- cious cold water from natural wells throughout -the whole oasis. There are five villages in this island of the sand-sea, and the outlying oases of Filiah and Geddecha also belong to Biskra. The Arab villages and the vil- lage des negres are built of sun-dried mud, with doors and flat roofs of palm- wood. Among the ruins of Je vier Biskra, where before the new fort was constructed the French fortified the old Kasbah existing at their arrival, are a heap of Roman blocks and = columns, which are all that remains of the Roman outpost of Ad Piscinam. The French village is clustered around Fort Saint Germain, named for a gallant officer kill- ed during the Zaatcha insurrection in 1849, and which is capable of sheltering the whole civil population. There is a pretty public garden, where feathery pepper trees make a pleasant shade, a church, a mosque, streets of shops, a handsome casino and officers’ club, and three good hotels, of which the principal one, the Royal Hotel, is said to be the best in Algeria. It-is cer- tainly a delightful surprise to find in Sahara a hotel with every appointment of elegance and comfort. Count de Lan- don has a charming winter residence here with a wonderful garden, which it was our privilege to visit. He has success- fully acclimated many precious tropical fruit trees, among them the mango and the custard apple, and possesses some of the grandest specimens of Ponciana regia in the world. A visit to the market place during the morning is one of the sights of the town and oriental in every tone. Squatting groups of bronzed-legged Bedouins, in brown and white camel’s-hair burnouses, are selling cous-cous, dried peppers, and of course dates. Bunches of fresh grass 569 and green barley and thistles are heaped in one corner of the inclosure, Moorish slippers here and a pile of red fezzes there, and souvenirs for the tourist not lacking. For fifty centimes one may purchase a set of graceful gazelle horns, and curious knives and Arabian guns tempt the collector on her way. An ebon negress is selling oranges, an Arab boy in a red fez, and not much else, carries a basket of purple fruit in green leaves, while cloaks, burnouses, turbans, and yakmahs, purple, blue, deep red, and spot- less white all crushed together, make kaleidoscopic color in the whitewashed square. Bags of henna leaves, for stain- ing the nails in Arab fashion, send forth their pungent odor, and the aroma of coffee and cigarettes fills the air. \ Kabyle girl in red gown, tattooed bluely as to her forehead and cheeks, stained yellow as to her finger tips, passes us, cigarette in mouth, her bangles and ank- lets clanking as she goes. Outside a Moorish café a row of Moors, clean in their white burnouses, are solemnly crouched, two of them playing a grave game of chess, but the rest doing nothing to perfection, without a trace of boredom or a gesture of im- patience, a state of dreamy delight achieved apparently by habit of mind, a realization of Arabian Keyf. ‘Two merry cantinieres go briskly along, and behind them glide two Sisters of Charity. Oc- casionally a tall figure in white burnouse and dark blue or pale gray cape, with crimson fez and gold-embroidered jacket, passes, and the dark eyes and white teeth flash down in friendly glance. Occa- sionally, too, there is a suspicion of genu- ine attar-of-rose whiffed on the air, as one of this oriental jeunesse dorée walks by us, and we are reminded of what an \rabian courier once told us: “In my country, if a man have perfume on his clothes, it makes scandal!” Scandal there may be, even here, but there is no yellow journal. News is cried by a zouave who beats a drum, then stands and proclaims his tale, and passes on to the next street. Noises of all kinds are rife, the impossible consonants of
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57° Arabic are hurled to and fro, the “Illah!” of a donkey-driver pierces the air, the glissade of the musical French slips in, the kneeling camels in the square roar loudly as the packs are strapped to their backs. There is the rattle of regimental drums, the clear call of the bugle, or the strains of “Partant pour la Syrie.” In walking one day to an Arab village at a distant end of the oasis, we chanced upon a group of Arab girls bathing in a pool, partly screened by lustrous green foliage. They were splashing and play- ing like ducks, their limbs glistering, their dark hair streaming. Of a second, our approach was seen. ‘That a man—there chanced to be one in our party—should gaze upon their unveiled faces, covered though they might be to their chins in water, was an event to be avoided. There was a short succession of screams, a glimpse of bare feet and bare young bodies as they scampered away, with their burnouses wrapped about their heads, for the faces must be hidden, of course! Murray says: “ The street of the Ouled-Nails, with its café and oriental dancers, is a place where no European woman should go.’ Murray failed to taboo the American woman's sightseeing in this Biskran tenderloin. I wonder why? Atall events, being children of our grandmother Eve, we wished to go. In Algiers we had managed to escape from the Spanish courier whom we had had— to speak correctly, he had had us—and, being two lone women, sought in our perplexity as to a chaperon for the café the advice of that useful gentleman, the hotel concierge, who is alike consul, valet de-place, and interpreter in one. In this particular instance he was a blonde and soldierly German from the Rhineland, al- ways courteous and fatherly, speaking French, German, Italian, English, and \rabic in as many minutes, and equally at home in each. He assured us that we might safely go to the street of the Ouled-Nails and the café, and that as our escort he would send a French-speak- ing Arab servant from the hotel: we were cautioned to leave our money at home, THe NatTIonaL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE giving to Mahamed, the aforesaid Arab, sufficient silver for use. There was a mysterious charm in the quiet night as we followed the white fig- ure of Mahamed and the light of his curi- ous old lantern. Other white-robed fig- ures passed or met us, and once or twice the “Allah yahmahnik” (God be with you) of a friend greeted our guide. The stars were intensely bright overhead, and the briskness, purity, and sweetness of the air too delicious to describe. Passing into the street of the Ouled-Nails was a sudden transition to much life, color, and noise, the street itself full of Arabs, young and old, while on matting outside nearly every door sat the Ouled-Nail girls, drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes, and chattering what was presumably Biskran slang at any halting passers-by. The Ouled-Nails, sometimes called Al- mées, are girls from an oasis at some dis- tance from Biskra, and of mixed Arabian and negro blood. ‘They are more remark- able for their singularity of costume and grace of dancing than for the rigidity of their morals. Their faces are daubed with tar and saffron to accentuate the color of the Afric sun; tattooing in blue is quite la mode, and their hair, mixed with wool and stiffened with grease and tar, hangs in ebon loops about the face. They wear loose gowns of bright cotton, and gold and silver coin, coral, and filagree in bar- baric abundance, sometimes twenty pounds of silver being carried in the shape of bangles, anklets, chains, and massive girdles. From a brightly lighted, low, white building came the discordant music of reed instruments and the tom-tom of harsh drums, and thither we followed Mahamed. The little place was quite filled, a space in the center being reserved for the dancers. In one corner was a little stone furnace, and here an Arab, wearing the turban which denotes a pil- grimage to Mecca accomplished, cooked and served Arabian coffee, the aroma filling the room. What a picture it was, the bright fire and its reflections on the gleaming copper of the tiny coffeepots, the bronze faces under the crimson XUM
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THe NaTriIonaAL GEoGRAPHIC MAGAZINE BISKRA ARLS: DANCING SISKRA AMIUILY
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581 Biskra, THE ZiBAN QUEEN
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Biskra, THE ZiBAN QUEEN 585 ISKRA B IANDS: | | ISTERI ADMIN .UM
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586 THe NaTIonaAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE GATHERING THE DATES XUM
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UM Biskra, THE ZiBAN QUEEN 587 fezzes, the white draperies contrasting with the gay gowns of the Ouled-Nails. Four other visitors, likewise with Arabs from the hotel, had come to see the dance, and as two of them were unmis- takably English women, they had as un- mistakably disobeyed Mr. Murray. Places were made for us on a bench beside some Arabs. Mahamed brought coffee to us, the orchestra redoubled its weird, monotonous, doleful music, and the dancing commenced. Slow it was, at first, and accompanied by much waving of scarfs, a sort of bolero; then it grew more animated and suggestive, until the girls, breathless and nearly exhausted, crouched in front of the orchestra, and two more took their places. As soon as the first dancers had recovered a bit of breath they walked about, stopping in front of each group for expression of appreciation in the shape of coin of the realm. Mahamed gave me two pieces to stick on the foreheads of the ladies, for such is the fashion of payment. Con- cerning the dance itself, I refrain from detailed description. It was the danse du ventre, or muscle-dance of the Orient, a modified form of which was shown in the Cario street of the Midway. It was a bit suggestive and more than a bit risqué. Six kilometers from Biskra, under the shadows of Djebel-bou-Ghazal, are the marvelous hot springs of Hamman’ Sala- hin, the “Bath of the Saints.” <A tiny tram runs to it, out across the sands, and the place is curious to see. The water bursts out with great violence at the rate of forty liters a second and at a tempera- ture of 112° Fahrenheit. There are baths for French and other visitors, and these are said to be very efficacious for rheumatism. Outside the baths the sur- plus water is collected in reservoirs for the Arabs to bathe; there is some super- stition attached to the springs, and the natives plunge in and parboil themselves in the holy water. If Biskra is the political and social center of the Ziban, and the Ziban is the group of prosperous oases, villages ex- tending from the foot of the Aures Mountains to the Chott-Melghir, the re- ligious capital is Sidi-Okba. Sidi-Okba is an oasis distant twenty kilometers from Biskra, and is named for that old war- rior who, at the head of a small body of Arab cavalry, went forth to conquer Africa in the sixtieth year of the Hed- jira. When he had extended his con- quest from Egypt to Tangier, he spurred his horse into the Atlantic, declaring that only such a barrier could prevent him from forcing every nation beyond it who knew not God to worship Him only or die. In a revolt of the Berbers he was killed, A. D. 641, and when the Arabs had reconquered the Ziban their leader was buried in the oasis which bears his name. The track across the desert to Sidi- Okba is practical for carriages, and our turbaned driver galloped his three horses harnessed abreast over the hum- mocks of sand and tufts of sage-brush till we begged for slower pace. Soon after leaving Biskra we crossed a stony tract a quarter of a mile broad, with a deep stream in the center, the Oued- Biskra, and emerged on the desert. The tiny oasis of Feliah is passed on the right, the dome of a Marabout’s tomb shining among its trees. The long, low-lying line of the palms of Sidi-Okba is in the dis- tance; the Aures Mountains rise in golden and rose glory, the deep clefts in their side blue and mysterious. Groups of Bedouin tents are passed at intervals, and the scarlet rug, the copper pan, the fire, and its group are dashes of bright color in the yellow-browns of earth and camp, canopied always with the daz- zling blue of the sky. Herds of camels feed on the dry sage-brush of the plain, and the baby camels trot by their mothers in coltish fashion. Occasionally three or four little fellows dart from the camps as we pass, and run nimbly by the side of the carriage. “Sontie, Sontie,” they call, and stretch out pleading hands. Centimes, to be sure, are what they ask, and when we throw out some sous there is a diving of little black polls, a scramble, and a_ fresh sprint. Having no clothes, they could
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588 THe NaTIonaL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE Lima mas V, asin! A RIVULET OF MUDDY WATER WHICH FLOWS THROUGH THE MAIN STREET OI SIDI-OKBA
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Biskra, [HE ZiBAN QUEEN have no pockets, and the money went into their mouths. Five other oases are passed, Chetnah, Droh, Sidi-Khabil, Seriana, and Garta, and at length we approached the mud wall which surrounds the sacred oasis. Four thousand Arabs live in this village, and the mud houses are thickly packed, the streets narrow and_ indescribably dirty, with rivulets of muddy water run- ning down the center. ‘The tiny shops are open to the street, in Eastern fashion, and behind their wares the cross-legged merchants sit in stoic indifference. The most primitive of tools and of workman- ship characterize the bazaars, and there is a lack of the attractive objects one sees in most oriental towns and shops, only the necessities of existence having place here. Half-naked boys play a game with sticks and ball, hockey, perhaps—or, stay, can it be an Arabian form of golf? Per- haps that quick cry means “fore” in the Arabian tongue. Who knows? Heads of veiled women peer out behind the screen of a hanging blanket in the back of a shop, and an Arab, somewhat cleaner than any we have yet seen, accosts us in fair French, assuring us he is the only person in the oasis who speaks other than Arabic, and offering his services as cicerone. A short and decisive bargain, and we follow our guide, followed in our ‘turn by what seems half the population of the village, to whom we appear to be some- thing in the nature of “freaks.” Imme- diately behind us three lank fellows in torn brown burnouses brandish long bamboo rods to keep the curious popu- lace from too near approach. Through tortuous, winding streets we reach the square old mosque, built of mud and plaster, and said to be the most ancient Mohammedan building in Africa. It is a place of pilgrimage for the faith- ful, this tomb of a saint, and there are at least a hundred devotees at prayer in the place. Rags are tied over our Christian feet, and we follow our guide into the dark old mosque. Quiet it is and still, though just at the entrance a group 589 of ascetic-looking fellows, Mohammedan “divinity students,” are loudly repeating prayers from old tablets, swaying to and fro on their knees as they chant their supplications. But within quiet reigns, and the kneeling or prostrate pilgrims do not move as we creep softly by. The flat roof is upheld by rude columns, one of which, with its spiral ornamentations, suggests that its first use was probably in some Roman building. The moslem “half-orange,” though ruder here than in the delicate alabaster of the Alham- bra, arches over, with its seat for the Mufti on the eastern side, and beside it is a carved door of fine workmanship. The shrine of Sidi-Okba is in a sort of chantry screened off from the mosque, and is of the common Marabout shape. It is hung round with ostrich eggs, chains and amulets of silver and copper, and, what appears to be particularly precious, a large gilt mirror frame. On a near pillar is a rude inscription in quaint \rabic, or Cufic, said to be the oldest Arabic inscription extant, and grand in its simplicity: “This is the tomb of Okba, son of Nafta. May God have mercy upon him.” The minaret is said, according to Arab legends, to tremble visibly when the saint is invoked accord- ing toa prescribed form. But, though it is leaning and insecure, we felt no trem- ble as we ascended the high, winding stairs. Emerging upon the roof, the fascination of the sudden apparition of the Saharan scene held us fast. The level desert stretched before us, a golden sea of sand, the dark islands of distant oases recalling the simile of the panther’s skin. Grander far is it than the surface of the ocean without a sail, the far-off line where earth and sky melt into one sug- gestive of distance, mystery, and = un- known existence, that “dry country abounding in dates.”’ The flat roofs of the village surrounded us, and many a veiled woman’s figure, swaying and bowing with monotonous genuflection, reminded us that the femi- nine faithful resort to the housetops to pray. \cross the sand dunes and by the
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59” 3edouin camps, where no doubt “fair Zuleika awaits in her tent,’ we gallop back to Biskra, the apathetic “ships of the desert” scarcely looking up from the sage-brush as we pass. With eyes trained to peer for big game in American for- ests, the writer looked in vain for ga- zelles or ostriches, each moving speck on nearer view always proving a camel. But gazelles and ostriches do abound, says the Arab, and also at some seasons the ser- pent a corne, whose bite is said to be fatal, though these last are seldom found near Biskra. Dried ones, souvenirs of what one did not see, may be purchased for a franc, and seem rather more desira- ble than the live variety. A story is told of an Englishman who was “doing” the desert, and who wished to protect his legs against the reptiles. He provided himself with tin boot-legs, and a pair are shown to travelers; but a delicious doubt exists as to whether the Englishman left them or whether they are all that is left of the Englishman. Beautiful Biskra with her crown of palms rises before us in the sunset as we approach. The grace, lightness, and yet the suggestive strength of the wonderful trees is difficult to describe; the glow of sunset on the stems, the shadows of the sharp-pointed leaves, all need a subtler pen than mine. The sands are dyed deep purple now, with high lights of brilliant rose, and over the Sahara bends the even- THe NationaL GrocraPHic MaGazine ing sky, its blue blending into saffron and green, washed thinly with streaks of crimson. Until one has seen the sun go down over the African desert one can never conceive what brightness of color Nature carries on her palette. The clear musical tenor of the muez- zin’s call floats from the minaret of the Biskran mosque: “Come to prayer, come to prayer; It is better to pray than to sleep;” and. looking eastward the faithful fall prostrate. “Allah il Allah” (God is great) is the substance of their psalm of praise, and the motionless figures and the solemnity of the scene are beautiful in their suggestiveness. What though the heaven prayed for and the prophet worshiped seem unorthodox, there is faith, devotion, and adoration. It is an honest, earnest faith, be it right or wrong, a religion of duty and of following to the letter the law laid down by Mahomet. Even though on deliberate examination the whole system of Mohammedanism does break down, one must admit that the fervor is sincere. With the desert for their temple, their altar-fire the setting sun, their faces toward Mecca, and their hearts toward Allah, their every attitude breathes faith and devotion. Benighted they are, and unregenerate, but earnest, nature-loving, and sincere wherever the Goum surrounds the tri-colored standard of the Prophet. XUM
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593 Biskra, THE ZiBAN QUEEN ,HOIH LISOW AHL JO ALIVONVS AHL OLX l,, ONTIYOAWANIWN ‘SH INIL AaMHL aqNnnowd AHL OL SMOd FAH UM , .
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594 THe NarionaL GeocraPHic MAGAZINE ahow re — fac co eas THE FRUIT WHICH LOOKS LIKE A WATERMELON IS IN REALITY A LEMON Weight, 7% pounds; grown in the State of Tamaulipas, Mexico. Photo from Mr Russell H Millward, American Vice Consul, Tampico, Mexico XUM a ee
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QAHATIKA WaTeER GIRL 595 che } 4 eas 1 Photo and Copyright by Edward S. Curtis QAHATIKA WATER GIRL
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596 THe NaTionaL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE REMARKABLE PHOTOGRAPH OF LILI- ENTAL’S GLIDING MACHINE HE, enclosed photograph of Lilien- thal’s double-decked machine was among the last ever taken of him, | think, for | secured it only two or three days before he was killed in the same machine, at the same place—Neustadt an der Dosse. [ knew Lilienthal quite well, and made one or two short glides with this same machine, the last time we went out to- gether. It struck me as being very un- stable (in my hands), though Lilienthal managed it with great skill, rushing along at race-horse speed, 60 or 70 feet in the air, the wind playing extraordinary eolian harp music on the steel piano wires with which the framework was trussed. What impressed me most was the tremendous amount of athletic work necessary to balance the machine. He was never still a moment, swinging his legs from side to side, and on landing was always quite out of breath, though | doubt if he was in the air over thirty sec- onds. It seemed to require as much ex- ertion as a hundred-yard dash. R. W. Woop. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. LOCATION OF THE SIR JOHN FRANK- LIN MONUMENT Editor NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE, Hubbard Memorial Hall, Washington, D.C. Dear Sir: I note in the January number of the Magazine, page 67, picture of the Sir John Franklin monument, which is stated to have been “erected on King Williams Island, where the relics of his party were found.” This monument was erected, not on, King Williams Island, as stated, but on Beechey Island, where the ill-fated expedition wintered in 1845-1846. The picture shows a marble slab lying on the flagged base. This is the marble tablet which was sent out by Lady Franklin in the United States expedition of 1855, under Captain Hartstein, for the purpose of being erected at Beechey Island. Circumstances pre vented the Americans executing this kindly service, and it was the lot of Captain MecClin tock to convey it from Godhaven, Greenland, to the site originally intended. The tablet was constructed in New York, under the direction of Mr Grinnell, at the request of Lady Frank lin, in order that the only opportunity which then offered of sending it to the Arctic regions might not be lost. In 1906 Captain Bernier, commanding the Canadian government steam ship Arctic (formerly the Gauss), built up the concrete base and embedded this tablet therein The small marble tablet on the face of the monument was erected to the memory of the gallant Lieutenant Bellot (McClintock’s “Fate of Sir John Franklin,’ page 173). Yours truly, JAMES WHITE, Geographer. XUM : | : | j | !
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THREE IN ONE Perfection in a Photographic Lens is possible only when Perfect Computation Perfect Grinding, and Perfect Mounting are combined in the same instrument The most perfect computation does not lead to perfect pictures unless the most perfect mechanical devices are applied in the manufacturing. Highly polished surfaces are of no avail unless they are in absolute accordance with perfect computation. A perfectly computed and perfectly ground and polished lens is not better than a rectilinear when it is carelessly mounted. The triple alliance of perfect computation, perfect grinding, and perfect mount- m— (GERZ LENSES the high reputation they deservedly earned for themselves C. P. GDERZ AMERICAN OPTICAL COMPANY NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO CHICAGO 703 Claus Spreckels Building 1514 Heyworth Building 52 Union Square East Guaranteed HENRY ROMEIKE’S Waterproof Silk Tents BUREAU OF PRESS CUTTINGS @ Reads every paper of im- portance published in the United States, and through its European agencies in Lon- don, Paris, Berlin and Vienna every paper of importance @ We manufacture a complete tine of pene’ i tag —— Tents and Camp Goods for Engineers, British Colonies. One sub- Prospectors, and Explorers. | scription onany given subject arn will bring notices from the United States, and if desired, é C0 also from European papers. At. WHITE FOR TERMS G Our goods are of the highest quality and we are prepared to fill all orders promptly. NEW YORK Camp Outfit Manufacturing Co. 110-112 West 26th St. 144 WATER STREET :: NEW YORK CITY Send for our Catalogue C Your courtesy in mentioning the Magazine when writing will be appreciated
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CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS (ee } COMBINES DIGNITY / ; DIRECTNESS AND A MINIMUM OF l EXPENSE ( eye For Terms, Address Advertising Manager NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE Washington, D. C. ENGINEERING EXPERTS MINING, MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL, CIVIL Coal Mines and Coal Properties Examined; wil! also take charge of the development and working of mines in Washington; 19 years’ practical experience in Wash- ington and Canadian coal fields. F. A. HILL, Consulting Engineer, 609 Mutual Life Building Seattle, Washington Phone, Main 432; Residence, East 741. H. E. SMITH, Mining Engineer, Box 335, Ft. Smith, Ark- General and Secret Investigations made in the Lead and Zine Fields of Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas for non-residents. E. M. JONES, 1125 James Bldg., Chattanooga, Tenn., Mining Engineer~—reports, plans for development, and supervision of operations of coal properties. Nosurveys made. Experience: Penna. Anthracite Field, Penna., Maryland, W. Va., and Tenn. Soft Coal Fields. STEPHEN E. KIEFFER, M. Am. Soc. C. E. Civil and Hydraulic Engineer. Expert solution of Water Supply and Irrigation Problems in the Arid West and Mexico. First National Bank Building, Berkeley, California. MARTIN FISHBACK, Mining Engineer, El Paso, Texas, U.S.A P.O. Box 701. Phones, 140, 788 Cable: “ Fishback.” Codes: Western Union, Moreing & Neal. Reliable examinations and reports. Plans for economic development of prospects and mines, and supervision of operations. Special field: New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico. Bank references furnished and required. NORVAL J. WELSH, Mining Engineer. Specialty ‘he examination, organization, and develop- ment of gold, silver, copper, and lead mining properties throughout the Republic of Mexico and the Southwest. Terms on request. The Engineers’ Club, New York, N. Y. San Antonio Club, San Antonio, Texas. PATENT ATTORNEYS ALEXANDER & DOWELL, Attorneys at Law. Regis- tered Solicitors of United States and Foreign Patents. Practice in all United States Courts. 607 Seventh Street Washington, D. C. TUTOR HOWARD C. JENNESS, A. B.(Harvard), Tutor, will pre- pare boys for the leading colleges, the Naval Academy, ind West Point. Successful experience at Harvard. Special classes for men wishing to enter The George Washington University on certificate Apt. 41, 1723 G St., Washington, D. C. I elephone. IDEALS @ We are all working for an ideal— aiming to do something better than has been done before. In photography we are peculiarly limited by the lens, our most important tool; hence the necessity The for using the best procurable. BAUSCH & LOMB-ZEISS TESSAR LENSES combine all those qualities most de- manded by the photographer: great light-gathering power, resulting in great speed; sharp definition, extending over the entire plate; uniform illumination, producing brilliant negatives. @ The series includes the Tessar IIb and Ic. Send for new illustrated circu- lars showing their possibilities. @ Our lenses are identical in every respect with the famous Zeiss products we use the same glass and formula, the same means and methods of manufacture. PRISM RASHES SE LNs G JUR NAME ON A PHOTOGRAPHIC LENS, FIELDGLASS, MICROSCOPE, LABORATORY APPARATUS, SCIENTIFIC OR ENGINEERING INSTRUMENT IS A MARK OF QUALITY BAUSCH & LOMB OPTICAL CO. Carl Zeiss, Jena WEF George N. Saegmuller Offices: San Francisco New York Washington Boston London Chicago Frankfort ROCHESTER, N. Y. Your courtesy in mentioning the Magazine when writing will be appreciated XUM
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EE the insert in “Town and Country ” of May 30, which shows maps and illustrations in black and color as they will appear in Avery’s 16-volume History, issued by the Burrows Brothers Company of Cleveland. It is the most elaborately planned history of which we know, fully equal to an “extra illustrated” set of books. This insert, as well as the History, is the work of our ‘* Complete Press.” If you have not access to this issue of the magazine, write us for specimens. THE MATTHEWS- NORTHRUP WORKS BUFFALO, N. Y. Cleveland Office, New York Office, 517 Citizens Building. Madison Square Garden Tower. LIGHTNING WIND STORM The Home Insurance Co. NEW YORK ORGANIZED 1853 ELBRIDGE G. SNOW, President Main Offices: 56 CEDAR STREET CASH CAPITAL, oe 000,000 ASSETS January 1, 1908 $20,862,697 LIABILITIES (Including Capital) 13,659,486 500,000 feS°RESERVE AS A CONFLAGRATION SURPLUS ke=’°NET SURPLUS OVER ALL LIABILITIES AND RESERVES ° 6,703,211 fe7SURPLUS AS REGARDS POLICY-HOLDERS 10,203,211 Losses Paid Since Organization Over ; Ps P 110,000,000 When you pay for protection get that which is ABSOLUTELY SURE, no matter now many conflagrations happen anywhere. Property Owners, Mortgagees, Executors, and Trustees desiring the best and surest _nsurance will appreciate the fact that the net assets of THE HOME-—the surplus funds reserved for the exclusive protection of its policy-holders—are greater than those of any Fire Insurance Company operating in this Country. Your courtesy in mentioning the Magazine when writing will be appreciated
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Photographing Wild Game With Flashlight and Camera Hon. GEORGE SHIRAS, 3rbD A number of the magazine, published July, 1906, containing seventy wonderful pictures of wild animals and birds taken in their natural surroundings. These inter- esting photographs are the result of years of indefatigable effort given the science of wild animal photography by Mr. Shiras, who was the originator of the sport of hunting with the camera. So many requests have been received for this number that a limited extra edition was printed to supply the demand. THE SERIES PRESENTS A SPLENDID OBJECT LESSON FOR CHILDREN IN THE STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY PREPAID BY MAIL, 50c. ORDER AT ONCE The National Geographic Magazine WASHINGTON, D. C. THE HOME OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY ssociation organized for “the increase and diffusion of knowledge,”’ with headquarters at W ashington,"D. eS. XUM
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e Prestige h J car Splendid | ‘WHITE HOUSE Willmost certainly inspire perfect’ confidence inour equally superb = ; Bre “hs Which are put up in4+&/2 lb. carefully sealed cae ee ! tins and warranted nance “ # Zs a to give complete rT a — ae satisfaction. 8a Gg . : A ‘ P raat j= 1 BOTH WHITE HOUSE se ! ; COFFEE AND es ee an ‘WHITE HOUSE TEAS Wixelo) 52 . RODUCT ei ARE THE P oer a Cas OF THE MOST al EA FAMOUS PLANTATIONS IN THE WORLD. tecneneste a ogg lege OOLONG” "BLEND" WHITE HOUSE'TEAS {31289 2 ARE SOLD UNDER. |ronanet PFKOE” THESE DISTINCTIVE NAMES. }«enorish BREAKFAST” ts ee oie “WHITE HOUSE brands of Tex and Coffee Tire packed by Most reputable concern from or ost careful selections of experts of the highest shall, and for people who apprec- tev all that Is best in the tea and coffee orld: They are uniform, reliable, satiyfving. The Top Notch in Pocket Photography The 34 Folding POCKET KODAK Every detail has been worked out with the utmost care—in design, material and workmanship, in lens and in shutter, a perfect camera of wide capabilities. Yet it retains the Kodak simplicity—and ‘‘ Kodak,’’ you know, means photography with the bother left out. : The pictures are C CD 34% x 5'4 inches. _ "Wd Price, $20.00. | , ye soon a / —— EASTMAN KODAK CO. - f Rochester, N. Y., The Kodak City. x Your courtesy in mentioning the Magazine when writing will be appreciated
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SCHOOLS and COLLEGES OF AMERICA WRITE Keynote of Success T oday is Education The thirty-five thousand members of the National Geographic Society are naturally deeply interested in education, and they have, as a class, the means to afford every educational advantage for their sons and daughters. If you would bring to their attention the merits of your institution, the, advertising columns of the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE Offer a splendid medium. When you consider the high regard in which the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE is held and the representative class of people who subscrike direct for the forty thousand copies of its monthly edition, the statement that it is undoubtedly the best adver- tising medium for educational institutions in the country will not seem exaggerated. Reaching as many directly interested people as a publication of five times its circulation, you will be surprised to find the advertising cost a minimum. FOR INFORMATION AND TERMS TO ADVERTISING MANAGER NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZ HUBB ARD MEMORIAL HALL . . WASHINGTON, INE uD. C,.
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