Adventures in New Guinea James Chalmers
Adventures in New Guinea James Chalmers
Adventures in New Guinea James Chalmers
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83<br />
20_th_.--Last night, after turn<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>, I heard a peculiar noise, as of<br />
some one <strong>in</strong> great distress, then loud speak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a falsetto voice, and<br />
knew then what was up--we had a spiritist <strong>in</strong> the village, and revelations<br />
were now about to be made. We were all named, and the places we were to<br />
visit. I felt somewhat anxious as to the revelation, for if it should be<br />
the least doubtful as to our go<strong>in</strong>g, no native would stir with us.<br />
However, the revelation, on be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>terpreted to us by Kena, was all<br />
right; we were good men, and k<strong>in</strong>d, and the villages would all will<strong>in</strong>gly<br />
receive us. The spirit dilated at length on the good qualities of<br />
foreign tobacco and the badness of the native stuff, and wound up by<br />
ask<strong>in</strong>g for some foreign. Oriope at once got up and gave from his own<br />
stock what was wanted. These native spiritists are terrible nuisances;<br />
they get whatever they ask, and the natives believ<strong>in</strong>g so thoroughly <strong>in</strong><br />
them, they have the power of upsett<strong>in</strong>g all arrangements and caus<strong>in</strong>g<br />
serious trouble. This morn<strong>in</strong>g, I found our spirit friend to be a man who<br />
sat <strong>in</strong> our house all day yesterday, a stranger from an <strong>in</strong>land village. He<br />
has quite a different look from the other natives--an anxious, melancholy<br />
expression. While at morn<strong>in</strong>g coffee, he came and sat down alongside of<br />
us all right, and we learned from him that the spirit of a deceased<br />
friend comes <strong>in</strong>to him, and then th<strong>in</strong>gs are revealed, the spirit speak<strong>in</strong>g<br />
through him. He says, when we were at Eikiri, a few weeks ago, he knew<br />
it, and told the people of his village of it.<br />
The wallaby-hunters are to come <strong>in</strong> this afternoon with great supplies.<br />
When sitt<strong>in</strong>g round the fire with our old chief, we asked him if he knew<br />
of any tailed folks about <strong>in</strong>land. "Oh dear, yes." And then he gave us a<br />
perfect and laughable description of what must be some creature of the<br />
monkey tribe. It climbs, laughs, and talks a peculiar language of its<br />
own; it scratches the head, slaps the thigh, and sits down to eat like a<br />
man. I then said, "But they are not really men?" "Well, not exactly,