s ill, and would not let him
come; a third had fever and ague, and pains in his head and back; and
a fourth had an inexorable creditor who would not let him go out of his
sight. They had all received a month's wages in advance; and though the
amount was not large, it was necessary to make them pay it back, or I
should get any men at all. I therefore sent the village constable
after two, and kept them in custody a day, when they returned about
three-fourths of what they owed me. The sick man also paid, and the
steersman found a substitute who was willing to take his debt, and
receive only the balance of his wages.

About this time we had a striking proof of the dangers of New Guinea
trading. Six men arrived at the village in a small boat almost starved,
having escaped out of two praus, the remainder of whose crews (fourteen
in number) had been murdered by the natives of New Guinea. The praus had
left this village a few months before, and among the murdered men were
the Rajah's son, and the relation or slaves of many of the inhabitants.
The cry of lamentation that arose when the news arrived was most
distressing. A score of women, who had lost husbands, brothers, sons,
or more distant relatives, set up at once the most dismal shrieks and
groans and wailings, which continued at intervals till late at night;
and as the chief houses in the village were crowded together round that
which I occupied, our situation was anything but agreeable.

It seems that the village where the attack took place (nearly opposite
the small island of Lakahia) is known to be dangerous, and the vessels
had only gone there a few days before to buy some tripang. The crew were
living on shore, the praus being in a small river close by, and they
were attacked and murdered in the day-time while bargaining with the
Papuans. The six men who survived were on board the praus, and escaped
by at once setting into the small boat and rowing out to sea.

This south-west part of New Guinea, known to the native traders as
"Papua Kowiyee" and "Papua Onen," is inhabited by the most treacherous
and bloodthirsty tribes. It is in these districts that the commanders
and portions of the crews of many of the early discovery ships were
murdered, and scarcely a year now passes but some lives are lost. The
Goram and Ceram traders are themselves generally inoffensive; they are
well acquainted with the character of these natives, and are not likely
to provoke an attack by an