7.30am Captain with all boats fully armed
with Officers & men went on shore but could find out nothing
regarding the two females, but after searching round about the
front of the bush we came across and old man that had bee
wounded the day before, after the Doctor had dressed his wound
he told the Captain through the interpreter that they had save the
two females for a feast that was close at hand or as the call it
a Great Kiki gathering, but they would not have it till
we had sailed, as they knew very well their chief would
not come back, it is their custom that when they launch a
Big War Canoe they go head hunting to the neighbouring islands
and capture as many women as they possibly can they then
cut their heads off and decorate their canoe and have a great
gathering and a feast with the bodies, the chief we captured
very well on it indeed he stands 5 ft 11 inches and an has
a very decent corparation of him, he takes this very coolly and seems
to think that there is nothing in dying, they have no thought on
fear of death, they put less value on their lives than we we do a flys.
When we found that it was no good wasting time there, we re-
turned on board, Mr Mahephy preferring to stay behind with
the trader, we then shaped our course for Port Marsley in New
Guinea and from there we was to proceed to Thursday Island,
which is North of Australia in the Torres Straits , and as we had
got over a thousand miles to go with only just enough coal to
do it with, and besides the Captain was very anxious to get to
the mainland, as he had reported nothing about us going on
shore to the Admiral. The curse of the Northern Solomon Islands
is head hunting the more savage tribes make collections of
heads which they adorn their huts, and are very eager in the
hunt for them they are not satisfied with the heads they h
get by fighting one another, but they organise expeditions
sweeping down on the weaker tribes and carrying off all the
victims that they can possibly seize, the Southern end of
of the Island of is a favourite hunting ground for them
more Northern Tribes, who come down in great force bring-
ing large canoes full of Warriors from the Island of
Chaiseul and New Georgia, the more peaceful Southerners
make no attempt to forcibly resist them, but they build
themselves strongholds into which they retire and if possible defy
their enemies,these places of refuge are of two kinds, tree houses
and hill fortifications, the tree houses posses the greatest in-
terest, and in some parts of the island are quite numerous
the people attain the nimbleness of monkeys by continually
climbig up and down these trees, and walking along their
branches, at a village which we passed their was tree house
close tot he waters edge, and as as we was steaming dead
slow and close in shore we had the opportunnity of have
ing a good look at it, the tree in which it was built was
a magnificent one growing upon the cliff by the shore
all th elower branches where cleared away and its peculiar
appearance made it most conspicuous amongst the
surroundig palms and smaller trees, there was a clear
space found the foot of the tree and from the branches
hung a slender rattan cane ladder, th eladder seemed of the
weakest and swung abount unpleasantly,the rounds are
merley bits of stick slashed on to a single cane rope which
would be impossible for an booted whiteman to get a foot
hold on, the house was built well in amaongst the branches
and seemed to be very large they estimated size of it, about
26ft long 18 wide and about ten feet from the branches in
height at each end of the house are balocnies oe of which
looked over the sea, the height of th ehouse form th eground
I should say was between seventy and eighty feet, along
the side of the balconies was piled up small heaps of
stones which they used for defensive purposes, when they
get news onf an expected raid to be made on them by the head
hunters, the people all retire to these sort of places for safety
drawing the thin ladder up after them if the head hunter
come near for th epurpose of cutting down the trees,
whic is avery hard job for them as they have not got any proper tools
and the trunk is as hard as iron, they would be pelted with
stones from above and unless the enemy was armed with rif
rifles it would be impossible to dislodge them, the other
kind of stronghold is less curious, the build house s on the rock-
iest peaks they can find, then cut of the all approaches by construct-
ing dykes and allkinds of obstructions which must have caused
them a exceptional lot of hard work, the money used
in the Solomon island sis very interesting, the general
currency consisting of strings of shell beads about the size
of Shirt Buttons, strung on native cord in 6ft lengths,
thereare two kinds red & white money, above this comes from
a dog jaws are used and there value is very considerable a hole
is made in each tooth and when a man has sufficient
number, he sets them on a band and wears them as a collar
Popoise teeth are used but only one fifth the value of
Dogs Teeth, there is another coinin the shape of a marble
Ring it is worn upon the chest and looked upon as a charm
as well as a oin, I managed to get a scale which varies
but little through out the Group ( it seems as follows)
Scale of Solomon Island Coinage
10 Coca Nus = 1 string White Money or Stick of Tobacco
10 Strings of W. Money = 1 String red Money or 1 Dogs Tooth
10 Strings Red Money = 1 Isa or Porpoise teeth
10 Isas = 1 Good Quality Wife
1 Bakika or Marble ring = 1 very god pig
1 Bakika = 1 medium Young man
By this table a wife cost 10,0000 Coca nuts which they
have to pay to the father of the bride, the girls are short
but well made with pretty hands & feet their faces are
covered with tattoeing, they wear a loin cloth of
native gass, the generral articlles fof table which the
traders get from the natives are Copra, Beche de mer Y
Yams Vegetable ????, Shells, coca Nuts, the climate is
is very bad indeed full of fever which rises from the
ground, through decayed vegetation everytime we
landed we had to be dosed with Quinins directly we arrived
on board
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