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THE COLBORNE EXPRESS, COLBORNE, I &NT.. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1927 Where Head-hunting is a Sport The Power Behind the Revolt in the Solomon Islands-, Superstitions that Prompt the Natives to Acts of Barbarous Cruelty--What Fate Awaits the British Inhabitants?--A Chief Collection of 100 Heads By a Retired Missionary Head-Hunting Methods. of the ! dense, rain-drenched jungle Southern Paciflc towards that myster- 1 tQey ,ie ,n waU Presentiyi probably ious group of islands that lies three hundred miles east of New Guinea. Will they arrive in time to avert a ghastly holocaust of white women and children--or will the fierce, fanatical and cruel head-hunters of the Solo- bother with it. Tho islands are very fertile, though so damp as to bo most unhealthy for Europeans. Yams, and coco-nut and tropic vegetables supply the needs of these savages. They^ have never learnt to raise corn. ( Warriors AMI For them the aim and end of life is to take life. They take life, so fsF-aaJr' one can see, for the sake of taking it. It has been said of them that they hunt other tribos--there are hundreds of tribes and all at enmity--from a zest and abundanco of the warlike spirit. But I formed another opinion myself after a year among them. When the their heads, hands and feet off, and ■ Soioinon islander goes forth .„ run back well pleased with their battIe he is lhmking flrst and last of tation. -----taken in order K their vengeance before to weaken the spirit forces of the 'enemy: the hands and feet so that not even the spirits can run or cast a spear in ghostly battlel When the head-hunters arrive home their return is celebrated with enthusiasm--the more heads the greater the jubilation. It is usual to expose the trophies upon poles at first while j mad, fantastic dance is executed which women help That, I think, is the question every man who has set foot in those strange Pacific islands is asking himself at this moment. The world knows very little of the Solomon Islands; less of those strange sub-men, half man, half devil, of mixed Papuan and Melanesian blood, who Since : first flew age of humid Malaita, in that tropical vege- Jaround them> a dance !and children join with equal ze i, when the Union Jack • After this orgy_ tne nunte_, -*->t the lark green foil- ! their £poil off Tne heads are left t decay for a time, and in that troph lake e have strive] ;ulcate some notions of humanity his kitchen. He wishes enemy in order to eat him! The islands to day are a British Protectorate with a white population of around five hundred. There are 150,-000 savages, some of whom have been cajoled into growing bananas and nuts in a half-hearted manner. But throughout the eleven thousand miles the islands ,the proportion of ground cultivated is negligible. Nothing, no power on earth, can teach this savage the art of agriculture and husbandry. It is said of the gentle people of I Samoa that they are the Greeks of the humid climate decay comes w"ith'.. Pacific. I have lived among them, Into the heads of these terrible fiends tragic swiftness and 1 w°uld say that they deserve In human shape. Have we succeeded? Then start8'a proceS8 the full sec- that tribute. The tale of ill-starred Cadet Lillies, of rets of whicn we do not yet know. • What can one say of the Solomon District Commissioner Bell and of the Rut the maln facts we do kn0Wj and Islander, unless one describes him as fifteen loyal native police answers the j tney are tnese With the Solomon Is- the hell-hound of the southern question, lander it is an art--and his art only-- These unfortunate white people, | to reduce the gize of tne captured and the ill-fated crew of the Auks j head, have been massacred. Even 5e' I To achieve this singular end, he tor those of us who know of what ! takes innnlte pains> WOrking labori-Ihese islanders are capable, is the 1 ously ^ prlmitive tools to remove contemplation of the possible fate of . from the gkull every particle of bone. the women and children now in flight, At th8 end of a week ne has re. should the head-hunters capture them [ moved every piece of bone from the and carry them off for their frightful ; skull witnout in]uring the flesh in any in the dense jungh To the reader, to whom the Southern Pacific is a place of dream, drenched and inhabited by romantic Bun worshippers, the cause of this sudden uprising is probably plete mystery-Yet, armed with some knowledge of the dark ways of the primitive minds of these savages, the explanation is quite simple. Unfriendly to the "White Devils." The Solomon Islander has many ur pleasant traits, but the first one t strike the stranger is his ingrained -tfistrust of the white man. There is no way of winning him as there is with more simple and friendly sav-agesj He holds the white man to be an imported devil, and as such he opposes him at every opportunity. When Malaita and the other larger islands of this group, which comprises some six hundred miles of small tree-covered isles, wert. flrst brought into contact with white men^he islanders * la! ,a«.e. They rushed down from their primeval jungles, uttering their barbaric cries, to give battle. The white men had guns and fired. But these strange death-dealers merely convinced the savages of the devilish nature of their enemies. Many whites were killed outright, some, less fortunate, were carried off wounded into the dense jungle, there to undergo the tortures of which I shall give details in a moment. What has caused the rising of today, with its frightful massacre and promise of worse? Simply this: The spirits of these islanders who fell before the grape shot of the first white men to land have, according to the "wise men" of the tribes, been abroad In the jungle conjuring the islanders to avenge their deaths. The present outbreak, then, is nothing more than a war of revenge for the deaths of ancestors long since When I spent a summer on Malaita, and covered on one long tour the allel lines of islands that extend towards the open ocean from New Guinea, only one certain fact could I ascertain about the religious would be truer to say superstious-- beliefs of these terrible savages. The Blood Sacrifice. The Solomon Islander believes the perpetual presence of his ancestors, he holds that they hover u: but felt, in the density of the sodden undergrowth, he believes they make demands, call for blood sacri- Wher. the spirits of these ancestors - demand the heads of enemies, then the men of the Solomons obey. Lust for blood, fear of the revenge of the dead spirits, frenzy that is very much like madness, convert them into fiends In human shape. 1 have referred to the habit of head-hunting, and the subject merits a few words. With all savages, with a people so benighted a Solomon Islanders, one finds always a dim idea behind the ferocious act. When the Solomon Islander set out to capture the heads of his mies he has several clear ideas in his mind. First, he believes that the spirit of the enemy resides in the head and that if he possesses that head he can keep the spirit within forever captive. Then, on certain of the isles of this large group, the idea is common taht the heads of the enemies may be offered as a sacrifice to the spirits, that the rain may not fall too abundantly --they are very wet islands--and that the primitive crops may prosper. When the Solomon Isllander goes head-hunting--and here I must make it clear that for hundreds of years these islanders have been drenched in the blood of many enemy tribes who wage eternal warfare upon each other I --he goes in <wos and threes. way. Then follows the astonishing Can one get into those dark heads the flrst glimmerings of Christianity! It is utterly impossible. Dreamers, far from the ground, may say that faith and works make all things possible. Perhaps, but speaking as one who has seen the head-hunters of the Solomon Isles 1 can only .say this, that after all these years, the net result of the civilizing contact with white conomically. A good type of Ol«s.o<»'E shelter for this purpose ia ;V^lirLU.. From the 1 process of smoking the head and 's the present dastardly massacre of treating it, so that it shrivels slowly but surely. I have seen a Solomon Island village--a mere clearing in the jungle ringed about with huts made of tree branches--human heads no bigger than an apple. The hunter who possesses the most heads is the finest fellow in the tribe. Old hunters, I have been told, have accumulated as many as a hundred heads during a lifetime of murderous forays. The First White Victims. The first white men to land upon these islands were a party of hardy sailors led by the great Spanish explorer Mendana. Of the landing party only two escaped back -to their ship: they were attacked by the savages who fell upon them, and carried them off into the impenetrable jungle. -- swn«» i iw ^.^M-i--mm. -- through the Pacific, and roving men gave them a wide berth. But in 1767 Carteret, a French sailor, landed with a powerfully-armed force. He off the first screaming hordes, and pushed his way inland. It is recorded in the diaries of that and little children. Even a retired missionary is a man. There is one argument for these fellows: and it is now on the way to them, travelling at twenty knots an hour and carrying the guns that speak the language of death--a tongue these wretched savages understand.. The Value of Dehorning. Experience has proved the great advantage, from every standpoint, of dehorning commercial cattle. Horns are always a handicap to cuch cattle. They add to the cost of production and discount the selling value of .„., , , „ ■ 3 had candy, nv dears, cupboard would hold, New York designs are featuring the fur plushes, specially for the school girl. Here is a one-button, popular straight-line model in the new ma-jterial of muskrat pattern. to follow is to prevent the growth horns in the calf. When steer* purchaased for feeding it is better get ones already dehorned, otherwise they should be dehorned as soon as possible. In a pamphlet entitled Dehorn Your Commercial Cattle, which sturdy sailor that after a day's toiling may be obtained from the Publica-through the jungle, his men rested at j tions Branch, Department of Agricul-night on the fringe of a dense plan- j ture, Ottawa, the process of dehorning tation. They were, although they did j Is fully described. The operation, in not know it, on the site of a deserted j the case of grown cattle, Is to a cer-islaud village, | tain extent painful, but its advantages Suddenly a sailor poking among the are so great that it should not be dis-undergrowtL uttered a cry of dismay. ; pensed- with. Where the cattle are His comrades rushed up and there at j fed loose, feeding them In mixed lots their feet, they saw looking up at j of horned and hornless animals should them with sightless eyes,' the ghastly ! always be avoided, otherwise they faces of five white men. , will finish very unevenly. The horn- That was pjrobably the first know- j less cattle, after painful experience, ledge of the foul secrets of the head- j become timid and refuse to come up hunters the white man ever got. For ! to the feeding racks or mangers until years learned men debated the prob- j th bulk of the feed is gone. They be-lem of how these heads--they were ' come undernourished, while the horn-carried back to Europe--had been re- [ ed ones, eating too much, develop di-duced to the size of the heads of ' gestive troubles. Besides this, live dolls No explanation seemed to j stock shippers find that dehorned meet the facts; stock.are more easily loaded on the The Solomon Islanders have never j cars, show less shrinkage and dam-learned even the rudiments of agricul- age in transit, and are •quicker sales for higher prices when the animals are dehorned. Potato Diseases. Diseases of the potato are responsible for very heavy losses each year. Fortunately these diseases are better understood than they were a few years ago, making it possible to reduce loss by low yields and rotting to a comparatively low point. Some of the diseases are recognizable In the growing crop; others are identified in tubers. By a system of inspection, ioth in the field and of the harvested Top, most of the diseases that serious loss can be identified, making It fairly easy to avoid us<ng diseased This wor]aaaaaaaaaY'Cti(-m car-isibn of" extends and is lead-of seed cer-practically disease-free. No. 84 of the Department )f Agriculture at Ottawa, gives •ules and regulations governing the >roduction of Canadian certified seed >otatoes. The standard, which tecessarily comparatively low in the ;arly days, has been raised year by rear, and for the present year permits >f only three per cent, disease on second field inspection and no mixed varieties at tuber inspection. This lamphlet, which is available at the Dublications Branch, Department of Agriculture, Ottawa, explains certifi-lation an dthe steps necessary to ob-ain it. It also gives useful information on growing certified seed, storing the crop, and much other information juseful to the growers of potatoes, j Wintering Steers In Open Sheds. Expensive buildings are ,not necessary for the winter feeding of cattle and ofte nadd to the overhead expense and labor. Where indoor accommo-economi- j dation is not readily available, outdoor shelter for this purpose described in a Dominion Department j of Agriculture pamphlet on Tho Winter Feeding of Beef Cattle in Ontario. J It consists of a single-boarded shed j "Treat Your Friends facing south, a large door in the front j , p ' , being open at all times. Across the | made V^anC yard is a covered feeding trough over 0ld Mother Hubbard which is placed the hay rack. Doors Went to her cupboard open to the outside from both the feed | 'Xwas Christmas Eve trough and hay rack so that th feed j por gjf [S t can be forked in direct from a sleigh j As much „ or cart in a few minutes. Steers may be fed insueh a shed throughout the Why not follow most severe winter with xcellent re-'example tMs Christ! suits. I help out on that long Christm Silage for Winter Lambs. j The feminine giver who lxa« i At the Kapuskasing, Ontario, Ex- ! the iun of makin; perimental Station, an investigation i gifts does not kr c v has been conducted during the last j Christmaa time. Besides, what is four winters to determine the relative j more acceptable than a box of home-value of sunflower and oats, peas and : made candies? Then, too. such a gift vetch silage as a part of the ration for . may solve the problem of what to winter lambs. The results indicate an j give to that person who seems to advantage for the sunflower silage j aave everything. The average dally gain per lamb, over I Success in candy caking depends the four years, was 0.24 lb., for those I upon the use of good ingredients, care-fed sunflower silage, agai .st 0.17 lbs. ! tul testing and--In the case of cream, for those fed oats, peas and vetch. ! candies, fudge, for example--plenty The feed cost per 100 pounds was ' ofelbow grease. Tor one who makes $10.3 for the former and §15.63 for the a great deal of can v, a candy thermo-latter. meter is a valuable asset. Wintering Turkeys. | Below are a few rc-'isss which will Turkeys intended for breeders , make a nice assortment, for Christmas should be selected in the fail before • Hubbard's nd let candy 5 list? 1 spirit of fattening for market takes place. Only j well-matured birds possessing good j constituttional vigor should be chosen. Every precaution shculd be taken to 11 secure birds that are free from disease, and males unrelated to the fe- I males. Proper housing and feeding 1 Ketv, Caramel Nut Fudge I cups white :=ugar, % cup milk, 4 lespoons caramel, 3 tablespoons ter, % teaspoon vanilla, pinch- salt, cup broken pecan meats. Cook sugar, milk and caramel to- during the winter is important, cording to a Dominion Department of Agriculture bulletin on turkeys, the birds should not be confined to houses during the winter but should bo allowed to roam at will during the day. The only shelter necessary at night is a straw barn or closed-in shed. Tur- i goring* ■ until from fire, cold. Add and thick. formed i Add butter and remove Let stand until almost .niiJa and beat until cool Add nuts when mixture keys should never be housed with 1 thicken while beating. The caramel is made by melting cup sugar in a skillet over fire, ,tantly. Remove from flame when the sugar in heated houses, but protec- carame, color and add tion from draughts, rain and -- utes. Store in a fruit nice for flavoring c'ustai as well as candy, an 3 will Heap finitely. Butter Scotch 1 cup brown sugar, % cap corn syrup, 1 tablespoon vinega cup water, *4 cup butter. Boil all ingredients together :up of boll-t few mln-■. This is a^d icinga keep Inde- ! and they have had little need to cal of space. Cattle salesmen make | can be fed outdoors equally if not necessary. The breeding turkeys should receive only limited rations during the winter months. Hard grain should be given in preference to mash or ground grains. Equal parts of oats, wheat and buckwheat are suitable, but the buckwheat should be discontinued in the spring. In the winter one feeding a day is sufficient, the grain being scattered in the litte". Grit and oyster shell should be pro- cepting vanilla) vided. Early in March an extra daily j tested in cold water. Remove from feed of grain should be begun, and i fire, add vanilla and if you have a starting about ten days later a wet metal table-top or large cookie-sheets, mash made up of equal parts of bran, drop mixture by teaapoonfuls on shorts, ground oats, and cornmeal : these. The candy does not stick and properly mixed and moistened with | is in a more convenient size and sour skim-milk should be given at easier to handle than when poured in noon.--Issued by the Director of Pub- a sheet and cut in squares, llcity, Dominion Department of Agri- Divinity culture, Ottawa. 2 cupfJ wWte mgaTi % cup whUe corn eyrup, % cup boiling water, 2 egg whites, % cup broken nut meats, J/s cup, candied cherries-, candled phie-apple. figs, dates, chopped true. Boil the sugar, syrup, and water until a hard ball forms in cold water. Beat egg whites stiff and dry; then pour syrup over them gradually. Beat constantly and when mixture begins to stiffen add candided fruit and nuts. Spread in a sheet on© inch thick on a greased platter. When candy is ready for packing, it wax paper to fit boxes, cut candy in uniform pieces, gauging the size of the pieces by the width of the box. layers are packed, have wax paper and card-board between layers. Wrap the boxes neatly and tie with Christmas colors and a gay little card have a very attractive and acceptable gift. Candy may be made two weeks or more ahead to relieve congestion at Christmas time. Fortunately, even the chocolate and caramel fudges can be made as- much as two weeka before needed without diminishing their good qualities. Griggs--"Do you ever have that depressed feeling, that vague sense of some approaching trouble?" Briggs-- "Sure. I feel that way every summer before my wife comes back from the beach." It is seldom that passing a i is the best way of mending a v law Left to Right: Mr. Henry Clinton of the Britisl Castle of the United States stale department. PREMIER CALLS ON PRESIDENT ; Hon Vincent Massby Canadian minister; Rt. Hon. W. L. Mack: Xrnas Decorations Often Fire Menace Risk is Unnecessary as Materials Can Be Made Fire Proof This month will see thousands of school houses, meeting halls and homes transformed over night with gay bunting and bright tinsel for Christmas celebrations. While no one could criticize such efforts at beauti-fication, it is nevertheless a fact that such decorative materials are highly inflammable and if they come into contact with the flame of a match, lamp or candle may burst into flame ;e a frightful catastrophe entailing loss of property and life. Such tragedies are heightened by the fact that they are entirely unnecessary. It is a simple matter to make decorations fire-proof, and the Ontario Fire Prevention League suggests that it should be compulsory in the case ol public festivities where children are gathered together for the annual Christmas tree fete. An absolutely efficient- means of making decorations, cotton, wool, etc., non-inflammable is by immersing them in a solution of a pound of commercial ammonium phosphate in a gallon of water. Fabric immersed in this solution, slightly wrung and dried will not ignite when touched with flame. Care must be taken tc see that the fabric is completely saturated and that sufficient of the ammonium prosphate remains after drying. This chemical in addition to its fire-proofing qualities, will render any dye fast. "Do riot wring out the fabric immersed in the solution any mora than you would wring woolen under-when washing in the usual way," es the Firs Prevention League.