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The Isle of Vanishing Men: A Narrative of Adventure in Cannibal-land cover

The Isle of Vanishing Men: A Narrative of Adventure in Cannibal-land

Chapter 2: LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
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About This Book

The narrative recounts a seafaring journey to a remote island inhabited by the Kia Kia, mixing travelogue, ethnographic observation, and adventure. Beginning with departure and life at sea, it describes arrival, shipwreck, and efforts to establish relations with a kampong community, then an extended residence among the islanders. Vivid accounts detail local customs, ornamentation, ritual funerals, head-hunting practices, festive dances and feasts, hunting expeditions, and encounters with natural wonders such as bird-of-paradise. Interwoven are personal episodes and anecdotes about other castaways and visitors, producing an often intimate, occasionally harrowing portrait of contact between outsiders and an isolated society.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Uhumen.” From their manner it is evident that we are de trop Frontispiece
 
FACING PAGE
 
Malays bringing on board their varied possessions 16
 
As the last of the praus was cleared of baggage they clustered on the gangway, shouting adieus 16
 
The prison-yard in Merauke, New Guinea 24
 
Each of the men has perforated the septum of his nose to permit inserting a pair of boar-tusks 33
 
A pair of alligator-teeth make a wonderful nose-ornament 33
 
Enormous nose-tubes of bamboo which entirely close the nostrils, making breathing possible only through the mouth 36
 
The women wear in many cases a tiny breech-clout but no other covering 36
 
A long platform which entirely encircles the kampong 45
 
During the day the men occupy the sleeping-benches, while the women sit upon the sandy floor of the shacks 45
 
Seated at a discreet distance, watching our camp-making intently 80
 
There had been a disagreement in the village 80
 
Those who failed to get a package come to the dead-line and asked for one 85
 
They may be friendly at one moment and turn upon one the very next 85
 
We made presents of tin jewelry to the natives, but what they wanted was tobacco 92
 
Feathered head-dresses moving through the tall grass told us of the natives watching our progress toward the kampong 92
 
Twice we encounter stalwart warriors standing like sentinels, as though disdainful of concealment 97
 
The body is placed in a sitting position after being gaily decorated for the funeral 97
 
The native climbs a cocoanut-palm in a series of humps and stretches, like a giant inch-worm 100
 
Making fire. A piece of hard wood is rotated by hand while in contact with a softer piece 100
 
One little fellow takes great delight in hearing his mother describe the battles in which his father collected his trophies 109
 
After the heat of midday the men gather in the shade to discuss the latest scandal or politics 109
 
Eating mud! That’s it, just plain dried mud 112
 
“Little Playmate” readjusts his nose-tubes 112
 
The hairdresser plaits long strands of raffia into the kinky wool of the Kia Kias 116
 
The shiny inner surface of a Malay tobacco-box serves them as a mirror 116
 
The deserted Jesuit mission which formerly was the pride and hope of its unfortunate builder 125
 
In the early evening the women sit around on the copra-drying-platforms and watch the sunset 125
 
They are very proud of the scar-patterns 129
 
The weals caused by the infection of the cuts sometimes stand out nearly an inch from the surrounding flesh 129
 
The men occupy their time with revision of their toilets, rather than in doing the chores 133
 
Sarah 133
 
The kapala kampong presents us with human skulls, the highest token of their esteem 136
 
A young and very fearsome Kia Kia spends a great deal of his time with her 136
 
The circle breaks up and a dance takes place for our entertainment 140
 
They sang for us at the top of their leather lungs 140
 
Long into the night the mad festival continues. To exert themselves in any productive occupation to a like extent would kill them 144
 
The drums are tuned in a peculiar manner. Having no strings fastened to the heads with which to tighten them, they place small lumps of resin mixed with clay on the heads to produce the desired sound 144
 
The Head Dance. Two girls begin it by slowly walking up and down in the center of the circle of onlookers 148
 
The Dutch officials punish them severely for indulging in these practices 148
 
Under the influence of the wady, exhilarated by the wild dance, the men finally take part 157
 
They again threaten the men with total exclusion from all intercourse with their families 157
 
This man confessed to having eaten many human beings. To accurately estimate the number was beyond his power of reckoning 161
 
The sharp-edged stone war-club in the hands of such men as these makes quick work of a victim 161
 
The skipper is a jolly fellow with a countenance that beams good nature, mixed with a shrewdness that speaks of business ability 176
 
He beats a gong briskly and chants a prayer in Malay, while the rest of the crew add their prayers to his petitions 176
THE ISLE OF VANISHING MEN