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 CHAPTER 1 Introducing the World of Psychology
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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1.1 Psychology Explains Your Mental Activity and Behavior
1.1a. Understand all bold and italic terms by writing explanations of them in your own words.
1.1b. Apply psychology to your life by writing an example of your own mental activity and behavior in a situation.

1.2 Psychology Teaches You to Think Critically

1.2a. Understand all bold and italic terms by writing explanations of them in your own words.
1.2b. Apply critical thinking to real life by writing an example of each of the following: an intuition, a belief, an opinion, a
pseudofact, and objective evidence.

1.3 Psychology Improves Your Life

1.3a. Understand all bold and italic terms by writing explanations of them in your own words.
1.3b. Apply psychology to your life by writing one example each of how psychology can help you: do well in school,
improve your personal life, and succeed at your job.

1.4 Psychology Originated in Philosophical Questions

1.4a. Understand all bold and italic terms by writing explanations of them in your own words.
1.4b. Apply the nature/nurture debate to your own life by writing an example of how one of your traits might reflect the
impact of both nature and nurture.
1.5 Psychologists Investigate the Conscious Mind and the Unconscious Mind
1.5a. Understand all bold and italic terms by writing explanations of them in your own words.
1.5b. Understand the three psychology schools of thought that investigated the conscious mind and the unconscious
mind by using your own words to describe each school.
1.6 Psychologists Explore Behavior and Mental Activity
1.6a. Understand all bold and italic terms by writing explanations of them in your own words.
1.6b. Apply the four psychology schools of thought that investigated behavior and mental activity by writing an exam-
ple of a topic that each school of thought would investigate.
1.7 Psychologists Today Investigate Many Different Topics
1.7a. Understand all bold and italic terms by writing explanations of them in your own words.
1.7b. Apply the subfields of psychology by choosing two subfields that interest you and explaining what research topic you
would study in each subfield if you were a psychologist.
1.8 Psychologists Use the Scientific Method
1.8a. Understand all bold and italic terms by writing explanations of them in your own words.
1.8b. Apply the four goals of science by writing how each one could be used to investigate students’ use of active pro-
cesses to learn material being read in a textbook.
1.8c. Understand the scientific method by naming the five steps in this cycle and explaining each one in your own
words.
1.9 Descriptive Methods Describe What Is Happening
1.9a. Understand all bold and italic terms by writing explanations of them in your own words.
1.9b. Apply the three descriptive methods by explaining how you could use each one to investigate a psychological
topic you are interested in.
1.10 Correlational Methods Study Relationships
1.10a. Understand all bold and italic terms by writing explanations of them in your own words.
1.10b. Apply correlations by describing one example of a correlation in your life and explaining why the relationship is
not causal.
1.11 Experimental Methods Test Causation
 1.11a. Understand all bold and italic terms by writing explanations of them in your own words.
1.11b. Apply experimental methods by explaining the control group, the experimental group(s), the independent varia-
ble(s), and the dependent variable(s) in a study exploring the effect of texting while driving on driving performance.
1.12 Psychologists Today Follow Strict Ethical Guidelines
1.12a. Understand all bold and italic terms by writing explanations of them in your own words.
1.12b. Understand ethical issues in psychology by summarizing in your own words the four ethical guidelines that psy-
chologists must address in their research.
MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Which of the following is the best definition of psychology?

a. the study of the brain and its inner function
b. the analysis of the mind and its unconscious thoughts
c. the study of mental activity and behavior based on brain processes
d. the study of thoughts, social interactions, and emotions
ANS: C DIF: Moderate
REF: 1.1 Psychology Explains Your Mental Activity and Behavior
OBJ: 1.1a NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology
MSC: Remembering

2. Allanah has declared psychology as her major. Because of this, Allanah will most likely study
a. the structure and function of the brain.
b. mental disorders and their treatment.
c. feelings, memory, and other inner states.
d. mental activity, behavior, and the brain.
ANS: D DIF: Moderate
REF: 1.1 Psychology Explains Your Mental Activity and Behavior
OBJ: 1.1a
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 5, Professional Development
MSC: Remembering

3. Barry states that psychology is the study of mental activity. Candace remarks that psychology is the science of behavior. Which is the
correct evaluation of these two statements?
a. Barry’s definition is correct; Candace’s definition is incorrect.
b. Barry’s definition is correct; Candace’s definition is correct.
c. Taken together, the statements are correct.
d. Barry’s definition is incorrect; Candace’s definition is correct.
ANS: C DIF: Difficult
REF: 1.1 Psychology Explains Your Mental Activity and Behavior
OBJ: 1.1a NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology
MSC: Understanding

4. Both behavior and mental activity rely primarily on

a. processing in the brain. c. the month in which someone was born.
b. subjective experience. d. one’s personality.
ANS: A DIF: Moderate
REF: 1.1 Psychology Explains Your Mental Activity and Behavior
OBJ: 1.1a
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 2, Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking MSC:
Remembering

5. Which of the following is the best description of the mind, according to your textbook?
a. all of your intuitions
b. your conscience and sense of morality
c. your education, experiences, and beliefs
d. the sum total of your mental activity
ANS: D DIF: Easy
REF: 1.1 Psychology Explains Your Mental Activity and Behavior
OBJ: 1.1a NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology
MSC: Understanding

6. What recent advances have helped scientists to better understand the functions of the brain?
a. better nutrition and greater access to improved medications
b. improved therapeutic techniques and methods
c. improved scanning and brain imaging tools
d. better access to psychiatric patients for research
 ANS: C DIF: Moderate
REF: 1.1 Psychology Explains Your Mental Activity and Behavior
OBJ: 1.1a NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology
MSC: Understanding

7. Actions that result from sensing and interpreting information are called
a. psychological functions. c. thoughts.
b. emotions. d. behaviors.
ANS: D DIF: Easy
REF: 1.1 Psychology Explains Your Mental Activity and Behavior
OBJ: 1.1a NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology
MSC: Remembering

8. The purpose of psychology is to

a. understand and predict human behavior.
b. verify personal beliefs.
c. help us to respond to the world around us.
d. interpret memories, thoughts, and dreams.
ANS: A DIF: Easy
REF: 1.1 Psychology Explains Your Mental Activity and Behavior
OBJ: 1.1a NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology
MSC: Understanding

9. How are the act of riding a roller coaster and the fear experienced while riding the roller coaster related?
a. Riding a roller coaster is an intentional behavior and the experienced fear is an instinctual behavior.
b. Riding a roller coaster is a behavior and the experienced fear is a related mental activity.
c. Riding a roller coaster is a behavior and the experienced fear is a psychological disorder.
d. Riding a roller coaster is a mental activity and the experienced fear is a behavior.
ANS: B DIF: Moderate
REF: 1.1 Psychology Explains Your Mental Activity and Behavior
OBJ: 1.1b NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology
MSC: Applying

10. According to the textbook, “friendly skepticism” is an important aspect in the type of reasoning called
a. functionalism. c. structuralism.
b. introspection. d. critical thinking.
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: 1.2 Psychology Teaches You to Think Critically
OBJ: 1.2a
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 2, Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking MSC:
Remembering

11. Critical thinking is best defined as thinking that

a. systematically evaluates information.
b. criticizes others’ opinions.
c. is open-minded and creative.
d. uses inferences but does not solve problems.
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: 1.2 Psychology Teaches You to Think Critically
OBJ: 1.2a
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 2, Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking MSC:
Remembering

12. “Friendly skepticism” means

a. finding flaws in an argument or claim.
b. being open to new ideas, while also being careful before accepting them.
c. asking a scientist to make his or her findings public so that they can be better evaluated.
d. accepting all claims, as long as they are based on the scientific method.
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: 1.2 Psychology Teaches You to Think Critically
OBJ: 1.2a
 NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 2, Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking MSC:
Understanding

13. Why do scientists avoid the term fact?

a. Intuition regarding a claim is more likely to be correct.
b. Facts depend on one’s own experience and opinion.
c. New evidence can change how claims are interpreted.
d. Beliefs lead to more important findings than facts do.
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: 1.2 Psychology Teaches You to Think Critically
OBJ: 1.2a
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 2, Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking MSC:
Remembering

14. Why is the first step in critical thinking to ask, “What is the claim I am being asked to accept?”
a. because some claims are so obvious that there is no need for evaluation
b. so that you can evaluate the claim at face value
c. because if the claim fits what you already believe, then you can ignore it
d. because before you can evaluate a claim, you have to recognize and identify it
ANS: D DIF: Difficult REF: 1.2 Psychology Teaches You to Think Critically
OBJ: 1.2a
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 2, Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking MSC:
Understanding

15. Which of the following is an example of critical thinking?

a. believing that sugar causes headaches because your head hurts after you eat a candy bar
b. concluding that eating spinach leads to a longer life after seeing an ad for spinach on television
c. using a personal example to explain the importance of time management
d. concluding that exercise is beneficial after evaluating the evidence of a research study
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: 1.2 Psychology Teaches You to Think Critically
OBJ: 1.2b
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 2, Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking MSC:
Applying

16. Talisa is writing a paper on critical thinking. She wants to explain how critical thinking differs from everyday thinking. Accordingly,
which sentence is Talisa most likely to include in her paper about the differences between critical thinking and everyday thinking?
a. Critical thinking evaluates information and scientific research to make reasonable conclusions.
b. Everyday thinking evaluates information and scientific research to make reasonable conclusions.
c. Critical thinking relies on personal examples more than scientific evidence for making conclusions.
d. Critical thinking and everyday thinking often result in the same conclusions.
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: 1.2 Psychology Teaches You to Think Critically
OBJ: 1.2b
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 2, Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking MSC:
Applying

17. You are confident that your new roommate is a critical thinker after noticing the following bumper sticker on his car:
a. “Show me the evidence!” c. “Trust your gut!”
b. “The only truth is no truth.” d. “What is the meaning of life?”
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: 1.2 Psychology Teaches You to Think Critically
OBJ: 1.2b
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 2, Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking MSC:
Applying

18. Which of the following is true of objective evidence?

a. Objective evidence refers to information that is not influenced by personal feelings.
b. Objective evidence refers to information that is influenced by personal feelings, beliefs, intuitions,
or opinions.
c. Because objective evidence relies on beliefs, personal experience, or intuition it is not important for
critical thinking.
 d. There is no difference between personal beliefs and objective evidence; both are equally important
for critical thinking.
ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: 1.2 Psychology Teaches You to Think Critically
OBJ: 1.2b
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 2, Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking MSC:
Analyzing

19. Which of the following is one way to determine if a piece of information is a pseudofact?
a. Determine if the information is true by asking your friends and peers.
b. Locate the source of the claim while remaining skeptical of unreliable sources, like the Internet.
c. If the information feels like it is true and it aligns with your opinion, then it is not a pseudofact.
d. There is no way to tell if a piece of information is a pseudofact.
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: 1.2 Psychology Teaches You to Think Critically
OBJ: 1.2b
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 2, Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking MSC:
Applying

20. Dr. Andersen only relies on using holistic methods such as aroma therapy and mindfulness to treat her patients who have depression.
Based on these experiences, Dr. Andersen submits a paper to a journal, where it is peer-reviewed and then published. Which of the
following is one possible reason to question her results?
a. Her results may be biased because she is relying only on her own experiences.
b. Peer-reviewed journals are notoriously unreliable.
c. The accuracy of her study depends on whether her findings align with common sense.
d. There is no reason to question her results; because she is a scientist, her results must be accurate.
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: 1.2 Psychology Teaches You to Think Critically
OBJ: 1.2b
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 2, Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking MSC:
Applying

21. Rebecca evaluates a claim and finds scientific evidence in support of the claim. Why should she still use her own logic and reasoning
in deciding whether to accept the claim as true?
a. Only research that has been shown to be valid and replicated by other researchers is published in
scientific journals.
b. Even research published in peer-reviewed journals can have flaws in the analysis of or methods
behind the research.
c. There is no reason for Rebecca to use her own logic and reasoning; scientific evidence is seldom
incorrect.
d. Rebecca’s intuition should be the ultimate means of establishing whether the evidence is strong.
ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: 1.2 Psychology Teaches You to Think Critically
OBJ: 1.2b
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 2, Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking MSC:
Analyzing

22. You are discussing your psychology class with your aunt Annalise. She asks you, “Can psychology really help people study?” You
correctly answer,
a. “Not really; psychologists generally agree that the field of education is better suited to provide
people with techniques for studying.”
b. “Yes; psychological studies have shown that cramming before an exam can improve memory.”
c. “Yes; psychology provides us with techniques for improving memory and understanding.”
d. “It depends; psychology can enhance students’ learning, but most people will have difficulty using
psychology to help them study.”
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: 1.3 Psychology Improves Your Life
OBJ: 1.3b
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 5, Professional Development
MSC: Understanding

23. Which of the following statements best describes how psychology is useful?
a. Much of psychology is just common sense.
b. Much of psychology is about applying common sense to everyday life.
 c. Psychological principles are highly applicable to everyday life.
d. Psychological principles are too scientific to apply to everyday life.
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: 1.3 Psychology Improves Your Life
OBJ: 1.3b NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology
MSC: Understanding

24. Jeremy is studying for his final exam. Lauren has taken psychology and gives him a good tip about the best way to study. She
correctly says,
a. “Be sure to cram in your studying during the night before the final exam.”
b. “As you study, connect the information to something personal.”
c. “Memorize bold terms by writing and rewriting the definitions.”
d. “Study in the morning right before the exam deadline, because stress improves learning.”
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: 1.3 Psychology Improves Your Life
OBJ: 1.3b
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 5, Professional Development
MSC: Applying

25. Dualism is the classic idea in psychology that

a. the mind and the brain are separate entities.
b. the mind and the brain are the same entity.
c. the mind and the brain are opposing forces.
d. there is no mind, just the brain.
ANS: A DIF: Easy
REF: 1.4 Psychology Originated in Philosophical Questions OBJ: 1.4a
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology MSC: Remembering

26. The philosopher who promoted dualism as an explanation of the mind/body problem was
a. William James. c. René Descartes.
b. Charles Darwin. d. Sigmund Freud.
ANS: C DIF: Easy
REF: 1.4 Psychology Originated in Philosophical Questions OBJ: 1.4a
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology MSC: Remembering

27. Which of the following has been a topic of discussion and curiosity since the ancient Greeks?
a. dualism c. the nature/nurture debate.
b. structuralism d. cognitive psychology
ANS: C DIF: Easy
REF: 1.4 Psychology Originated in Philosophical Questions OBJ: 1.4a
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology MSC: Remembering

28. Freddy and Mary Anne are having a disagreement about the nature/nurture debate. Freddy correctly says, “Actually, the ‘nature’
portion of the debate refers to how a person thinks and acts and is a result of
a. early education.” c. prenatal experiences.”
b. inborn influences.” d. cultural norms.”
ANS: B DIF: Easy
REF: 1.4 Psychology Originated in Philosophical Questions OBJ: 1.4a
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology MSC: Remembering

29. In the nature/nurture debate, the term nature refers to the question of how ________ factors affect the mind, brain, and behavior.
a. biological c. either biological or environmental
b. environmental d. conscious or unconscious
ANS: A DIF: Easy
REF: 1.4 Psychology Originated in Philosophical Questions OBJ: 1.4a
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology MSC: Understanding

30. With respect to the nature/nurture debate, psychologists now believe that ________ is/are important in understanding the mind, brain,
and behavior.
a. nature c. both nature and nurture
b. nurture d. neither nature nor nurture
ANS: C DIF: Easy
REF: 1.4 Psychology Originated in Philosophical Questions OBJ: 1.4a
NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology MSC: Understanding
 Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
board, to whom I at once proceeded with my report. His Excellency
listened to me and then asked, “Have you secured all the guilty
men?” “No, sir, I have only nine of them.” “Why have you not
arrested them all?” “Because, sir, they have taken refuge in a hill
village, which is too strong for the Siai’s force to capture.” “I will give
you Captain Butterworth and a detachment of Constabulary,” said his
Excellency, “and you will go to Goodenough Island at once, returning
here in two weeks with all the men wanted, in time for the return of
the Merrie England from the Mambare; but see that there are no
houses burnt and no trees cut down by your men. When will you be
ready to sail?” “In half an hour, sir,” was my answer; “I only want
time to water and provision the Siai.” “To-morrow will do very well,”
the Governor told me; “now sit down and tell me about the rest of
the district affairs.”
Sitting down, I unfolded my tale, getting approval here, remarks
as to how I could have done better there, and so on, until I came to
the gaol mutiny, and the flogging of Bushimai and Goria. Thunder of
Heaven, as the Germans say, then did I catch the storm! “Mr.
Monckton, I entirely disapprove of flogging under any
circumstances; you have exceeded your powers and gone outside
my known native policy.” In five minutes I was reduced to a very
dismal state, though I don’t believe that any man other than Sir
William MacGregor could have done it. At last I quacked out, “But,
sir, I flogged under the authority of the Prisons Ordinance, and by
the advice of such an experienced magistrate as Mr. Armit.” “It does
not matter to me whose advice you acted upon, I expect my officers
to act upon their own good judgment. Ask Mr. Winter to come to
me, and come back yourself,” said Sir William. Glad to escape, I fled
for the Chief Judicial Officer. “His Excellency wants you, sir; I’m in an
awful mess, what shall I do?” “Don’t worry about it,” said that
always sympathetic Judge; “go to my cabin, and bring up the
volume of the Gazettes containing the Prisons Ordinance.” Finding
that Ordinance, in desperate haste I tore after the C.J.O., arriving on
the fore-deck close on his heels.
 “Judge,” said Sir William, “under the Prisons Ordinance, has the
R.M. power to flog prisoners without reference to me?” “Yes, your
Excellency, I believe he has; though it has never been exercised by a
magistrate in New Guinea before. Mr. Monckton, give me the
Ordinance. Yes, sir, see, here is the section, the R.M. was within his
powers.” “I still consider your action ill-considered and ill-advised,”
remarked the Governor. I waited a few minutes, and finding Sir
William continued to talk to Judge Winter, I said: “If, sir, you do not
require me further, I will wish you good-night.” “Good-night,” was
the gruff reply; and walking to the gangway, I whistled for my boat,
which was waiting at the wharf. As I waited for her to come
alongside—meditating the while on my iniquities—I heard a step
behind me, and turning round saw the Governor. “Mr. Monckton,”
said Sir William, “it is not late: I should like to present you to Lady
MacGregor, and offer you a glass of wine in my cabin.”
After meeting Lady MacGregor and drinking my wine, I went
ashore to my house and found there the Commandant, Private
Secretary, the Commander of the Merrie England and several other
officers, all sitting in solemn state discussing my fate. “They have
drunk up all your whisky, sir,” said Poruma; “I told them you had only
one bottle, and hid the glasses, but they took tea cups.” “Go to
Billy’s pub and get me some more,” I said, to get rid of Poruma; I
then unfolded to sympathetic ears my tale of woe. Poruma, the
whisky and Armit arrived at the same time. “What is this mothers’
meeting about?” said Armit; “you all look as if you had dined on bad
oysters!” “A bucket full of bad oysters would not have put me in the
state I feel in now,” I said, “thanks partly to you: it’s that flogging
business. I’m sending in my papers in the morning.” “Don’t be a
damned fool,” said Armit; “I’ve just come from the Merrie England,
and Jock never once used the word ‘reprimand,’ when he blew you
up. You swallow your pride, and take the pricks as well as the
plums; you ought to feel jolly proud of the position in which Jock has
put a young man like you.”
The following morning I was up bright and early, and went off to
the Merrie England, where I found that the Governor had risen still
earlier and intended inspecting the gaol; accordingly, I departed to
make all ready. At that time the whole Government reserve—
included in which was my house, police quarters, the gaol compound
and the cemetery—was surrounded by a high wooden fence, with a
gate across the only street of Samarai, leading into it; at this gate
there was a guard house, occupied by a married gate-keeper and a
few police. As the gate-keeper admitted me, I called for the police,
but found they were at a parade ordered by the Commandant; I
then told the gate-keeper to close the gate, and ran to the gaol to
tell the gaoler to keep in all his prisoners for inspection, instead of
sending them to work as usual. Hardly had I reached my house,
than, looking back, I saw Sir William arrive at the gate; the gate-
keeper’s wife gazed at him, horror-stricken at the thought of the
Governor waiting and her husband away, then—rising to the
occasion—she rushed at the gate and, throwing it wide open,
stiffened herself and flung her hand up to the salute. I met the
Governor who, drily smiling, remarked, “I see, Mr. Monckton, ye drill
the women as well as the men.” Crimson with shame, I dropped to
the regulation half-pace behind his Excellency, and softly cursed to
myself the misplaced zeal of the woman.
The Governor’s inspection over, the Siai was prepared for sea. In
the evening she dropped down the harbour with the tide, and stood
away to Taupota on the north-east coast, carrying, as well as her
own complement, Butterworth and fifteen men of the constabulary.
There she picked up some twenty natives, to act as carriers for the
heavy luggage of the police, in order to allow the force freedom of
action and mobility when camped away from the Siai.
With these men on board, we were badly crowded, and it
accordingly behoved us to make a rapid passage to our anchorage at
Goodenough; in our haste, Sione ran the Siai upon a shoal off the
north-east of that island, where we apparently stuck hard and fast.
Sending out a kedge anchor astern and lightening the vessel in
every possible way had no effect; whereupon I recalled a story told
me by my father, of an experience of his in the Baltic during the
Crimean War, when Captain Fanshawe got the Hastings battleship off
a shoal, by commanding her crew to stand at the stern and jump as
one man to the sound of the bo’sun’s pipe. Accordingly I stationed
six of the Siai’s crew at the windlass, to haul on the kedge at my
whistle, and ordered the remainder of the crew, police and carriers,
at the same sound to rush aft and jump violently. This was done,
and worked like a charm; as the men jumped, the Siai’s bow flew
into the air, the strain on the kedge caught her, and away she went
into deep water again. A few hours after this we dropped anchor off
Thompson’s plantation, and prepared for another attempt at the hill
villages.
Our plan of campaign was this. First marched the Siai’s men,
flung out as a screen of scouts, with myself as the centre pivot of
the line; then came Butterworth and his men in support, about a
hundred yards behind, followed by the carriers bearing camp
equipment. Some miles inland we came upon a grass patch, not
previously found by me, at the end of which was a stony hill topped
by a village, which apparently was deserted. My line of scouts slowly
converged upon the village, when suddenly—whilst still about fifty
yards distant—a shower of sling-stones fell amongst us; to wait for
the main body was practically impossible, therefore I gave the word
to charge, and the Siai’s men rushed and carried the village, killing
some of the defenders and taking several prisoners. Safely in
occupation, I looked back for Butterworth and his men, thinking that
they were close on my heels, and saw, to my amazement, that they
were halted at the bottom of the hill. I called to them to come up
and, upon their arrival, asked Butterworth why he had not followed
in support. He explained that our arrangement was, that when we
encountered hostile natives, I was to signal to him to close up; as I
had not signalled, but gone on, he had halted his men to await
developments. I thought myself that a sudden blaze of rifle fire, and
the sight of my men at the charge, should have been a sufficient
signal to any one that we were in action—and with very little
warning.
Hardly had Butterworth brought his men into the village, than
the dislodged inhabitants started pelting us with sling-stones from a
high and commanding ridge; so much so, in fact, that we were
obliged to take refuge in the houses, from which safe shelter, half a
dozen of our best shots soon inflicted such loss upon them as to
compel them to retire and, for the time being, leave us in peace. We
stayed in the village to rest our men and eat our midday meal, and
whilst so engaged, we were surprised to hear the voice of a man
gaily singing and approaching us. On looking over the hill, we saw,
to our amazement, a fully armed native walking up the track towards
us. “Fire a couple of shots over that man’s head,” I said to the
police; upon the shots being fired, the man looked up, gave a howl
of surprise, and then fled. “What did you do that for?” asked
Butterworth; “we might have caught him.” “It is an obvious thing,” I
remarked, “that that man is ignorant of everything going on here,
and therefore innocent of complicity in the murders; he is either a
local native returning from a protracted visit to a distant tribe, or a
stranger paying a visit here, otherwise he would not be walking
about alone and announcing his whereabouts by song.” During the
afternoon Butterworth’s men took possession of a higher ridge
overlooking the razor-backed spurs, on which was situated the
village I had previously failed to occupy, and, under cover of their
fire, the Siai’s men entered and seized it without fighting. Here we
camped for the night, and remained unmolested.
Then, for several days, the constabulary and my men searched
the country and took several prisoners; we found that the fight had
been taken out of the natives, and they were no longer massing to
oppose us but scattering, taking refuge in every possible way. I now
decided to return to Samarai, having captured most of the principal
men concerned in the attack on Thompson’s plantation; the
Goodenough Islanders, too, had learnt that the Government was
something more than a name, and also more than their match at
fighting.
Having an afternoon to spare on the day before we left
Goodenough Island—while the police and the Siai’s men were
engaged in chopping wood and carrying water to that vessel—I took
the dingey, Poruma, Warapas, and Giorgi, and went shooting duck
and pigeons up a small river. I got the most mixed bag I ever made
in my life: pulling into the river, a hawksbill turtle suddenly rose
about twenty feet in front of the boat; this I succeeded in shooting
through the head, and Poruma retrieved it by diving; the turtle must
have weighed about two hundred pounds when out of water. Then I
got about a dozen duck and a score of pigeons, Warapas shot a wild
pig, and Poruma killed a python fully fourteen feet in length with a
half-axe (that is, a tomahawk with a long handle like an axe). After
this, Giorgi discovered an alligator asleep on a bank some thirty
yards away from the river; creeping up, I fired my gun into one of its
eyes, and Giorgi gave a yell of joy and rushed at it; but the alligator,
which was only blinded on one side and not disabled, pursued him,
whilst I pursued the alligator, firing my revolver into its body, as
opportunity offered. Poruma, however, gave it the coup-de-grâce, by
getting up on its blind side and belting it just behind the head with
his half-axe. We returned to the Siai with the dingey’s gunwales
nearly awash under the weight of game of sorts.
Whilst on the subject of alligators, I may remark an
extraordinary peculiarity of these reptiles, and that is, that in some
ports and rivers of New Guinea, they appear to be absolutely
harmless, for instance, in the Eastern Division, Port Moresby, and the
fiords of Cape Nelson: whereas in the mouths of the San Joseph,
Opi, Barigi, and Kumusi Rivers, they are a malignant lot of man-
eating brutes, neither hesitating to attack men in canoes, nor to
sneak at night into the villages and seize people. The same thing, in
a lesser degree, applies to sharks haunting Papuan seas; I have
never known a man taken at Port Moresby or in the Mekeo district
by a shark, nor do the natives there—who are at the best a cowardly
lot—show fear of them; but on the bars of the Opi, Musa, and
Kumusi Rivers, I have known the brutes swim alongside a whaleboat
and seize the blades of the oars in their teeth. On one occasion, at
the Kumusi River, my men caught a shark, the belly of which
contained several human bones, a human head, the complete plates
forming the shell of a large turtle, and the freshly torn-off flipper and
shoulder of a large dugong or sea cow.
 In relation to sharks and alligators, L. G. D. Acland—who
afterwards got his arm chewed off by a tiger in India—Wilfred
Walker, author of “Wanderings among South Sea Savages,” and
myself, once got a bad shock at Cape Vogel. Both men were my
guests, and at the time we were camped on the edge of a tidal
creek, all of us occupying the same tent, at the door of which sat a
sentry. The sentry had thrown out a strong cotton line, with an
enormous hook at the end baited with a sucking pig, with the idea of
catching a shark, and had tied his line to the upright pole of our
tent; without warning, the whole tent vibrated violently, and the
sentry, seizing the line, began to haul it in. Cursing him for
disturbing our rest, we lay down and prepared for sleep again, when
suddenly the sentry fell backwards into the tent, closely followed by
the head of an alligator. Hastily we scurried under the canvas at the
back of the tent, swearing hard; the alarm awoke the police who,
running up, fired at the alligator, which promptly shuffled into the
water, and went off carrying our line and tent pole with it.
The Rev. W. J. Holmes, of the London Mission, once told me an
alligator story about one of his Mission boys; a story which the local
natives confirmed as true. Holmes sent off one of his Mission boys to
borrow some dozen six-inch wire nails from a trader, who lived some
miles away; the boy was shortly to be married to a village girl, and
she accompanied him on his message. On their homeward way it
was necessary for them to ford a shallow river; the boy walked first,
when suddenly, hearing a shriek, he turned round to find that an
alligator had seized his sweetheart by the leg. Hastily running back,
the boy grabbed his lady-love by one arm and, inserting his hand
behind her leg, jambed his packet of nails down the reptile’s throat,
thus forcing it to open its mouth and release the girl, whom he then
dragged to the shore. The only remark the boy made about the
incident, when he returned to Holmes, was to regret that the
alligator had “stolen the missionary’s nails.”
From Goodenough, the Siai ran rapidly to Samarai, on the way
landing our carriers at Taupota. Here I took the opportunity of
visiting the Mission and its school for native children; to my
amazement, I was received by the children all rising and singing the
National Anthem. Standing with my escort at the salute, I waited
until the end, and then explained to the Rev. —— Clark of the
Anglican Mission, who was in charge, that ordinary people like
myself should not be received in that manner, that they should only
pay such compliments to the Queen’s representative, the Governor.
“That’s all right,” said Mr. Clark; “but I have been rehearsing my
children for months to receive the Governor, and he has never come,
so, in order to avoid disappointing the children, I thought I would try
it on you.” The main portion of the school consisted of girls under
the care of two ladies of the Anglican Mission, and my
embarrassment was great when the good ladies displayed for my
judgment the articles made by their pupils; the garments were all of
them white, and I did not know what the devil to say or do. At last I
threw myself utterly upon the mercy of the ladies, and begged them
to select the articles and girls I was to commend; having done this I
departed, vowing to myself, that in the future, the inspection of
missionary schools was a duty I should delegate to the Assistant
R.M.
Leaving Taupota, I called at Wedau to inquire into the murder of
a mother-in-law, that Moreton had told me about; I found the culprit
safe in the custody of the village constable, and also that the calling
of evidence was hardly necessary, as he made confession in this
way. “Two years ago I married my wife, then my father-in-law died
and my wife’s mother came to live with us. At early morning she got
up and talked, when I came home at night, she talked; she talked,
and talked, and talked, and at last I got my knife and cut her throat.
What have I got to pay?” “Six months’ hard labour,” I replied, “when
the Judge comes along; and many a white man would be glad to get
rid of a talking mother-in-law at the price!”
On our arrival at Samarai I landed my prisoners, also
Butterworth and his men, held a Court, and got everything in order
for the Judge; two days latter the Merrie England came in, and the
Governor was pleased to approve of what I had done. Then his
Excellency pointed out that there was still a murder in Goodenough
Bay undealt with by me—Goodenough Bay is in the mainland of New
Guinea, and entirely distinct from Goodenough Island—and that it
behoved me to get to work and clean that up. Sir William’s method
of praise was always to pile on more work. Upon going into the
matter I found that it was not one murder, but two, I had to deal
with; one at Radava, and the other at Boianai.
There was no anchorage opposite either village, accordingly the
Siai sailed up the coast and hove-to at night opposite Radava.
Landing two boats’ crews just before dawn, we entered the first
house and, seizing the inhabitants, asked the names of the
murderers, which were at once given. I then detailed two men to go
to each of the guilty men’s houses, the police being guided by the
men and women we had picked out of the first house; Poruma and I
then went on to the house of the chief, whom I also intended to
arrest; my whistle was to be the signal to burst into the houses and
secure the men. Just as Poruma and I walked, or rather sneaked, up
to the chief’s house, we saw a man emerge and enter another
house; whereupon I told Poruma to follow and catch him when I
whistled. Then, looking in at a deep window in the chief’s house, I
saw a man sleeping by the fire and—first blowing my whistle—leapt
through the window and seized him; he fought like a wild cat, and
together we rolled through the fire, my cotton clothes catching alight
and burning me badly; I was still struggling with the man when
Poruma and Warapas arrived and pulled us apart. Then I found that
—with the exception of the chief—we had got all the men we
wanted, and that the man I had been struggling with was the village
lunatic.
It had been necessary for me to take the village by night
surprise, otherwise the people would have taken one of two courses:
either bolted into the bush of the rough mountains or resisted arrest.
At Boianai they did bolt, having got tidings of the coming of the Siai;
but here I was able to bring a peaceful method to bear, that resulted
in the surrender of the guilty men. The Boianai natives have a very
well-designed scheme of irrigation, and go in for a most intensive
system of cultivation of their somewhat limited area of rich flat land.
A portion of the irrigation scheme consisted of a wooden aqueduct,
carrying water at a high level over a small river. Their main crops
were of taro, a vegetable requiring a large amount of moisture in the
soil.
Finding my birds at Boianai had flown, I seized the aqueduct and
diverted the water from their gardens; then I told the people, that
when they surrendered the men I wanted, their gardens should
again have water, but until then, none. I thereupon sat down in the
Siai and awaited developments, leaving most of my men camped at
the aqueduct under Warapas. Upon the evening of the second day, I
took my gun and went off on shore to shoot pigeons; Poruma,
Sione, and Giorgi being at the time asleep in the forecastle. As the
dingey returned alongside the Siai, pulled by the cook and a village
constable, they clumsily contrived to bump her violently; the row
woke up Sione, who, finding out that I had gone off alone, promptly
sent Giorgi and Poruma after me—a very fortunate thing for me as it
proved. I, meanwhile, had wandered down a path to seek for
pigeons; Poruma and Giorgi, after some little time, discovered the
track I was on and followed. As I peered into a tree, I suddenly
heard a yell and a crashing blow behind me; turning round I saw
Poruma and Giorgi astride of a fallen man. Whilst I had been stalking
pigeons, they had discovered him stalking me, armed with a
horrible-looking spear; whereupon they had stalked him, and
cracked him on the skull, just as he poised his spear to launch it into
my back. After Poruma and Giorgi had handcuffed the man, and I
had examined his broken head and reproached Giorgi for cracking
the stock of a good rifle, Poruma remarked, “It was a little hard that
he could not have a few minutes’ sleep without some foolishness
being done.” I got one home on to Poruma by telling him that it was
the monotony of his cooking and the vileness of his curries that had
sent me off in search of game.
Poruma then asked the prisoner why he had tried to spear me,
to which he replied, that he had just been examining his garden and
was annoyed at finding that the leaves of his taro were beginning to
wilt, from lack of water: while so engaged, he had been seen by the
watching police, who had chased him over the rough river-bed for a
long distance; then, while lurking in the scrub, he had caught sight
of me and thought that the opportunity was too good to lose. After a
little more conversation, our new acquaintance resigned himself to
his fate, and volunteered—as a sort of propitiatory measure—to take
us to where pigeons were plentiful; he proved better than his word,
for as well as pigeons, he showed me the haunts of wild duck, and I
got a good bag.
Later, Judge Winter gave this gentleman six months for his
attempt at bagging an R.M.; after serving which he enlisted upon
the Siai, and then returned to his village as village constable—and a
very good village constable he made.
The following day I again looked at the gardens, and made up
my mind that if the people did not soon surrender the men I
wanted, I should be obliged to turn on the water, for the simple
reason that I really did not feel justified in destroying their whole
food supply. Fortunately, the people did not know I was weakening,
as that very night they sent a message to me that all the offenders—
except one—were coming in, and that they would catch him as soon
as they could; of course, the missing man was one of the most
important of the lot. Sure enough the men were brought that night
and a request made that they should be allowed to turn on the
water. “Certainly,” I replied, “so soon as I have the missing man.” An
hour later he was brought, and they got their water.
From Goodenough Bay I returned once more to Samarai, there
to await the return of Moreton.
 CHAPTER XII

O NE night, in Moreton’s house, I had a curious and uncanny

experience. I was sitting at the table, writing a long
dispatch which engaged all my attention; my table was in
the middle of the room, and on my right and left hand respectively
there were two doors, one opening on to the front and the other on
to the back verandah of the house; both doors were closed and
fastened with ordinary wooden latches, which could not possibly
open of their own accord as a spring lock might do; the floor of the
room in which I was, was made of heavy teak-wood boards, nailed
down; the floor of the verandah being constructed of lathes of palm,
laced together with native string. As I wrote, I became conscious
that both doors were wide open and—hardly thinking what I was
doing—got up, closed them both and went on writing; a few minutes
later, I heard footsteps upon the coral path leading up to the house,
they came across the squeaky palm verandah, my door opened and
the footsteps went across the room, and—as I raised my eyes from
my dispatch—the other door opened, and they passed across the
verandah and down again on to the coral. I paid very little attention
to this at first, having my mind full of the subject about which I was
writing, but half thought that either Poruma or Giorgi, both of whom
were in the kitchen, had passed through the room; however, I again
rose and absent-mindedly shut both doors for the second time.

Some time later, once more the footsteps came, crash crash on
the coral, squeak squeak on the verandah, again my door opened
and the squeak changed to the tramp of booted feet on the boarded
floor; as I looked to see who it was, the tramp passed close behind
my chair and across the room to the door, which opened, then again
the tramp changed to the squeak and the squeak to the crash on the
coral. I was by this time getting very puzzled, but, after a little
thought, decided my imagination was playing me tricks, and that I
had not really closed the doors when I thought I had. I made
certain, however, that I did close them this time, and went on with
my work again. Once more the whole thing was repeated, only this
time I rose from the table, took my lamp in my hand, and gazed
hard at the places on the floor from which the sound came, but
could see nothing.
Then I went on to the verandah and yelled for Giorgi and
Poruma. “Who is playing tricks here?” I asked in a rage. Before
Poruma could answer, again came the sound of footsteps through
my room. “I did not know that you had any one with you,” said
Poruma in surprise, as he heard the steps. “I have no one with me,
but somebody keeps opening my door and walking about,” I replied,
“and I want him caught.” “No one would dare come into the
Government compound and play tricks on the R.M.,” said Poruma,
“unless he were mad.” I was by this time thoroughly angry. “Giorgi,
go to the guard-house, send up the gate-keeper and all the men
there, then go to the gaol and send Manigugu (the gaoler) and all
his warders; then send to the Siai for her men; I mean to get to the
bottom of all this fooling.” The gate-keeper arrived, and swore he
had locked the gate at ten o’clock, that no other than Government
people had passed through before that hour; that since then, until
Giorgi went for him, he had been sitting on his verandah with some
friends, and nobody could have passed without his knowledge. Then
came the men from the gaol and the Siai, and I told them some
scoundrel had been playing tricks upon me and I wanted him
caught.
First they searched the house, not a big job, as there were only
three rooms furnished with spartan simplicity; that being completed,
I placed four men with lanterns under the house, which was raised
on piles about four feet from the ground: at the back and front and
sides I stationed others, until it was impossible for a mouse to have
entered or left that house unseen. Then again I searched the house
myself; after which Poruma, Giorgi and I shut the doors of my room
and sat inside. Exactly the same thing occurred once more; through
that line of men came the footsteps, through my room in precisely
the same manner came the tread of a heavily-booted man, then on
to the palm verandah, where—in the now brilliant illumination—we
could see the depression at the spots from which the sound came,
as though a man were stepping there. “Well, what do you make of
it?” I asked my men. “No man living could have passed unseen,” was
the answer; “it’s either the spirit of a dead man or a devil.” “Spirit of
dead man or devil, it’s all one to me,” I remarked; “if it’s taken a
fancy to prance through my room, it can do so alone; shift my things
off to the Siai for the night.”
The following day I sought out Armit. “Do you know anything
about spooks?” I asked; “because something of that nature has
taken a fancy to Moreton’s house.” “Moreton once or twice hinted at
something of the sort,” said Armit, “but he would never speak out; I
will come and spend to-night with you, and we will investigate.”
Armit came, but nothing out of the ordinary occurred; nor did I ever
hear of it afterwards, and before a year had elapsed the house had
been pulled down. When Moreton returned, I related my experience
to him, and he then told me that one night, when he was sleeping in
his hammock, he was awakened by footsteps, such as I have
described, and upon his calling out angrily to demand who was
making the racket, his hammock was violently banged against the
wall. “I didn’t care to say anything about it,” he said, “as I was alone
at the time, and didn’t want to be laughed at.”
I have told this story for what it is worth: I leave my readers,
who are interested in the occult or psychical research, to form what
opinion they choose; all I say is, that the story, as I have related it,
is absolutely true.
Some few days after Moreton had resumed his duties, the Merrie
England came in with Sir William on board, and his Excellency told
me that as Ballantine, the Treasurer and Collector of Customs, had
broken down in health, it was necessary for him to be relieved at
once, and that I was to take up his duties. I protested that I knew
nothing about accountants’ work or book-keeping, and respectfully
declined the appointment. “You can do simple addition and
subtraction, that’s all I want; find your way to Port Moresby as soon
as you can,” was all the Governor replied. Then the Merrie England
left; and I consulted Moreton. “The Lord help you, laddie,” said he;
“you will make a devil of a mess of it, but you must do what Jock
says.” Then Armit. “You must take it, or you will never get another
job; but you will be all right if you sit tight, and refuse to sign
anything without the authority of the Governor or Government
Secretary.” Then I went to Arbouine and unfolded my tale of woe.
“Oh, that’s all right,” said he; “I will write a line to Gors, our
manager at Port Moresby, and if you get stuck, he will lend you a
good clerk for a day or two, who will keep you all right.”
Then I resigned myself to the inevitable; Treasurer and Collector
of Customs I had to be. The next thing was to find my way to Port
Moresby, and break the news to Ballantine. A steamer came in, the
Mount Kembla, an Australian-owned boat recently chartered to carry
coal to German New Guinea; Burns, Philp and Co. were the agents,
and upon my going to book a passage to Port Moresby, Arbouine
said, “This vessel is bound by her insurances to carry a pilot in New
Guinea waters; I can’t let her leave here without one, and you are
the only man I can get hold of capable of acting as a local pilot.”
“Damn it all,” I said, “I only want a passage, and you can hardly
expect the Acting Treasurer and Collector of Customs of New Guinea
to act as your blanky pilot.” “Oh, all right,” said Arbouine, “if you
don’t sign on as pilot, the ship won’t leave.”
Eventually I did take on the job as pilot of the Mount Kembla,
and left for Port Moresby. She was an iron collier with iron decks,
and utterly unsuited for tropical work; hardly had we got out of
Samarai Harbour, before the skipper, a nice, genial little man, came
to me, and said, “I’m feeling very ill, for Heaven’s sake look after the
ship.” I looked at him and, taking his temperature with a clinical
thermometer, found he was in a high state of fever. “Get away to
bed, man,” I said, “and I will dose you.” Then I told the mate to fill
him up with brandy and quinine. “I can’t do it, pilot,” said the mate;
“everything is in the lazerette and under Government seals, and I
dare not break them.” I soon settled that by smashing the seals
myself, meanwhile explaining to the mate that the ship’s pilot
happened to be the Collector of Customs for the Possession. “My
God!” said the mate, “I’ve been in the coal trade all my life, and
been in many parts of the world, but I have never been in a country
like this before.” I took the Mount Kembla safely into Port Moresby,
from whence she departed two days later; and, to my regret, I
afterwards heard that hardly had she cleared the harbour before her
nice little skipper died.
Leaving the Mount Kembla, I went to the office of the
Government Secretary, the Hon. Anthony Musgrave, and told him I
had been sent by the Governor to relieve Ballantine. “I suppose, Mr.
Monckton, you have had previous experience of accountancy and
audit work?” said Mr. Musgrave. “On the contrary,” was my reply, “if
you searched New Guinea from end to end, you could not find a
man more blankly ignorant of the subject.” Muzzy—as he was
generally termed in the service—gasped. “Did you tell the Governor
that?” he asked. “Of course I did; but he seemed to think that a man
who knew navigation and could do simple addition and subtraction
was all he required,” was my reply. Muzzy sighed, and then sent for
Ballantine and introduced me to him, after which, he gladly washed
his hands of the matter. Ballantine was very nice and kind about it
all. “You had better work with me for a few days,” he said, “it’s not
all quite as simple as his Excellency appears to imagine.” Three days
satisfied me that the job was quite beyond me; Ballantine was doing
sums all day long, and could do work, in five minutes, that would
take me a full day. At the end of the three days, I got him to
accompany me to the Government Secretary, to whom I pointed out,
that if I were to carry out the Treasurer’s duties for one month, at
the end of that time it would require at least ten clerks and one
expert accountant to unravel the tangle. “What am I to do?” said Mr.
Musgrave. “Sir William must be obeyed.” Ballantine also intimated
that he was Registrar for Births, Deaths, and Marriages, and that, as
the Death Register had not been written up for some years, I might
delve into piles of letters and papers reporting deaths, and write it
up; to which cheerful occupation I betook myself.

A MOTUAN GIRL

Meanwhile, Muzzy caught Dr. Blayney, R.M. for the Central

Division, and told him that he was to act as Treasurer, etc.; Blayney
undertook it with a light heart, but three days of it reduced him to a
mass of perspiring and swearing humanity. Again came a council of
war. “Bramell, Government Agent at Mekeo, is an expert
accountant,” said Ballantine; “fetch him here to act as clerk to
Blayney, and send Monckton to Mekeo as Assistant R.M.” “The very
thing,” said the Government Secretary. I accordingly was sworn in as
Assistant R.M. for the Central Division; and, a few days later, Blayney
took me to my new district in his patrol vessel, the Lokohu, a sister
ship to the Siai.
Mekeo Station, at this time, was situated some twenty miles
inland, amongst a fairly thick and troublesome population. It had
originally been opened by the late John Green; he was followed by
Kowald, who was killed on the Musa; then Bramell was appointed.
The Station consisted of an officer’s house—the usual three-roomed
affair—constabulary barracks, gaol, storerooms, drill ground, and
about twenty acres of gardens; the buildings and drill ground were
surrounded by a high and strong stockade. The Station was
originally established to protect the missionaries of the Sacred Heart
Order, who were penetrating into the country. The Mekeo natives
were a cowardly, treacherous, and cruel lot, much under the
influence of sorcerers, and averse to control by the Government.
Blayney, some four weeks previously, had swooped through the
villages and arrested every sorcerer he could find; he told me that
the villagers would not give evidence against them unless he
undertook to kill them, so that they could not return to exact
vengeance. Blayney accordingly simply convicted them upon
discovering any implements of their trade in their houses, such as
charms, skulls, snakes, etc.
Upon our arrival at the Government Station, Bramell received us
with very mixed feelings. “I am glad to get out of this hole,” he said,
“but it seems I have got an Irishman’s rise.” Blayney, after staying a
day, went off again, but Bramell stayed a little while to put me in the
way of things, and a cheery way of things they appeared to me. He
showed me his bedroom closely shut up, and his bed surrounded by
a circle of tables, upon each one of which he had deposited loaded
firearms. “What on earth is all that for?” I asked. “Sorcerers,” he
replied; “they are the most poisonous brutes, and keep me
perpetually on the jump; how they get in I don’t know, but get in
they do, and put snakes and other beastliness in my bed. Arrows,
too, come over the stockade in the night and light anywhere, though
we can never catch the men shooting them; on dark nights we have
frequently discovered strangers prowling about the houses, but up
to now, they have always managed to get over the stockade before
we could catch them. The beggars are always trying to poison me
too; don’t you ever buy cocoanuts with the husks off, or anything
else into which they can possibly have inserted poison; they have
contrived to kill three boys in succession carrying my mails to the
coast; the boys are all supposed to have died from accidental snake
bite, but I know better.”
After having given me all the information in his power about the
working of the district, and having completed the formality of
handing it over, Bramell left for the coast to take ship for Port
Moresby, being escorted by half a dozen constabulary. I spent a
week overhauling the last year’s reports from the Station, and
getting a grip, as best I could, of the trend of affairs in the past. I
soon saw that the district was out of hand, and would require fairly
strong measures in dealing with it; I saw also that it was not
Bramell’s fault, for he had not sufficient authority as a Government
Agent and Native Magistrate to keep the people in order: my
appointment, however, carried the full powers of a Resident
Magistrate.
A few days after his departure, one of the nocturnal visitors was
discovered in the compound, but as usual he streaked over the
stockade and disappeared, leaving several poisonous snakes behind
him. The Mekeo constabulary could not hit an elephant in the dark
with their rifles, much less a running man. I began to feel nearly as
annoyed with the sorcerers as Bramell, and determined to cure them
of coming inside the stockade: accordingly I drew the shot from
several gun cartridges, and replaced it with coarse bluestone, and
then I gave the sentry my gun with the doctored cartridges instead
of his rifle; next I pulled the bullet out of a rifle cartridge belonging
to each private, and replaced it with mixed bluestone and dust shot.
“Now,” I explained to the men, who hated the sorcerers as
thoroughly as did Bramell, “I’m going to play sorcery against
sorcery; I have charmed these cartridges, so that if you hold your
rifle firmly, take plenty of time in aiming at a sorcerer at night, and
he is a true sorcerer, you can’t miss him.”

DOBU HOUSE, MEKEO

 In the gaol I had found Poruta, a son of Bushimai, one of the
Mambare prisoners who had given me the trouble at Samarai, they
having been scattered among the different gaols. I took Poruta, who
was very lonely amongst a strange people, as my private attendant;
I had plenty of work for the constabulary, without taking one as an
orderly, and I did not feel keen on having a local boy as servant, for
fear that he might insert something in my grub or a snake in my
bed. Poruta—like all the Binandere people—had no fear of the dark,
and was a born fighter; he took a keen interest in my plans for the
discomfiture of the sorcerers, though he thought that all of them
should be sought out and dealt with, with a club. He pointed out
that the sentry always stood in one place—a place that must be
perfectly well known to our night visitors—and also that the police,
with the exception of two on my verandah, were always grouped
about the barracks. “I would undertake,” said Poruta, “under the
present system, to come inside the stockade every night and escape
unseen. Make four men lie flat on their stomachs in the middle of
the drill ground, each man watching the sky-line on one side of the
stockade, and they are bound to see any man climbing over.” I did
this; but I also tied a string on to the toe of the corporal in the
barracks, and led it into the midst of the four watchers, so that they
could alarm the barracks without noise, and also without giving any
warning to our night visitors.
The very first night that the plan was tried, it worked excellently.
Watching the sky-line carefully, one of the sentries noticed a head
appear, followed by a second one; gently touching his three
companions, he directed their attention to the intruders; immediately
one fowling piece and three rifles, loaded with small shot and
bluestone, converged on the figures of two men, as, flat on their
stomachs, they slid sideways over the fence, and then gently began
to lower themselves on the inner side. In their excitement, each of
the four sentries forgot to pull the string attached to the corporal’s
toe. Bang went all the guns together, an awful series of shrieks went
up from the smitten intruders, as they hastily hauled themselves
back over the stockade, and fled howling into the night. At the same
time the air was rent by fearful yells and curses from the barracks;
the police, at the sound of the shots, had hastily jumped to their feet
and rushed out; man after man tumbled over and tangled himself up
with the line attached to the corporal’s toe, thereby nearly dragging
off that much enduring member.
For weeks after this, we were untroubled by nocturnal visitors;
and by every one on the Station—bar the corporal—the plan was
regarded as a gigantic success. My fame as a charmer of rifles, for
use against sorcerers, spread through the land. I never found out
who our two visitors were, but I will wager they never forgot their
experience that night.
The next thing to which I had to turn my attention, was the
straightening up of the detachment of constabulary; they showed a
slackness and lack of smartness that I did not like. On the drill
ground they appeared willing enough, but they could neither march,
shoot, nor drill decently. I slanged the non-com. in charge, who was
a Western man, but came from a different tribe and village to the
rest of the men. “I can’t do anything with them, sir,” he said;
“whenever Mr. Bramell was away they would not drill, and now, if
you are not on parade, they only play the fool and cheek me.” I
drilled and cursed the men myself, but they merely said that their
non-com. was a liar, and that their behaviour was immaculate. For a
long time I could never get hold of any specific instance of
disrespect or disobedience to the non-com.; at last, however, I
caught them, and this is the way I did it.
I went one night to the Mission house, taking with me Poruta
and half a dozen constabulary; arriving there, I sent off the police,
telling them I meant to stay the night with the missionary. I had
previously told the non-com. to station a gaol warder—a countryman
of his own—at the gate instead of a private, and to tell him to hold
his tongue as to the hour I came home. Returning at about five
o’clock in the morning, I was admitted by the warder, went straight
to my house, which overlooked the parade ground, and got into bed
without striking a light. Poruta slept in my room. Daylight and six
o’clock came, and I was awakened by the yells of the non-com.
parading his men; peeping out, I saw them come slowly strolling on
to the drill ground and languidly fall in, some wearing fatigue kit of
cotton, some full dress of serge, some without belts, and some
without jumpers; one shining light fell in attired in the white “sulu”
he slept in, some smoked in the ranks, others chattered, and they
drilled like a newly enlisted volunteer company. For half an hour I
watched the beauties, and listened to them answering back their
non-com., who cursed and beseeched alternately.
Then I buckled on my belts, and walked slowly down my steps
and up to the squad, watching them stiffen and their eyes start, as
they saw the unexpected apparition of their officer. “I think I will
finish the drill, Corporal,” I remarked; then to the squad, “Pile arms!”
and they piled arms. Then I inspected man after man, ordering each
one that I found incompletely dressed to strip to the buff and fall in
for physical drill. Only one man, Private Keke, passed inspection; and
I made him lance-corporal on the spot. After this, I drilled that
unhappy squad until sweat ran down their brown bodies in streams;
winding up by sending them at the double straight up against the
stockade, at which they instinctively stopped. “I did not tell you to
halt, you slack-backed pig-stealers; your meat rations and tobacco
are stopped for a week; forward!” Over the stockade that sweating
detachment went. “About turn!” Back they came; and I kept them at
it until they were falling from the top, instead of jumping, from sheer
exhaustion. Then I halted them on the parade ground again, and
made a little speech; telling them that I was weak from shame at
having to do with such a lot of feeble wasters, and that I felt certain
the Commandant had made a mistake, and sent to Mekeo a sanitary
gang—or something of that sort—instead of a detachment of
constabulary. Their disgraceful exhibition had made me feel so faint,
that I must go and breakfast, but meanwhile they would stand at
attention.
I went to breakfast and lingered over it; then I returned to my
depressed squad. “You have already lost your meat and tobacco for
halting without orders; do it again, and I will clap the whole lot of