Queer Customs
in New Hebrides
Strange Rites Over Shark Which
Natives Bury Annually in
Their “ Sing-Sing.”
CHIEFS HONORED IN EFFIGY
Make Crude Statue of Clay and Fibre
and Hold Festivities Around It
— Number of Skirts Indicates
Woman’s Rank.
Washington. D. C.—“A proposal of
the French society of the New He
brides to sell to Australia their con
cessions In the Islands which form a
large Y In the South Pacific, north of
New Zealand and west of Fiji, recalls
the strange rites over the shark, which
the native men of Ranuo island bury
annually 'n their ’Sing-Sing' or cere
mony grounds,” says a bulletin of the
National Geographic Society from Its
Washington (I). C.) headquarters.
“The Inhabitants of this interest
Ing archipelugo, composed of 12 large
and 100 smaller Islands, believe In
witchcraft and all sorts of signs and
omens, particularly in the spirits of
their depatted ancestors and In gods
which are thought to be Incorporated
In certain stones or animals. Every
villuge bus Its dancing ground. Here
the natives meet on moonlight nights
und perform wild und fantastic antics
to the booming of their deep drums,
some of which, six feet or more In
height und curved front the trunks of
trees, arc cupuhle of making terrible
noises.
Honor Chiefs In Effigy.
Uncle Sam Opens Shop
For Stamp Collectors
-»
■
■
■
Stamp collectors and dealers
hereafter will be able to buy
stamps for their collections di
rect from the Post Office depart
ment In Washington. Postmas
ter General Hays has Issued an
order for the establishment of a
philatelic stamp agency in the
department, to meet the long un
filled demand of collectors to be
able to buy stamps, particularly
special Issues frequently not ob
tainable In post offices, direct
from the department. Bare and
obsolete issues also will be avail
able through tlie agency, but all
sales are to be on a strictly cash
basis.
ney, Australia, and shipped from there
to soap makers the world over. Coffee,
cocoa und vanilla, as well as tropical
fruits, grow in abundance. Oranges
are said to grow so large that both
a man’s hands can scarcely span one
of them, and the pineapples of the
Islands sometimes weigh 20 pounds.
So rich Is the soil and luxuriant the
vegetation, that In many places 5,000
sheep can be kept on two thousand
acres of land.
“VUa harbor, which Is set between
mountain peaks and gemmed with Is
lands. Is the most Important commer
cially among the many commodious
and strategic harbors, which the Is
lands afford. The scattered little vil
lage, which dozes under the shelter of
Its palm trees, has built no pier to en
courage Its shipping. The cargoes must
be loaded by the natives in small boats.
Thougdi the progress of conquering na
tions has left,Its mark In the Catholic
and Presbyterian churches and the
large wireless station, the town Is es
sentially native in character with Its
thatch-roofed houses set amid the color
ful hibiscus blossoms, and sometimes
fortified with stone walls.”
“One fantastic rite among them Is
the memorializing of their chiefs In
effigy. A crude stutue of cluy and
fibre, representing the flesh and hair of
the chief as he looked in real life, is
mude, his uctual skull being used for
the framework of the head, and uround
this the festivities take pluce.
“For years the uutlves of the Is
lands were the prey of the ‘Black-
birders,’ or labor pirates, because they
are generally considered more In
dustrious and sturdier of build thun
the averuge kanaka. They are reputed
to have cannibalistic tendencies, to be
treacherous and of uncertain temper,
facts probably due In some measure to
the treatment to which they were
subjected by these traders. They are
of Meluneslun stock, below the medium
In stuture, and uccentuute the ugli
ness in their broad, black faces and
receding foreheads by sticking coco
nut fiber In their liulr and udornlng Receiver General Pulliam’s Idea
their ears and flat noses with rings.
for Memorial to the Great
They pride themselves upon their
Discoverer.
weapons—speurs, clubs, bows, and
poisoned urrows—some of which are
beautiful In design und elaborate In
04609446
pattern.
"The women hold a degraded posi
tion among them, the wives of the
more important members of the race Contends That Columbus' Bones Are
In Santo Domingo— Says All
Increasing the number of skirts
Americans Should Con
which they wear nt one time ns nn
tribute to Fund.
Indication of their rank, the 'pooh-
ball's' wife wearing as many as 40
New York.—One of the most Inter
of them. The ‘better half* of a man
Is sometimes buried alive with her esting undertakings Interrupted by
the wur was that of building a great
husband upon Ills death.
“(Julros, the Portuguese navigator. tomb und lighthouse over the remains
In 1000, was the first white man to of Christopher Columbus In Santo
see the rugged outline of the const Dondago. It was the Idea of William
of the Islands, which rise abruptly out E. Pulliam, then receiver general of
of the deep sea in the hurricane zone ustoins of the Dominican Republic,
of the tropics. Believing he had dis and bis wife. When Mr. Pulliam left
covered the great southern continent New York recently to resume that post
which was nt that time the dream he said that tlie plans for tlie monu
of navigators. (Julros may he compared ment would tie tuken up again. If
to Columbus, who thought he had they are curried to completion a lofty
found a route to India when he sighted mausoleum, like that of Napoleon In
the palm fringed shores of the West I.es Invalldes In Paris, or Grant's
tomb, on Riverside drive, will rise
ladles.
"He called his discovery Australia over the remains of Columbus and a
del Esplrltu Santo, which has been giant beacon crowning It will light
shortened by traders to Santo and Is the way of boats plying the Caribbean
applied to the largest island of the sea.
Remains In Santo Domingo.
group-
Isis of Monster Fruits.
There Is general contention as to
“Countless streams cut Santo, which where the authentic remains of Colum
Is 64 miles long end 32 miles wide. bus really lie. Many authorities es
Into broad, fertile valleys. From Its pecially those In Spain, maintain that
shores and those of the neighboring the hones were removed from Santo
islands tons of copra are sent to Syd- Domingo to Havana In 1795 and thence
AMERICANS LOSE LUXURY TAX
Parts, France. — Several French
newspapers are protesting against
what they term “the misplaced gener
osity” of the government in refund
ing to Americans, when they return
to the United States, the 10 per cent
luxury tax they have paid on pur
chases. The newspapers say the gov
ernment is giving away hundreds of
thousands of francs in this way which
rightfully belong to the country.
Americans have read these protests
with not a little surprise. Many who
have tried to get back the total of
their luxury tax have discovered the
difficulties are many. The first and
most essential demand of the govern
ment officials at the port of embarka
tion is that all receipts of purchases
must be presented. Luxury tax con
cerns women almost entirely, and
most of them forget or lose these re
ceipts.
Those who know of this demand aie
comparatively few, so the luxury tax,
so far as most homeward-bound Amer
icana are concerned, usually remain»
Cockpit of the new United States navy blimp, the C-7, first in me world to use nellurn, after its arrival in Wash
in France.
ington, from Norfolk. Lieutenant Commander R. F. Wood, altitude pilot. Is shown smoking within a few feet of
the huge gas bag with absolute safety. Lieutenant Sewail Is standing In the cockpit The C-7 Is capable of malt
ing 60 miles an hour. Two 125 horse power engines are used.
*LOVE METER” GUIDES SWAINS
Device Records Heart Flutter»— Happy
Marriages Promised by Sci
entists.
Old Times on Mississippi Not Gone
The Kate Adams and the Harr? ls-e, two old-time Mississippi river pack
ets, still ply between Memphis and Arkansas City, and the same «Id type nt
roustabouts are at work today. The photograph shows the Kate Adauis being
loaded.
I
the sea is likely to mean the damage
If not the loss of the seaplane, al
though It is to be expected that the
aviator can be rescued. The condi
tions of the weather, however, are not
believed to offer any Inconvenience to
launching by means of the catapult,
and in time of war the commander in
chief will launch his planes in the
tered Ihe war the principal naval ef air where they may accomplish their
fort was anti-submarine In its object mission regardless of whether or not
and the convoy of shipping. Aircraft the planes may be salvaged intact
were not needed aboard these cruisers upon their landing.”
for this purpose, and the catapults
Federal Law Needed.
were removed. After the armistice,
Tn summing up the development of
the catapult problem was again taken aviation In 1921 the Scientific Ameri
up and a catapult, similar to the can snys:
North Carolina design, which had
“The outstanding fact in American
been In use at I’cnsecola for training aeronautics is that the United States
aviators while mounted on a coal is stiU awaiting the passage of a fed
barge, was brought to Washington and eral law for tlie licensing of pilots,
further tests and Investigations made. the Inspection of muchines and the
“Tlie old catupults, such as were general encouragement and control of
used on the North Carolina, consisted the industry. As matters stand, any
of a track along which a carriage man is at liberty to buy or build an
was propelled by a compressed air Inferior machine, take up passengers
cylinder. The nlrplane was mounted at so much u head, and kill both them
on this carriage, and as the carriage and himself (as not Infrequently hap
speeded up it released the ulrplane at pens) without a word of official pro
the end of its run, allowing it to fly test. Thus, the art Is discredited and
Into the air. The track for this cat the public discouraged. If aeronautics
apult was mounted along the center- Is not illegal, It is at best nonlawful,
line of the ship, and since It was neces and will remain so until congress does
sary to launch the airplane direct into Its duty. While foreign governments
the relative wind. It was necessary are encouraging aviation, commercial
for the ship to set herself on such a progress in the United States is due
course that the wind blew lr the direc
entirely to the unaided efforts of the
tion of the catapult track.
“This maneuver, while entirely manufacturer and the individual in
ventor. All honor to them.
feasible, necessitated the ship turning
“Some truly remarkable records
out of formation, or heading upon
have marked the efforts of the past
some course which might prove very
disadvantageous. The turntable cat week. In France, Sadi Leconte in
training for the Deutsch cup contests,
apult obviates this, and is relatively
achieved a speed of 206% miles an
small and compact.
hour In a biplane, and came pretty
close to that mark in the race itself.
Compressed A ir Used.
This was for a short distance, straight
“The turntable catapult consists of away.
a bridge-like structure mounted on a
“The record over a 150-mile closed
turntable upon which there is the circuit was gained in the Pulitzer
usual car which carries the airplane, trophy by Bert Acosta in a Curtis
and this car is propelled by com Navy racer, when he covered the dis
pressed air. Frequent tests have dem tance at an average speed of 176.7
onstrated that It Is possible to launch miles per hour.
by such a mechanism any o; the types
"Another startling feat was that of
of airplane or seaplane which would Lieut, John A. Macready, who on Sep
be carried upon a battleship,
tember 28, rising from McCook field,
“The problem of launching an air Dayton, O., attained a height of 40,008
plane in a short run by means of the feet He used electrically heated
catapult depends upon several factors. clothing, the oxygen tank, and the gas
The first and primary one is, of turbine supercharger. His La Pere
course, that at the end of the run the biplane was the same In which Schroe
catapult should have given the plane der climbed to 38,180 feet in the pre
a speed such that when the plane Is ceding year.
released from the car the wings will
All Metal Monoplane In Favor.
lift It into the air and flight has be
“This all-metal monoplane continues
gun. This requires that the launch
ing velocity shall be somewhat In ex to gain favor, and its performance is
cess of the minimum flying speed of characterized by a remarkable low
the plane. Second, it Is necessary gas consumption, due, of course
while the plane Is being brought up largely to its excellent motor. There
to this flying speed that the plane be has been a remarkable revival of in
held securely to the launching car terest in the monoplnne as a good type
riage in order that It will not leave for moderate speeds. Tlie thickness
the track too soon. Finally, It is nec of wing which is necessitated by Inter
essary that the acceleration of nal bracing is unsuitable for the high
launching shall not be so great or est sjieeds. Leconte used a biplane
so violent as to Injure the pilot, who with the characteristic thin wings of
mnst ride In the plane and preserve the modern racing machine.
all his senses alert In order to take
“Multiple engines, so coupled up as
charge as soon as be Is released at to be capable of being run independ
tlie end of the run.
ently, are growing in favor. Martin
“Under many conditions the sea and GaUaudet, among American de
plane I d Its present state of develop signers, nave secured excellent results
ment Is entirely practical, although in with this arrangement Regular air
very rough weather a landing upon plane passenger service, running on
schedule, has made progress, slow, It
may be, but encouraging.
“Abroad, the French and British are
still maintaining their London-Paris
H«r Callers Came,
routes: other services in Europe have
Reception Was Hot
been running consistently, and new
routes have been established during
Mount Vernon, Wash.—Callers
the year. On this side of the water
were what Mrs. Imogene Har
we have seen the inauguration of the
rington craved—Sunday callers,
Key West to Havana and other pas
and lots of them. Furthermore
senger-carrying services. The air mall
she desired that her visitors ar
functioned with a regularity which
rive at once, so as not to keep
should encourage congress greatly to
things waiting.
enlarge its scope,
Mrs. Harrington had no recep
“Mention should be made of the
tion invitations out. And. If she
Petroczy helicopter, which. In tests,
had, even the humanized mail
lifted Itself to a height of 160 feet
service would have been too
It weighs 2,900 pounds and Is held
slow.
So
Mrs.
Harrington,
captive for observation purposes, tak
brought from her home, near
ing the place of the vulnerable bal
Bow, earlier in the day, on an in
loon.
sanity charge, set Ore to the
“The prospects of successful dirigi
women's section of the Mount
ble passenger service have undoubted
Vernon Jail.
ly been set hack somewhat by the offer
The visitor, arrived with
of
the British government to give away
■«peed that delighted the heart of
Its fleet of six dirigibles, coupled with
the hostess. And the firemen
the failure of any private company to
I «aired.
accept the gift, and by the tragic loss
of the latest ship 'ZR-2.'"
Launch Plane
From Warship
New York.—The wizards o t science
now have a mechanical contrivance
by which the quality of love may be
measured by observing the exaggerat
ed efTect of the lover’s presence on the
Navy Has Designed One on Turn
heart action of his lady.
Such was the announcement of the
table Which Can Be Operated
Society for Electrical Development in
on Any Ship.
describing the workings of the “teleg-
raphone,” an Instrument by the use
of which. Its Inventor declared, unhap
py marriages might be prevented.
All that Is necessary to Insure re
sults, the Inventor explained, Is for the
doubt-tom swain to adjust the device Airplane May Be Launched Into Wind
over the heart of his Intended, whis
W ithout Regard to Direction
per a well-calculated word Into her
Battleship is Headed— Com
enr and watch the Indicator. If It flut
pressed A ir Is Used.
ters violently, then all Is well and
the banns may be published, but If
Washington.—The navy has been
not, beware!
launching airplanes from the decks
of battleships for severui years, but
it has hitherto been necessary always
to maneuver the battleship so as to
launch the airplane directly into the
wind. This manifestly, would be im
possible in actual battle. So the Uni
ted States Navy department has Just
developed a system whereby an air
plane may he catapulted into the wind
without regard to the direction the
in 1898 to Seville, Spain, but other battleship is headed.
historians and experts, with whom
The Scientific American gives a
Mr. Pulliam agrees, say that these are | complete descr'iptio^ofVhis“‘ingZnioLsIy
the remains either of Columbus's son, 8ln)ple devlee> whlch l8 now belng
Diego, or his grandson, Luis, and that shown at th„ PhliadeIphla navy yard.
a leaden casket dug up In the enthe-1 Following Is the article, slightly con-
dral o t Santo Domingo In 1877 con j densed:
talnlng human bones has been estab
“To permit the launching of alr-
lished through Inscriptions and his I planes from a battleship or other war
torical records us the coffin of the dis vessel the catapult has been resorted
coverer.
to, and a special type of catapult has
The following extracts are from let
been developed which has been des
ters written by Mr. Pulliam In 1914 ignated a turntable catapult because
to the Pan-American Union in Wash
the catapult mechanism proper Is
ington and to President Jose Bordas
.
mounted
on a turntable so that It can
of Santo Domingo regarding his proj
be pointed Into the wind when launch
ect :
ing a plane.
“From my general Investigation ot
“One catapult of this type cbuld be
the subject. It would appear tlie unani
mous opinion of tnvestlgntors that the Installed on every battleship and
remains of Columbus are in Santo Do could launch when needed a fighting
mingo, where they have Inin since airplane, so that a fleet of battleships
brought from Spain about 1537. About would he able on the approach of hos
twenty years ago the Dominican gov tile bombing airplanes to send Into
ernment set aside and vested In a the air instantly a large number of
junta Columbina, a tract of land in fighting planes to shoot them down
the heart of the city, for the purpose before the bombing attack could be
of erecting thereon a mausoleum for developed. This Is the real answer
these remains. The location is Ideal. to the threat of the bombing plane,
It overlooks the sea so often traveled which was demonsli-ited In so spec
by Columbus on his voyages of dis tacular a manner by the recent bomb
covery, and the anchorage where the ing from the air of the ex-German
humiliated adndral, divested of his warships,
“In the bombing attacks of these
authority by Bobadllla, embarked fot
Spain In October, 1500, in Irons. The ex-German warships It was shown
mausoleum plan failed of completion, that bombs dropped from the air
hut as a substitute a monument was could do material damage to war
erected In the cathedral, and In a ships which did not defend them
crypt provided therefor the remains selves. Obviously a warship can de
are notv preserved. The monument, fend Itself by anti-aircraft gunfire,
though ornate. Is not commensurate but never by attack In the air. The
with the greatness of Columbus, not weapons of offense and defense In
does It constitute a fitting mark for j the history of naval warfare have
always developed step by step and
such a world character.
“I have often thought that s the development of the heavy bomb
mausoleum corresponding In a way to ing airplane is being met by this de
that of Napoleon In Paris or the Grant velopment of a catapult which will
tomb In New York, should be erected, shoot fast combat planes from the
Its construction to be the concern of decks of battleships Into the air to
the Republic of North, Central and repel bombing attacks.
South America and of Canada. A
Developed In Ten Years.
massive tomb could be erected, and
on tlie same a lighthouse superim
“The catapult of this particular
posed and a powerful light Installed type Is new, but the elements are the
to guide by night the path of the result of navy catapult development
present-day perplexed mariner. Each Initiated In 1911 by CapL Washington
country assisting might supply a I. Chambers, at that time In charge
marble slab or bronze tablet, suitably of naval aviation experiments. The
Inscribed, to be placed In the Interior first flight was made Nov. 12, 1912.
around the sarcophagus.”
by Commander, then Lieutenant, T.
The total cost of the memorial tomh O. Ellyson in a Curtiss seaplane from
und lighthouse Mr. Pulliam placed In a catapult
1914 at about $500.000. Whatever the
“The matter was resumed In 1915
present outlay would have to he. It I» when the development of naval sea
his and Mrs. I’ulllam’s view that every planes had proceeded to snch a point
Individual In the Americas should that It was clear to the Navy It would
have his or her chance to contribute be desirable to take aircraft to sea.
to the memorial, and that a levy ot A new design of catapult, based on
50 cents on each person would prob experience with the first one, was In
ably bring In enough money to see the stalled on the stern of the armored
building through and provide a fund cruiser North Carolina and success
for maintenance and upkeep.
Hit ful flights were made. The North t
plan has received the enthusiastic In Carolina installation proved so re
dorsement of leaders throughout the liable that similar catapults were In- j
American continent and In the Do stalled on Ihe armored cruisers Se
minican Republic, and he said that attle and Huntington, and during
unofficial approval of the arheme had the aarly winter of 191« successful
recently been expressed by the gov flights were made from these cruisers
ernment at Washington.
“At the time the United States en-
Great Light as
Columbus Tomb
FUND OF
Cockpit of Our New HeHum Dirigible Balloon
Forget Their Receipts, So French Gov
ernment Does Not Refund
Sums.
INGENIOUSLY SIMPLE DEVICE