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- [Voiceover] We headed
out into the Pacific Ocean

200 miles off the
coast of California

to pick up the trade
wind that would carry us

down toward the equator.

Salsbury and his party
made the round the world

expedition aboard The Gypsy.

It was a yacht 161 feet long.

It had a crew of
18 and there were

13 scientists aboard.

We had a laboratory
for the development

of moving picture film
and the preservation

of specimens to be collected,

an ice machine

and we were well stocked

for a long cruise
in the tropics.

But, just before
reaching the equator,

you run into the Doldrums.

That's a vast expanse
of water where there

is very little, if any, wind.

We had a diesel engine

and we turned on our power
and had no difficulty

getting across this
quiet expanse of ocean.

The boys, during that
time, mended everything

but their ways.

And, here you see Captain
Salsbury's cleaners at work

and, boy, could they clean.

They invented the
game of Blackjack.

And, they had me cleaned the
first day in the tropics.

Very few of the sailors,
today, know the knots

that are necessary in
the making of a hammock.

This old fellow had been
a deep water sailor,

he had been to
the tropics before

and he knew that a
very necessary part

of the equipment was a hammock.

When you pick up
these clouds known as

a trade clouds on the
other side of the Doldrums,

you know that you're
just about to get

the trade wind that will
carry you on to the equator.

And, when that shot
of the sun was taken,

we were just 75 miles northeast

of the Marquesas Group.

Each man wanted to be
the first to sight land

so he appointed
himself a lookout.

The Marquesas Group is to
be our first destination.

It belongs to the French.

And, is formed by a
number of small islands.

The missionaries compel a
man to wear cotton pants

and shirts and they put
hideous Mother Hubbard

wrappers on the women.

The natives were not
accustomed to this.

They became very warm.

Their clothing became
saturated with perspiration

and they'd sit in
the cool trade winds.

The wind blowing
through the wet cloth

gave them colds and this
turned into pneumonia.

And, thousands of them died.

Today, I doubt very much if
there are 300 Marquesans left.

They lead a carefree
life, these Marquesans.

Getting as much joy as
possible out of each day.

(mysterious music)

They don't need fish hooks,
they use spears underwater.

And, a Marquesan
always gets his fish.

Fish are very plentiful and
the Marquesan is clever.

That's a good combination.

Frying pans weren't used.

They eat 'em raw.

And, I guess the fish,
if given his choice,

would rather be bitten
by the white teeth

of a Marquesan
maiden than the teeth

of a hungry shark.

At least, I would.

On shore, we found
fruits and vegetables

growing in perfusion.

This is a mango, a very
delicious tropical fruit.

If you don't object to the
slight taste of turpentine.

But, that taste is very slight.

You don't notice it
after you've eaten

the fruit several days.

It's delicious and you
don't care how much juice

runs down your chin and
inside of your shirt.

And, believe me, that's plenty.

The bred fruit grows
on a fine, large tree.

It's a staple article of
diet of the Marquesan.

Flowers were everywhere and
of every imaginable color.

And, there's another
beautiful thing

found in the Marquesas
Group, the girls.

They're lovely.

They're just happy,
grown up children.

They spend their days
dancing, swimming

and singing on the beach.

They wear a single
garment called a pareu.

It's about twice as wide as a
bath towel and twice as long.

They take this and
give it a quick flip

around their bodies and
tuck under the ends.

There are no buttons or
hooks or pins or suspenders

but I'm darned if I ever
saw one of them fall off.

And, believe me,
I watch carefully.

(mysterious music)

Some day, when the
picking is good,

this girl oughta pick
herself a shirtwaist.

So lucky your captain can
visit one of these islands

and get away with
his entire crew

because some of the boys
are tempted to dessert.

But, you can't blame the fellas.

The girls are friendly.

It's really a great
place for a young man.

Or for an old man
with young ideas.

We had no difficulties
getting these girls to dance

but it was difficult
to get them to stop.

Whenever they heard music
and saw the camera set up,

they danced.

Well, they insisted on
getting into the picture.

We're gonna let 'em wriggle out
of it the best way they can.

The natives told
us that it rains

everyday in the year in Samoa.

But, it generally takes the
form of hard showers at night.

Plenty of sunshine
during the day

results in a luxurious growth
of tropical vegetation.

Part of the coast of Somoa,
of the island of Tutuila,

is rocky, which may
differ from your idea

of a South Sea island beach.

But, they have these
palm lined beaches

and whenever you find one,

you generally find a
collection of native huts.

To be a good South
Sea island dancer

requires years of training.

You have to start
almost from the cradle.

This little kiddie got
a pretty early start.

But, imagine
exercising like this

in the hot sun when
you don't have to.

The sitting siva dance
of the women of Somoa,

according to Robert
Louis Stevenson,

who spent a great many
years in the South Seas

and who is buried
in the Samoan Group,

is the most graceful
dance in the world.

Every movement made by
these women tell a story.

They tell of their past lives,
of their present existence

and of their hopes and
fears for the future.

The women are good
dancers in Samoa

but they men are better.

The women have a few
tasks to perform.

But, when America took
possession of Samoa,

the men learned that in America,

the politicians didn't
work so all the men

in Samoa have
become politicians.

They don't work, all they do
is dance and talk politics.

And, in their dance,
their movements

tell of the history of Samoa.

The Samoans kept no written
record of their history.

All of the incidents were
handed down from one generation

to another in the
movements of the siva.

It must be very
interesting to one who can

interpret the movements
of this dance.

Now, you've had your
glimpse of Polynesia.

You've seen the
natives and you've seen

the happy, carefree
lives they lead.

Now, you can compare
all this with what

you're going to
find in Melanesia,

for we're just about to
cross the 180th Meridian

and we'll be among the Blacks.

It's in Melanesia we
find the cannibals

and the head hunters.

Our first stop will be
at the Fiji Islands,

a British strong colony.

75 years ago, to speak
of the Fiji Islands

brought up visions
of cannibalism.

But, today, according to
the British government

and the missionaries,
cannibalism has ceased.

The natives are trained
to police the islands

of the group wherever
there are Whites.

It may be possible
that the Fiji Islander

living so close to
the dividing line

between Polynesia and Melanesia

has had the Melanesian
blood softened

by the Polynesian
strain and proves

more susceptible to the
influences of civilization.

The children are very
intelligent looking,

considering the fact
that their grandparents

were cannibals.

But, they have the
queerest types of haircut.

Each one had his or her
idea of beauty in a haircut.

This girl washed her
hair that morning

and couldn't do a thing with it.

And, this fella cuts his hair
with a hammer and a chisel.

They just reverse our
method of building a house.

They build the framework
of the roof and lift it

and then build the
underpart of the hut.

Then, they thatch the whole
thing with palm leaves

and grass and reeds.

And, it may surprise
you to know that a hut,

built in this way,
is waterproof.

The rainfall in the
Fijis is very heavy.

They have a great many
bananas in this group,

practically all the
bananas used in Australia

and New Zealand are shipped
from the Fiji Islands.

They break each
banana from the bunch

and package separately.

The bananas are
brought down the rivers

on great bamboo rafts.

After the raft is
unloaded, it's burned.

For it's a great deal easier
to go back up the river

and build another
raft then it would be

to pull this one back
up the swift current.

Their fish lines and nets
are made of coconut fiber.

That's a very valuable
article in the South Seas.

This old fellow is making
a line of coconut fiber

that he will later
weave into a fishnet.

Tortoise shell hook
tied with coconut fiber

to a pearl oyster
shell attractor makes

a very good fish
lure for the large

saltwater game fish.

A Fiji Island sailing
canoe will give

you nervous frustration.

It's a long, narrow canoe
held upright by an outrigger.

The sail is made of
grass cloth and the lines

and halliards are
made of coconut fiber.

When the wind blows very hard,

it's necessary
for the passengers

to ride out on the
outrigger to prevent

the canoe turning over.

But, it's a speedy
craft and safe

if you know how to
distribute your weight

in a blow.

The most interesting
part of it, though,

is their method of maneuvering.

They go as far as they
want in any direction

and when they wanna
retrace their course,

they don't cut into
the wind with a lot

of fuss and baller,
like a White man,

they merely change the
position of the sail.

And then, the bow
becomes the stern

and the stern becomes the bow.

And, merrily they sail
along on the way home.

The clever White man
hasn't thought of that.

I think we secured the
only moving picture

ever made of a tidal wave.

You'll notice the
water rushes in

and covers those
reefs to a depth

of 11 or 12 feet in
a very few minutes.

For many of the low islands,

a great deal of damage was done

and some of the natives
lost their lives.

Some of the South
Sea Islands are only

three or four feet
above high water mark.

Ports sliding down this
natural chute on a hot day.

But, it was so
hard on the elbows,

we couldn't sit down
for about a week.

And, the women become
very expert boatmen.

They do all of the
hard work in Melanesia

which includes the Fiji Island.

You think a
Melanesian would make

a woman do any part
of the hard work?

No, sir, he makes her do it all.

Women carry the wood,
the man carries the ax.

These women are
making tapa cloth,

the only cloth they
have for garments

prior to the arrival
of the trader.

On the edge of one piece pounded
into the edge of the other.

In this way, they can make
a piece of any desired sign.

We saw some of the chief
strings that were 75 feet long.

And, with vegetable dyes,
they stencil on the designs

using a palm leaf for a stencil.

Fiji Islanders always give
everyone of importance a feast.

They thought we were
important because

we came with an expedition.

We wanted to see what
it was all about,

so we didn't dispel
their illusion.

They dig a hole and
fill it with rocks

which they get very hot.

They put leaves on
top of the rocks.

The food on top of the leaves,

more leaves over the
food and then cover

everything with dirt.

Pigs, chicken, fish, turtles.

Everything imaginable
goes into that fire hole.

And, the food cooked that
way is very delicious

if you can just forget that
they haven't cleaned anything.

But, before you eat,
you must go through

the Kaaba Ceremony and like it.

Kaaba is a peppery root
that is mixed up with water

for the graviolist ceremony.

Now, can you imagine
drinking that stuff

he's washing his hands in?

He said he was straining it

but I noticed his hands
were a great deal cleaner

when he got through it
than when he started.

The guests drinks
this vile mixture

from a coconut shell bowl.

And, brother, if you
think a coconut shell

doesn't hold a lot,
you try it sometime.

After the guest drinks,
he spins the bowl

and the other's applaud.

It looked like a
lot of hooey to us.

Here's Chief Rampezee and
his long tapa cloth train.

(whistle)

The Chief is followed by his
warriors dressed in leaves,

bark, tapa cloth and grass.

That's the national costume
of the Fiji Island warrior.

They have a very nice
custom of giving presents.

They gave us a
great many presents,

a great many sweet potatoes.

They call them yams
and some of them reach

a weight of 50 pounds.

Then, the women arrive
bringing more presents.

More sweet potatoes.

We had enough sweet
potatoes aboard the yacht

when we left the
Fiji Islands to stock

all the markets in the state.

In the sitting siva
dance of the women

of the Fijis, as in the
sitting siva in Samoa,

those movements tell a story.

The women wear
shirtwaist made of grass,

leaves and flowers.

Those are made fresh everyday.

I think that's a
very nice custom.

Captain Salsbury remarked
during the progress

of this dance that he
should like very much

to have one of those
tapa cloth skirts.

At the conclusion of the dance,

all the women filed passed him

and each women
took off her skirt

and presented it to him.

Every women had another
skirt underneath.

The women are good
dancers but, remember,

they do all the work.

They have less time to
dance than have the men.

The men are all warriors.

They haven't had a
war for 75 years,

nevertheless, they're
warriors and they won't work.

All they do is dance.

And, are they good?

They've got to be good.

They go through this
dance of the war clubs

requiring hours, hundreds
of intricate movements.

Absolutely without music, not
even the beating of a tom-tom.

We watched them for hours
and didn't see one mistake

or hesitation on the
part of a dancer.

I doubt very much if
anywhere in the world

is a ballet as perfect
in synchronized movement

as these warriors
of the Fijis dancing

the dance of the war clubs.

They keep time very
much as a musician

keeps time on his instrument.

They told us that
they always dance

this dance of the war clubs
before starting on a raid.

Perhaps, for the
same reason that the

North American Indian
danced his war dance

before he went on the war path.

Now, note their features.

Remember, 75 years ago the
Fiji Islanders were cannibals.

(mysterious music)

We leave the land of the batiks

and travel up this
Malacca Strait

in search of new adventure.

We pass the Nicobar
Islands on the left

and we approach
the Andaman Islands

in the Bay of Bengal,
where we found the Pygmies.

The Jarawaian pygmies.

Perhaps, the most
primitive people on earth.

We were very fortunate in
finding this collection

of natives who had lost
their fear of the White man

and their enmity for him.

These pygmies on the Andaman
Islands are man killers.

The men are above
four feet in height.

The women about three
feet eight inches.

You can get a comparison there.

The man is about
five feet eight.

This is a full
grown man and woman

and when they meet, they
shake hands as we do

and the visitor sits
on the host's lap

and they carry on a conversation

that sounds like the
chattering of magpies.

And, they showed us their games.

They play 'Blind Man's
Bluff' and 'Leap Frog'.

There was a forester
located on this island

in the interest of the
British government.

And, he told us that
back in the jungle

and even down on the beach when

the wilder creatures
came down to saltwater

that they played these games.

It's really a mystery
where they learned them.

And, they let the devil
or the evil spirits out

of the children by
puncturing their flesh

in thousands of places with
a piece of sharp clam shell.

Practically, all of
the adults' bodies

were literally covered
with those scars.

They have a custom
of wearing some part

of the mate's head when he dies.

Some of the widows
wore the jawbone only.

But, others prefered
the whole skull.

It's a custom that
has its merits

because you can
easily tell a widow.

Course, you can't
tell a widow very much

but you know who's who and
you can watch your step.

But, imagine making
love to a woman

that wears a skull of
her departed husband

hanging on her breasts.

Reports had come out
of the Andaman Islands

that these pygmies have tails.

That is one reason
that Captain Salsbury's

expedition went to
the islands to secure

pictures of the natives.

They're very primitive.

As I stated, perhaps,
the most primitive

humans on earth
for they have never

learned to build a fire.

They eat all of their food raw

and it's a very
primitive race, indeed,

that has no habitation or hut.

But, they live in trees
wherever night overtakes them

and we were very
fortunate, indeed,

to be able to get
these creatures

because it's only
occasionally that

they come down to the
saltwater in search of turtle.

But, these, the
natives we show you,

have made friends
with this forester.

And, he understood
their language

and acted as an interpreter
and in that way,

we understood the ceremonies
that they showed us.

And, what they signify.

A turtle on its back
is absolutely helpless.

You can go away and
leave it and come back

and find it just
where you left it.

There canoe is
merely a hollowed log

held upright by an outrigger.

A girl formally
marks her transition

from girlhood to
womanhood by adorning

her body with the
costume of designs

drawn in clam shell line.

Rather disavailed but the girls

are very proud of their makeup.

The costume consists of
the design on the forehead

and the design on the body,

a little grass behind

and not much before.

The girl at the left
has an open face,

wide open, in fact.

We never knew whether
she was smiling at us

or getting ready to bite.

Now, there's another
ceremony that

they must pass through
before they are

considered fit to be women.

It consists of being
kept wet for three days

with cold seawater while
the older women fan her.

If she doesn't die of
pneumonia, she's considered fit.

And then, they showed us
their wedding ceremony.

Where the groom sits
in the bride's lap.

And, the members of
the immediate family

form in a semicircle
around the couple.

After awhile, the
friends arrive.

They act more like enemies

but they're supposed
to be friends.

And, they go into a football
huddle around the couple

and howl like dogs
for about an hour.

And then, they showed
us the wedding dance.

The dance that makes
the couple man and wife.

(foreign music)

Well, they thought they'd
given us a good show

and one day they made
their way up this trail

into the jungle.

A jungle so thick
that a White man

must cut every foot of his way.

Going up this waterway,
we told them goodbye.

Now, we're going to
take you to one more

group of erstwhile cannibals.

These are the Papuans
occupying islands

along the coast of New Guinea.

And, according to the
Australian government

and the missionaries, the
Papuans were cannibals

from 13 to 18 years ago.

Here, the missionaries
have done a very good work.

They have raised
these natives from

the very depth of
primitive existence

up the scale of civilization
to where they are

quite civilized in
action, if not in dress.

They load catamarans
with these pucks

and set sail on a
trading expedition.

The catamaran is a
couple of hollow logs

with a platform of bamboo,

the mast stepped
over to one side

and the crew composed very often

of women and boys.

Now, they have to
wait for the wind

to blow from the right direction

to take them where they wanna go

for it's impossible to
maneuver these catamarans.

Then, at the other
end, they sometimes

wait for months for
the wind to blow

from the right direction
to bring them home.

So, you can see the
schedule of a traveling man

in New Guinea is
rather uncertain.

I doubt very much
if you'll ever see

another picture
of these crab claw

grass cloth sails.

They're called crab claw
sails on account of the shape

and they're made of grass
cloth woven by the women.

It takes the women months
to make one of these sails.

It was the only material
they had for sail making

prior to the arrival
of the trader.

But, he brought cotton duck

and he had very little
sales resistance

to overcome to get the
natives to substitute

the cotton duck for
the grass cloth.

That also released the
women from sail making

to the gathering of ivory nuts

and other things for
which the traders

were willing to
give trade goods.

But, these sails
are very fragile.

If they become damp, they mildew

and if they mildew, they're
very easily torn by the wind.

So, today, I doubt
very much if you

will see a dozen
of these sails left

along the coast of New Guinea.

And, it's the only
place in the world

where these crab claw grass
cloth sails were found.

Well, when they reached
their destination,

they run they
catamaran up as far

as they can up the
beach at high tide

and when the tide
goes out it leaves

their craft high and dry.

And, they can do their trading
right on the catamaran.

There's a lot of
fuss and bother when

they reach a port
because they must lower

these sails and furl them
and carry them ashore

and keep them covered.

Whereas, I stated,
they're very fragile

and if they become
damp, they mildew.

The arrival of one
of these trading

expeditions is quite
a social event.

On this part of the
New Guinea coast,

visitors are few and far apart.

Building your houses in this way

has its advantages
because when the tide

goes out, it leaves a good
yard for the kiddies to play in

and when the tide comes in,

it gives the backyard
a good cleaning.

Their schoolroom is
the great outdoors

and they're going
to their reading,

writing and rithmetic
in a big way.

The missionary teachers
told us that they

very seldom had to
mark a student absent.

We're gonna take you
first to the islands

of the New Hebrides Group.

This is a French and
British possession.

Now, when we approach
a cannibal island

it's advisable to anchor
the boat off a wide beach.

So, that when you go
ashore in your small boats

the water's edge will be
quite a ways from the jungle.

You won't see the
natives at first.

They'll be back in
the bush watching you

just as suspiciously,
perhaps, as you'll watch them.

And, they have very
good reason to be

suspicious of a White man.

You may have to
spend several days

at the water's edge
displaying trinkets

before the natives
come out of the bush.

They first send
out the small boys

and if nothing happens
to the small boys,

then the men come out.

They'll bring out
pigs and chickens,

vegetables and fruit to
trade for the trinkets

they know we'll have for them.

These are real cannibals.

They're the Melanesian type.

And, the pipe was the
favorite article we had.

They wanted some paint.

The only thing we
had was enamel.

They took it and painted
their faces with it.

It was guaranteed
not to come off

with steam or hot
water so I guess

they're still wearing it.

They had the mentality of
three or four year old children

and the bodies of adults.

These hats were
supposed to frighten

undesirable visitors
away from their island.

And, they didn't want us to
go back into the interior.

This always worked
on the superstitious

tribes from other
islands but naturally

it had no effect on us.

So, they finally gave it up
and disappeared in the jungle.

Sometime later when
we followed them,

we found their village.

A very evil, vile
smelling place.

We found the men and boys living

in a compound by themselves.

The women live with the pigs.

The man's compound is
absolutely taboo to women.

If a woman enters
a man's compound,

she is killed instantly.

That may sound silly in
this day of civilization

but I assure you,
it's one of the many

brutal customs practiced
by the cannibals

of the New Hebrides.

A cannibal has one virtue,

he will generally
tell the truth.

We asked these fellows if they

had eaten human flesh
and they grinned

and grunted and
readily admitted it.

But, they also admitted
that they prefer

the flesh of the Black man
to that of the White man.

They claim that a White man
smells bad and tastes salty

and that is very likely
true because every race

has its own
particular body musk.

(mysterious music)

The deep note of the
tom-tom has called

in these savages from
all over the island

for their ceremony.

And, deep in the jungle,
they have clearings

called sing sing
grounds where they

hold their hideous feasts.

The cannibal woman is
not permitted to eat

human flesh but she
prepares it for cooking.

(suspenseful music)

One of these ceremonies
starts with a dance

early in the morning.

It starts in an orderly manner.

But, as the hours go by,
the men become frenzied.

They tear their hair,
they scream like demons,

tear off their covering, if any,

and they dance until
the fall exhausted.

Their kicked out of the way
and others take their places.

The whole spectacle
is a very disgusting

and revolting one
to a White man.

Then, in the afternoon,
they bring in the pigs.

They sacrifice some of
the male pigs to the Gods.

And, the men dance
with the female pigs.

They go through many repulsive

and obscene actions
which naturally

the censors would
not permit us to show

in a moving picture theater.

We show this ceremony
up to the point

where the censors
compelled us to cut it.

We were at Malakula Island

about 10 days
before we could get

these natives out of
the jungle in a group.

They'd come out one
or two at a time.

But, we wanted a group picture.

It was impossible to
go back in the jungle

and photograph them
due to the fact

that the light at noon
is just like twilight.

This is due to the
dense vegetation.

We finally got them
out on the beach

and made pictures
of the boys first.

The boys are not
too hard looking

although they do
have very cruel eyes

and treacherous mouths.

But, the adults are very fierce

and very treacherous.

Every man wears
a piece of bamboo

through the
cartilage of the nose

and among these savages, too,

the pipe was the
favorite article.

We have found that no matter

how primitive a race
it knows how to smile.

You have to wonder
when a cannibal

smiles at you,
what he's thinking.

And, you're pretty apt to hope

he isn't thinking of calories.

Here's a jolly, little playmate.

Many of them had
guns and they claimed

that they had killed
White men for them.

You can believe this
because it's about

the only way they can get a gun.

It's a very serious
crime against

the British government
to sell them guns

or ammunition.

And, that's the
thing that they want

more than anything else.

Missionary boat
put into this bay

and cannibals came out
to the missionary boat

to listen to the organ.

They call it the
sing sing bacus.

They can't say bacs
they say bacus.

Now, these being the best
dressed man in the tribes,

we decided to have a style show.

We're going to show you
what the well dressed

cannibal will wear this year.

Captain Salsbury had
made a previous trip

to this island and
he had a copy of Asia

containing pictures of these
men, which he had taken.

They got a great
bang out of seeing

their own pictures
in that publication.

(mysterious music)

The Solomon Islands
belong to the British

and here we found both
cannibals and head hunters.

There's a large island
of Malaita in this group.

And, years ago, they
pushed cannibals,

drove the shore cannibals away.

The survivors took up
refuge on coral reefs

that surround this
island of Malaita

and during the past
several hundred years

they've been going
back to the mainland,

bringing out canoe
loads of rocks and dirt.

They've built those
small islands up

until the can live on
them very comfortably.

The little pickaninny isn't
much help to the old man

but he looks good
in the picture.

This fellow showed
us what would happen

if he sat one inch off balance

in this little 10 pound canoe.

But, he could climb
into that canoe

over the gun, oh,
a hundred times

without capsizing it.

That's quite a stunt.

There wasn't a
member of our party

that could sit in that
canoe and paddle it

one minute without capsizing it.

The man on the small islands
are known as saltwater men.

All the small islands are
protected by rock walls.

These walls serve two purposes.

They protect the
inhabitants from the raids

of the cannibals
and head hunters

from the other islands.

And, they also protect
them from the storms.

Life in the Western
Pacific is pretty much

a case of the survival
of the fittest.

The boys are diving here for
trinkets and tobacco cans.

But, they dive in the same
manner for the clam shell

which is used in
making the shell money,

the medium of exchange
in the Solomon Islands.

This clam shell
money is not a coin.

It's an ornament.

But, it's highly valued
by all the tribes.

Most of the tribes are
too lazy to make it.

The man on these small islands

never go to the mainland.

They're afraid of
the bush cannibals.

But, once a week, they
send the women over

with the fish they catch
in these fish traps

and shell money to trade
with the bush cannibals

for vegetables and fruits.

Things they are unable to
produce on the small islands.

The bush cannibals declare
this truce once a week.

The women set sail on
a trading expedition.

We followed to see
what would happen

and as it happens so often
in life, nothing happened.

The bush cannibals came
out of the interior,

the men carrying nothing,
the women heavily laden

and they met the
women coming over

from the small islands.

Now, we're going to show you
the Solomon Island cannibals.

You'll notice that he looks
cleaner and more intelligent.

But, I assure you that
he's just as treacherous,

just as blood thirsty and
just as fond of human flesh

as the cannibals of
the New Hebrides.

In fact, these men have
a very evil reputation.

They're known as killers.

I believe they'd
kill their father

for a half a string
of shell money.

The British government
is constantly

sending expeditions
after these men.

Not long ago, the
natives of this village

killed the crew of
a trading schooner.

And, the government
sent a gun boat out,

shelled this village and
kill some of these men.

Those that they
capture, they'd take

to their settlement
at Tulagi where they

have a stockade and a gallows

and where they're executed.

It's very possible that
some of the very men

you see in this picture
have been either

killed or captured.

When they reach the
shore, the women drop

exhausted from
their hard journey.

But, the men dance for hours.

They dance to the music of the

most primitive
instrument of man.

The hollow log.

To the rhythm that
comes from this log

when men beat it,
these fellows dance.

You'll notice some of them
are wearing undershirts.

We traded our undershirts
for war clubs and spears.

When we left this island,
we had plenty of weapons

but were short on underclothes.

Now, we'll take you
over and give you

a glimpse of Tulagi,
the headquarters

of the British in the Solomons.

Just a handful of
British and a number

of native guards populate
this small settlement.

Here is where they can find
the cannibals they capture

after depredations
against the White man.

And, they give them the
little neck tie party

on this gallows.

It's always a very splendid
lesson to the man they hang

but it doesn't seem
to make any impression

at all on the others.

We went in too
close to this island

and the current put us
ashore on that reef.

It was necessary
to lighten the boat

and we went ashore and took up

our headquarters in a hut.

This sacred bush turkey
is a very ambitious bird.

Whenever she wants
to lay an egg,

she digs a hole four feet deep,

deposits her egg in the hole

and then fills the
hole with sand.

The heat of the
sand hatches the egg

and the little chick is forced

to make its way up
through four feet

of sand to the surface.

It emerges fully feathered

and glances around,
locates the jungle

and flies away
almost immediately.

It receives no care at
all from the parent birds.

The natives gather the eggs.

But, they never kill
the birds themselves.

We soon ran out
of presents after

going ashore on this island.

And, the men became
very surly and solemn.

They got off at the jungle's
edge and glared at us.

When we saw these
fellows coming in

from other islands
and other parts

of this island dressed
in their war paint

and carrying their
weapons and putting on

these dances, we knew
what it was all about.

We had been among
cannibals long enough

to know that this
meant that we should

get that boat off the reef
and get our things aboard

and set sail.

We got our things aboard

and took some shots
with a telephoto lens

of these dances and
then were on our way.

Our first view of
the head hunters

showed them shooting fish.

Literally, shooting fish.

Then, the cannibal, he
has a higher mentality,

that of a six or
eight year old child,

he keeps himself in
splendid physical condition.

They bind their ankles
loosely and are able

to go up these trees
like a monkey on a stick.

Only a man in splendid
physical condition

can perform this stunt.

Or they run up the
trees in this fashion

with their ankles unbound.

The coconut tree is
a very valuable plant

in the South Seas.

I doubt very much if the natives

could exist five
years without it.

The fronds of the palm furnish
covering for their huts.

The natives eat the
meat of the coconut

and drink the milk.

And, coconut fiber
has hundreds of uses.

For everything that we use,

wires, screws, pins,
tacks, pastes, nails,

they use coconut fiber.

Then, another vegetable
that is very valuable

is the climbing vine.

They use this when they
need a heavier binding

to take the place of rope.

And, two men with several
loops of this vine

can go to the top
of the tallest tree

no matter how large the
tree is in diameter.

The man below passes the
loop to the man above.

And, when they wanna come down,

they use a long length of this,

get it between their
toes to act as a brake

and they slide down.

Every stalk of the
traveler's palm

contains a drink of
cold, pure water.

It's quite the
purest water found

in that part of the world.

They make fire as do
many primitive races

by rubbing hard and
soft wood together.

This friction produces a heat

that in turn produces a
spark which they place

in the tinder, in this
case coconut fiber,

just another use
for the coconut tree

and by blowing on this
bark, they have a fire

almost as quickly as we
could make one with a match.

But, they don't have
to do this very often.

They keep their fires
burning month after month.

Never let them go out.

The canoes of the head
hunters are not the crude

hollowed logs of the cannibals

but they're constructed
more scientifically.

They cut the boards
to a good shape

and fit with crude
stone implements,

bore holes along the
edges and then lace

the boards together
using vegetable fiber.

And, then with a nut
that grows there,

they waterproof the seams.

They rub it on a rock,
fill in the cracks

and it acts as a
waterproof cement.

We saw canoes that have
been in use 35 years.

They were just as sea worthy
as the day they were made.

The chore of the
bigul nut puts a piece

of the nut in his
mouth, some lime from

his lime pod and a piece
of wild pepper leaf

and, boy, he gets
the kick of a mule.

His heart action goes
up a number of beats.

They're very proud of
their personal appearance.

They put lime in their
hair to kill the insects

and then comb them out
with those bamboo combs.

And, when they shave,
they use a pair

of clam shell tweezers
and pull the whiskers out

by the roots.

It doesn't seem to cause
them any discomfort at all.

I doubt very much if
they have the same

nervous system that we have.

I think he missed one.

When the boys are
five or six years old,

they're taken from the mothers

and kept in the
compound with the men

and they're taught how
to handle their weapons

and the steps of the war dances.

For it is the desire
of every head hunter

to be a good warrior.

And, when nine years old, they
pierce his ear with a thorn.

They keep increasing
the size of this plug

until the earlobes
are stretched enough

to hold a couple of tin cans
and he's all dressed up.

You'll notice the
lobe of the ear

goes entirely around the can.

The old men make
ornaments of clam shell

and tortoise shell.

This fellow has a
piece of coconut fiber

tied to his big toe
and he's working down

a tortoise shell ornament.

And, notice his earlobes.

That tortoise shell ornament
goes over a clam shell backing

and that is worn on the
forehead of a chief.

A part of the picture
is showing Gow's rise

to power and the great
raid that followed

was reenacted for
Captain Salisbury

by Gow and his tribes.

This is a very important
event in the history

of the head hunter.

But, we photographed
it not because of its

historical importance
but because it is,

perhaps, the only
opportunity that civilized

people will have of
seeing actual head hunters

engaged in a raid in
the head hunter country

and over the ground that the
original action took place.

(mysterious music)

The canoes were taken
from their places

of concealment in the jungle.

For the head hunters
must keep these canoes

concealed because the
English destroy them

whenever they're flown.

The English know that
they'll only be used

at the time of a raid.

And, every raid is a
very bloody affair.

They all gathered at Beerwa

for a great council of war.

All the chiefs and
their warriors.

And, at this council, the
plan of action was discussed.

And, it was also decided
that only the young men

should be taken on the raid.

This didn't please
the old fellows.

They wanted to go.

This old man pointed to
the ring on his breast.

He says that shows
I've killed a chief.

And, for every ring on my arm,

I've got a skull
in my skull house.

Head hunters take the
heads of their enemies

as a religious ceremony.

If anything of an
unfortunate nature occurs,

such as a stealing of that girl

or the shipwrecking of a canoe,

they think their God,
the Ori Ori, is angry

and that they must secure
heads of their enemies

to pacify him.

(suspenseful music)

It's 150 miles to
the island of Savo

where their enemies reside.

These men are great paddlers.

They take advantage
of the shelter

offered by the different islands

and whenever they
come to a rough place,

they paddled furiously.

They can keep up this
stroke for hours.

And, they're fatalists,
they're great warriors.

(exciting music)

The victors hold a
three day celebration.

This gives 'em an opportunity to

prepare the skulls to place
in their skull houses.

They keep only the skull.

The flesh is removed.

Back on Beerwa, the
women are overjoyed

to see so many of the warriors
returning from this raid.

There was great
rejoicing when they found

that Nibu had been
rescued unharmed

and she's led ashore
by a young chief.

The boys are kept
prisoners so that

if any heads are
needed in a hurry,

they won't have to go on a raid.

The islands of the
Western Pacific cast

a strange spell over a
White man at any time.

Particularly, is this true

if the White man is
witnessing the return

of a victorious tribe of
head hunters from a raid.

The queer chant and
the very weird ceremony

sends a strange
sensation up and down

a White man's spine.

I can't describe that sensation.

You've just got to go down there

and find out for yourselves.

The warriors bring
the skulls ashore

wrapped in leaves.

And, there's one more ceremony
that must be performed

before the skulls are
placed in the shrines.

This consists of placing
the skulls on the beach

in a large pile
and then they dance

a dance around
this pile of skulls

that is dedicated to
their Ori Ori, their God.

In this dance, they tell
the story of the raid.

How they attacked
the Savo islanders,

how they killed the men,
women and girl children

and how they brought
back these skulls

to present to their great God.

There are a great many
of these skull houses

in this part of the
Solomon Island Group.

Some of them are
very pretentious.

Others, mere lean-tos.

But, every head hunter takes
his religion very seriously

and it would be sect
religious for him to keep

any of the victims possessions.

All the victims shell
money and ornaments

are tied to the skull
with coconut fiber.

And, they'll remain
there as long

as the warrior who owns
the skull house lives.

Gow is at peace now.

At peace until another raid.

(mysterious music)

(triumphant music)