Murder Feared.

Two Travellers Disappear Near Dutch Border.

From Our Own Correspondent.

Thursday Is., Jan. 25.

FEARS are entertained that Messrs.

Sebree and Jones, two young men who bought a cutter at Thursday Is land and sailed her through Torres Strait and up to the coast, of New Guinea, have been murdered by New Guinea natives.

Boigu Island people, just off the coast of New Guinea but within Queensland borders —the island on which the “Tree of Skulls” stands —have brought along reports of the tragedy as they have re ceived the story from friendly natives of New Guinea, and the Thursday Island police are investigating, as relatives of the missing men are anxiously seeking news of them.

The “Kuiam,” the cutter in which the men sailed, was last seen to the west of Boigu, after the third member of the ex pedition, a young man named Gatty, had left the two others and made his way ashore on the New Guinea coast oppo site Saibai Island.

According to reports from friendly na tives, the boat called in at a spot near the Morehead River, and there the two men (who are said to have been on a prospecting expedition, but were reticent about their plans) landed and began to build a circular structure of cement, with “glass bottles and a lot of wires,” which caused the natives some concern.

How they were killed is not yet ascer tained, but a native policeman is stated to have obtained the heads of the vic tims from the tribe responsible, and to have taken them to the Dutch officials just over the border, as the nearest British officer is stationed at Daru, along way eastward.

Although the villages opposite Boigu and just along the New Guinea coast are quiet, further into the west the na tives have a bad reputation as head hunters, and strangers should certainly not go seeking adventure in that vicin ity unless they have due protection.

The Daru officials, in addition to being a long way from the spot, are without means of sea transportation at present.

There are no missionaries working in this particular locality, although Govern ment is represented by a native police man.

The idea that there are still canni bals within a day’s run of Thursday Is land is frequently smiled upon by visi tors, but incidents of this character in dicate that our neighbours on the nor’west side are not by any means all civilised.