The 2,000 Skulls Of Jimmy Malay

A Tomahawk Bouaht 20

(An incident of about 1898, as related by the late Walter H. Gors to R. W. Robson, and taken down by him in shorthand. Mr. Gors was a famous trader of the early Burns Philp days, and was well-known in Papua and Fiji about 50 years ago. He died before World War

A WAY back about 1898, when I represented Burns Philp in Port Moresby, I had dealings nth a famous old trader, a Malayan, named Soliem—generally ;nown as Jimmy Malay.

Jimmy had only one arm, but ie made up for it by having a Dt of wives—two acknowledged, nd God knows how many others, ’oday, I think I could point to hundred people in Papua who re descendants of Jimmy Malay.

Everyone liked Jimmy. In my mg experience, he was the best rader I ever knew —he could buy nd sell anything.

He would get perhaps £2OO worth f stuff from me, and then come ack from a trip into wild country ith enough beche-de-mer, birds f-paradise, native curios, and so on ) show a handsome profit.

The big museums of the world aid well for new specimens of OP (£7O to £80), and butterflies.

Jimmy, after one of these trips, ould find himself with £2OO or tOO profit. Within a couple of eeks, his innumerable wives and ilations, and places of entertain ent, had it all. Then off he would ), far into the jungle with another t of trade goods.

One day, after a spree, he told e he was leaving immediately for aipua, as the head of the Gulf Papua—cannibal country.

“No good going there, Jimmy,” said. “Nothing there except some ugh curios, and sago.”

“I think I do some good there, iss,” said Jimmy.

“I don’t like it,” I said. “I’ve en there, and they very nearly t me.”

“They’ll tackle a white man,” said aimy, “but they no hurt a coloured an. I’ll take plenty of cooking its for them—l’ll be all right.”

Just before that, the old BP ship anhoe had been in and Captain eele had asked if I could get him couple of skulls for Dr. Kortium, Cooktown. So I told Jimmy that, he could pick up a few skulls, I uld find a market for them.

Jimmy departed in his old boat, e PTM (named after Power, lomas and Manning, a Cooktown m).

He Had a Cargo of Heads Some weeks later he arrived in rt after dark, and sent a boy ' me.

He told me he had done well— rios, masks, bows and arrows, lelds.

Got any sago? I asked. I had an order for sago. He showed me a small quantity, on the deck.

“Is that all? A few curios, and this little bit of sago, for a month’s trip!”

“Ah ” cniH Timmv “t ctllllc , I l ot skull ® many heads of men. I show you.

They removed the hatches. I Was stunned the damn boat was

full of skulls—some bleached, some of very recent vintage.

“Good God, Jimmy, where did you get them?” I asked. “How many are there?”

“Thousands,” said Jimmy, com placently.

I was very upset. “Look, Jimmy”, I said, “If the Governor finds out about this he will hang you and your crew to the nearest tree”.

“What for?” asked Jimmy. “You said you buy a couple of skulls.

I pay sticks of tobacco for 5 skulls, and a tomahawk for 20, and a big knife for 40. I pay for every thing. I no rob Maipua people.”

“Governor will not have that,”

I said. “You have paid the Maipua people for these heads. Now they are out killing the people, to get more heads for trade.

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ernor will be very mad. He will rge you with murder.” mmy got the wind up—he and crew were so scared that they ded to take the cargo outside reef and dump it. asked Jimmy if his crew could iepended on to keep quiet. If [ would take the heads ashore try to get rid of them. Jimmy they were all his relations — would keep quiet, f they don’t,” I said, “it will eath for all of you.”

Unexpected Profits

e got a number of copra bags, some more lanterns. There no one about, there were only it 30 Europeans in Moresby then id got the cargo of skulls safely ed away in the sheds, out of t. iere were in all about 2,000 is. on afterwards, Captain Steele s back in the Ivanhoe. I told I had the skulls for Dr. ;ium. He seemed pleased, ook here, Steele,” I said. “I v you can do a bit of trading he side, so long as you don’t k the rules. How about taking lousand skulls at a shilling ?” ; thought I was crazy, but when plained he bought a thousand s at a bob each. He said he i sell them to “every doctor museum in Australia”—and he at a good profit, that time, the main business vere doing in Moresby covered -of-paradise, butterflies, beche ier and a little copra, g had been selling plenty of is, in Europe and America, until olishly sent a consignment to n. In no time, the world’s :ets were being supplied with Guinea curios, made in Japan, a lot of our market disappeared, wever, whenever we sent out trcel of BOP’s, butterflies, or s, we now included a couple heads, and they met an ediate market. Nathan Jones, :isco, ordered 500 heads at 10/- . But the consignment of heads really rocked us went to stie’s, in London. They brought - each.

I got rid of all of Jimmy y’s cargo, and made a good t. The Governor never found but it was a delicate matter, lad started a string of stations ( the coast, and I gave the ila post (in the Gulf, not far Maipua) to a man named anan. He was a highly ited man who had been left id by a gold-seeking expedition ti collapsed; and he was tough, chanan got newspapers from pe, and he read that skulls

from Papua had been sold at Christie’s for £3/3/-.

“There’s big money in that,” he said to me, next time he was in Port. “I’m going to send some in to you.”

I hurriedly declined—and then told him the story of Jimmy Malay’s big trade.

“But you must have done well out of it,” said Buchanan.

“Yes, I did,” I said. “But it was a gruesome business, and illegal as well, and I want no more of it.”

He was stubborn, and said he would trade the skulls out, on his own account.

I strongly advised him against it.

“Jimmy Malay erred in ignorance”, I pointed out. “There would be no excuse for you”.

Soon afterwards, Governor William MacGregor left and Sir George Le Hunt arrived. That was in 1899.

H. E. 'Bogged Down' in Skulls

One day, Buchanan came in from the Gulf in a lugger, tied up at the jetty, and just emptied out about a thousand skulls, onto the wharf.

He had had no trouble in col lecting them—there were hundreds of skulls ornamenting the dobus in the Fly River area, where head hunting went on constantly. These skulls were at least clean. Some of Jimmy Malay’s still had the hair on them.

The skulls had only just been dumped, when the new Governor came across in his whaleboat from Konedobu, to attend a Council meeting.

His boat went alongside this, the only jetty. His Excellency climbed up onto the wharf, and immediately found himself bogged down in a mass of skulls.

He was new to New Guinea, and he got a great shock.

The Legislative Council was called together, and I had to attend as I was the only unofficial member.

“Gentlemen,” exploded the Gov ernor, “I never have seen a more disgraceful sight—not even in the wildest parts of Africa. I, the Governor, stepped ashore, in the principal town of the Possession, among hundreds of skulls, which manifestly had been brought in for trading purposes . . . The law does not seem adequate. I propose that we pass a new Ordinance immedi ately to prevent the export of skulls . . . What do you think about it, Mr. Gors?”

Back to Maipua

“Well, sir, to tell the truth, I know quite a lot about it,” I said.

And then I told him frankly of the Jimmy Malay incident, and how

it happened. I kept quiet only about the number of skulls that Jimmy brought in. I told them that Buchanan had brought a proposition to me, and I had declined it and I had nothing at all to do with the skulls now on our wharf.

The Governor accepted my state ment, and laws against trading in or exporting skulls was rushed through inside an hour.

Then the European policeman, with a number of Papuan con stables, went down to the jetty, made Buchanan load the skulls back onto the lugger. An officer accompanied Buchanan on the lugger, back to the Maipua district, where they were unloaded at the place they came from.

The Moresby Skulls

Some time later, another trader brought about a dozen skulls into Moresby and tried to sell them to a merchant there.

The latter said: “Don’t you know the law? You are in for a very severe penalty.”

The trader was so scared that he went right out and buried the skulls in a hols he dug in front of the hotel.

When we were putting up a store there, long afterwards, the builders cams upon that little heap of skulls.

There was much wild speculation about how they got there.

That is the explanation.