lashed together side by side, and covered by a platform which
bears a thatched hut serving to house the sailors and their
wares. The craft is propelled by graceful crescent-shaped
lateen sails of pandanus matting and steered by sweeps from the
stern. Trading voyages of hundreds of miles are often
undertaken, the lakatois starting from the east at the waning
of the southeast trade wind in early November and returning a
month or two later in the season of the northwest monsoon.

The Papuan is both ingenious and industrious when working in
his own interest, and with tactful management he becomes a
faithful and fairly efficient laborer. Perhaps the most serious
defect in the present system of employment in Papua is the
usually long interval between payments. The natives are not
paid at intervals of less than one month and, often, not until
the expiration of their three-year term of service. With almost
no knowledge of arithmetic and possessed of a fund which seems
large beyond the dreams of avarice, he is practically certain
to be cheated by the dishonest tradesmen who flock vulture-like
to centers of commercial activity. This evil might be in large
measure prevented were the natives to be paid at monthly
intervals, for they would then gradually become accustomed to
the handling of money and would gain an appreciation of its
actual value.

Generations must elapse before more than a moderate degree of
civilization is developed in Papua, but the foundations are
being surely and conservatively laid, and already in the
civilized centers natives respect and loyally serve their
British friends and masters.