To my Friend OSCAR SOELBERG, WITH WHOM I HAVE SPENT MANY HAPPY DAYS IN NEW GUINEA, I DEDICATE THIS BOOK. PREFACE. As every Bill has a preamble, so, I suppose, every book should have a preface. At any rate, such appears to be the universal custom, and I, being of an orthodox turn of mind, am not going to depart from the general rule. Some months ago I mentioned to an acquaintance of mine, a gentleman of considerable literary attainments, that I purposed writing a book on New Guinea, describing my