ARCHBOLD EXPEDITION
An American Adventure the Highland
American Richard Archbold, scouting his third expedition to
New Guinea, was the first outsider to lay eyes on the magnificent
Grand Valley of the Baliem. As he peered out of the window of
his sea plane on June 23, 1938 the terrace green fields of the
valley appeared from among the rocky peaks like a mirage. The
14-month highland expedition was Archbold's third in New Guinea
(the other two were in eastern New Guinea), all under the auspices
of the American Museum of Natural History. Archbold is a mammalogist
and explorer as well as millionaire. At first, the bureaucrats
in Batavia (now Jakarta) were reluctant to produce the needed
permits, but then the Dutch colonial government decided to co-sponsor
the trip. Soon, dozen of men and tons of material were heading
for Hollandia (now Jayapura), the population of which at the
time were barely 200: government personnel, their servant Indonesian
artisan and Chinese traders. The area chosen for exploration
was the northern face of the snow Mountain-range-the largest
remaining blank on the map of New Guinea at the time. Previous
expedition had explored the southern slope of this impressive
range, returning with important biological collections. And
though 1921-1922 Kremer expedition had succeeded in reaching
the North Slope of the Snow Mountains, Kremer had to abandon
his precious collections to the jungle on the exhausting trek
back to the coast.
The Guba
The key to the Archbold expedition's success was a huge Catalina
flying boat called the Guba. The craft was a consolidate PBY
2, the standard US long-range patrol bomber, that had been specially
modified by Howard Hughes for Salmon fishing expeditions to
Alaska and then subsequently sold. Expert considered it the
most air- and seaworthy aircraft in existence at the time. Lift
was provided by a 31,7 meter wing, which supported a 20,4 meter
fuselage. The plane was powered by two 1,000 HP Pratt and Whitney
Twin Wasp engines fed from a 1,750 gallon fuel cell and holding
110 gallons of oil in the crankcases. The Guba could lift three
tons at sea level and cruise for a distance of 800 kilometers,
but when taking off 3,225-meter-high Lake Habbema, the payload
had to be restricted to just one ton of cargo and a standard
crew of four men.
It was during one of the exploratory flights of the Guba that
Archold first sighted the Baliem Valley. Immediately, he realized
the importance of his discovery. He was looking at the largest
highland valley in New Guinea, as well as the most densely populated.
Of course, he did not suspect that the Dani inhabitants were
also the highland's most feared warriors. Archold saw the Dani's
watchtowers, but did not guess that their purpose was to keep
an eye out for enemy ambush parties.
Getting Underway
Archold and the Dutch military members of the expedition decided
to set up two campsin the interior of Irian : a high one on
Lake Habbemaat 3,225 meters and a low one in the Meervlakte
(the "Lakes Plains" region north of the mountains), 50 meters
above sea level. The area to be studied was bounded by mount
Wilhelmina (now Gunung Trikora) on the south and the Idenburg
River (now Taritatu) on the north. The military arm of the expedition,
under the command of Captain Teerink and Lieutenant Van Areken,
consisted of 56 officers and men. The porters included 73 Dayaks
(the mountainous terrain of their homeland Borneo equipped them
well for Irian's rugged landscape) and 30 convicts.
The Dutch authorities did not want to lose American lives, and
the military men ordered that precautions be taken. Foremost
in their minds was an emergency retreat route, should the Guba
for some reason be unable to pick up the party at Lake Habbema.
So men, equipment and supplies were flown up to the Idenburg
River, which offered relatively easy river access to Irian's
north coast. Aerial reconnaissance was crucial in determining
the best route (about 100 kilometers in a straight line) between
Lake Habbema and the Idenburg camp. The military patrols were
to leave from each of the two staging areas and meet up in the
Baliem Valley. Shortly after Lt. Van Areken"s patrol cut upward
from the Idenburg River, the group experienced a pleasant surprise:
a large, heavily populated valley and, best of all, a lake,
immediately dubbed "Lake Archbold". Located about one kilometer
from the Habifluri River (which flows into the the Vande meters,
at an altitude of 700 meters. Once the Dayak chopped down some
trees for the approach, the Guba could land on the lake to bring
in supplies. From Lake Archbold, the going really got tough-steep
climbing through forest, and no trails.
Once the party began to approach the Baliem Valley, the local
highlanders becomes numerous and friendly. To friendly, in fact.
In several villages, Lt. Van Areken was welcomed with food,
but the tribesmen did not want to leave the party. Only the
"utmost determination" kept the group moving, according to the
expedition journal. One day after a friendly reception, the
party found their path blocked by a barricade of warriors with
spears. The journal laconically states "Here occurred the one
incident where more than a show of force was necessary".
A later missionary account states that two Dani were shot and
killed before the party could proceed into the grand Valley.
The expedition journal says nothing about why the Dani had turned
hostile, but it seems that the warriors were trying to block
the expedition's resource save valuable cowrie shells (the highland
currency), steel axes and knives-all liberally traded for food
or offered as gifts-the native wanted to continue profiting
from the stranger's largess, and to keep their enemies from
doing so.
Exploring the Lake Habbema Area
A total of 105 people had by this time been flown to Lake Habbema
in the Guba, along with tons of supplies. The military team
under Capt. Teerink trekked down from the lake through the Ibele
Valley and on to the Baliem Valley. They experienced very friendly
receptions, but there was no more killing. It was time to set
up camp in the valley. After exchanging location by radio, Lt.
Van Areken and Capt. Teerink rendezvoused in the Baliem. They
calculated that an emergency retreat from Lake Habbema to the
Idenburg camp would take 14 to 16 day, now that paths had been
cut. The two parties exchanged a number of Dayak before returning
to their respective points of departure so that some men would
be familiar with the entire route between Lake Habbema and Idenburg
River.
The men of the Habbema camp got used to sunburn, freezing cold
cracked lips, altitude sickness and thin air. Lake habbema is
in an area of alpine grassland, consisting edge of these uplands
forms the rim of the Baliem Valley, and form the southern edge
rises Gunung Trikora and the Sudirman Mountains. The scientist
noted that the lake was rich in birds, and the local hunted
ducks there with bows and arrows. The 20-centimeters long crayfish
discovered in the lake provided welcome editions to the explorers'
tinned diet. The explorers found a path rising to 3,800 meters,
in some places worn shoulder deep by local foot traffic. This
communications link was used for both trade and socials calls
between the people of the Baliem Valley and those living in
the foothills south of the mountain ranges. Once Lake Habbema
region had been explored, the upland party sifted to the Baliem
Valley. When the expedition set up camp in the lower Baliem
, they were given a huge feast by their hosts. Pig were killed,
and both the bounding ritual. Speeches were delivered and the
pig's blood was sprinkle on the foreigners.
New Introductions
Agricultural practices in the populated valley where were highly-developed:
the steep valley walls were terraced using stone and timber
retaining walls, and erosion control ad crop rotation were extensively
employed. The sweet potato was the staple, but in addition,
the expedition journal notes, the Dani grew bananas, tobacco,
taro, sugar cane, cucumbers, gourds, spinach and beans. Peanuts,
introduced by the Archbold expedition, soon caught on and they
are very popular in the Valley. Whenever sweet potatoes, vegetables
and pigs were required by the expedition, cowrie shells were
used to barter for them. The Dani wanted only the smaller shells,
preferably with the back, or convex part removed, quality-and
purchasing power-was determined by the shell'' shape, size ribbing
and sweet potatoes; 6-10 good ones fetched a small pig. The
expedition lasted 14 months, and produces a body of important
scientific work as well as a National Geographic article that
was a pique further scientific and missionary interest in the
region. |
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