117 FIG. 11: MSC booth during the first missionary exhibition in the Netherlands in Breda in 1919. From left to right are shields 11, 19, and 14 and the two Asmat sculptures recognizable in this photo were also shown side by side in Tilburg in 1913 (see fig. 9: G and F). FATHER VIEGEN They didn’t meet a soul and that night they anchored at a place where there apparently had once been a village on the bank. Viegen wrote, “A great sculpture with some decomposing woodwork and roof-mats were all that remained. The captain and I took the sloop to have a closer look at the sculpture. It was a nice piece of work, entirely covered with symbolic marks. We would have loved to take it with us, but even if the village had been abandoned, it could still be ‘sacred’ to the people. We would similarly not like to see a Zulu coming to desecrate our statues. …” The next morning they steamed further up the Hellwig River, but it became so narrow that they had to continue the expedition with the canoes. After a short while, even these threatened to get stuck in the mud, and they returned to the Ketti. The next morning (April 20) they steamed back down the Hellwig and, the mouth of the river in sight, tried a different branch. Although at several places they saw fish traps and abandoned settlements, no people showed themselves. The river was unknown terrain, narrow and shallow at some places, and should the Ketti run aground here, the crew would be in big trouble. The tension was tangible. Everyone anxiously listened to the pilot boy calling out the soundings he had taken. Viegen observed that the pilot boy apparently had no trouble with his nerves. “Whether he measures three or four fathoms or four or five feet, he is completely indifferent to it. So if he measures four feet, then it is only the speed of the ship which gets us through the mud. My nerves were rattled. We could run aground at any moment.” Rather abruptly the river once again became deeper, and then they steamed into a wide channel. The relief was enormous but brief. It was decided to first go downriver again and survey the river mouth. Was this a “new” river, or might they be on the Bloemen River? The
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