The White Headhunter

A sailor named Jack Renton ended up in the Solomon Islands in 1868, became integrated into the native civilization there, and later wrote a book about it. Now a documentary filmmaker compares Renton`s account of his adventure with the version preserved in the oral history of the islands. Renton`s own account left out the fact that he began as a slave and that he survived because of his ability to kill and get away with it, and that he participated in headhunting expeditions. Nor did he include his relationship with a local woman. Years later, when he was working for the government rounding up natives to work on plantations owned by whites, he was captured again--but this time he was murdered, stuffed, cooked, and eaten. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.