A GOLDEN PROSPECT.
When not engaged in trading operations I occasionally made excursions
on the mainland, and at different times prospected several creeks,
hoping to obtain traces of gold, but such hopes were not fulfilled. One
of the creeks I followed had a formation identical with those on
Sud-Est, where payable gold was found. The bed of this creek was
composed of slate, with slate bars here and there. The banks sloped on
either side. With more time to prosecute the search possibly the result
would have been different.
Mr. Andrew Goldie, who has been in New Guinea about 14 years, is said
to have discovered traces of gold many years ago, but nothing came of
it.
Everyone held more or less the belief that gold existed in the country,
but, strange to say, no one had taken much trouble to prove it.
One evening, towards the end of May, 1888, I was quietly reclining on a
lounge, smoking my pipe and enjoying the beauties of a tropical night,
when suddenly the door of my room was opened and eight stalwart men
appeared out of the blackness of the night. I was taken quite by
surprise, as I had not heard any vessel let go her anchor.
It turned out, however, that the cutter _Juanita_ from Cooktown,
with a party of eight diggers or prospectors, had arrived, with Mr.
Whyte as leader. I knew Whyte and one or two of the others. Water
diluted with a little whisky was at once produced, when numerous
questions were eagerly asked and answered.
In answer to my query what was their object in coming to New Guinea,
Mr. Whyte said that the party was organised by himself under the
authority of the Hon. John Douglas, at that time "Special Commissioner"
for British New Guinea under the "Protectorate."
Mr. Douglas had given them special powers and privileges to prospect
for gold and other minerals over the whole of the territory under
British protection. I may as well here state the causes that led to
this sudden action on the part of Mr. Douglas.
Two months previously, David Whyte, who was engaged on a pearl-shelling
boat in the Louisiade Archipelago (which is part and parcel of British
New Guinea territory), and who, by the bye, was hard up at the time,
informed Mr. Douglas that he had discovered an auriferous reef on
Johannet Island, situated in the above named group, showing him
specimens therefrom.
This information resulted in Mr. Douglas purchasing the _Juanita_,
a cutter of seven to nine tons burthen, and provisioning it for a three
months' cruise. Mr. Whyte found eight practical miners who were willing
to go with him although they were well aware that he was not a miner.
The adventurous party, who were loudly cheered on their departure from
Cooktown, set sail on May 23rd, and arrived, as I have already stated,
off the Island of Samarai on the evening of May 28th, 1888. The party
stayed on the island for a couple of days in order to take in a fresh
supply of wood and water before proceeding on their journey.
Johannet Island lies 140 miles to the eastward of China Straits, which
necessitates beating to windward nearly the whole of the distance. At
the time of their arrival H---- and I were the only white men on
Samarai, whilst there were as many as 250 natives, most of them
visitors from different parts, some from Milne Bay, others from
Tube-Tube (Engineer group), Basilaki, and various places. The resident
natives only numbered about 50.
On May 31st I was strolling round the island with two or three of the
"diggers," pointing out some of its beauties, when, near a large group
of natives, I heard a buzz of angry voices. I immediately hastened to
the spot anxious to find out the cause of the disturbance. Numbers of
large canoes belonging to the native visitors were drawn up in
regimental line on the beach. Hard by, in an open grove of beautiful
coco-palms, about 100 natives belonging to Wagga-Wagga (Milne Bay) were
drawn up in review order, opposite to them were 50 natives from
Tube-Tube, one of the islands of the Engineer Group, ranged in double
ranks in the position known as "ready to receive cavalry." A few
moments before not an arm, not a spear, was to be seen. Now they
appeared to have sprung from the ground, as all the warriors were
suddenly armed with them. The spears had, in fact, been hidden in the
canoes a few yards away.
Matters began to wear a serious aspect. Both parties had worked
themselves into a most excited state. The attacking party, viz., the
men from Wagga-Wagga, intent on crushing their foes, gradually drew
nearer, each with his long and deadly spear poised, ready to lunge it
in the breast of his antagonist, until they had advanced to within a
few yards of their opponents. I expected every moment to see the
spears, held in itching hands, hurled. I could not but admire the cool
courage with which the Tube-Tube men awaited the onslaught,
nothwithstanding the disparity of numbers. Each belligerent party
hesitated.
However, I could plainly see that it was merely a question of time. In
a few minutes, maybe, their feelings would get the better of their
judgment and blood be spilt. Not knowing what evil consequences might
not result from such an ending, there being nearly 300 savages on the
island, I hastily despatched a native boy named "Ginger" to a house a
short distance away, telling him to bring back three or four Winchester
rifles duly loaded. He returned in a few minutes with them. We armed
ourselves and forced the Wagga-Wagga natives to retire, and leave the
island in their canoes, thus averting unnecessary bloodshed. Had we not
acted promptly, goodness knows where the fight would have ended. There
was great excitement in the place for several hours afterwards, the
wives and sweethearts of the men taking a lively interest in the events
of the day. War was averted.
It seems, according to the Wagga-Wagga version, that one of the
Tube-Tube men had stolen something from a Wagga-Wagga man. This the
Tube-Tube natives denied, but it was evident that the two tribes were
natural enemies, and that the quarrel was only got up through their
hatred of one another.
The weapons used in this part are the spear, stone hatchet, club,
shield, and a small spear something like a dart. To the westward they
have the spear, club, tomahawk, and bow and arrows.
They are wonderfully expert with the latter, being dead shots at a
distance of 80 yards, the bow and arrow being much more dangerous to my
mind than the spear. The bows are very large, strong, and beautifully
made. They have also a horrible, murderous-looking weapon, called a
man-catcher, which is used by them in their nefarious head-hunting
expeditions. It is a large loop of rattan with a long handle of bamboo;
at the bottom or foot of the loop a sharp spike about four inches in
length is inserted. The loop is thrown over the head of the retreating
victim, the sudden jerk causing the spike to enter the base of the
skull, producing instant death; the head is then severed from the body
and kept as an article of barter. You will often come across a number
of skulls stuck in a ghastly row outside the houses. This, of course,
is direct evidence of the wealth of the proprietor, as with them he can
purchase anything he desires.
* * * * *
Having taken in a fresh supply of wood and water, the prospecting party
left in the _Juanita_ for Johannet Island, which they reached on June
10th.
Whyte was asked by the "diggers" to point out the golden reef that he
had discovered. He showed them a "buck reef" (by which is meant a
quartz reef not bearing gold), which never had carried gold and never
would. In fact there was no trace of gold on the whole island. The
outraged feelings of the diggers may be imagined; they were simply
furious.
Fortunately, however, there was a larger island seven miles distant,
viz., Sud-Est.
They went there, and on the second day after landing discovered traces
of gold. Their spirits rose at once. They diligently followed them up,
and in a little over two months obtained 150 ounces, of the value of
L550. Mr. Douglas had stipulated that at the end of three months the
boat was to be returned to the British New Guinea Government, which was
accordingly done. I saw the members of the party in China Straits upon
their return from Sud-Est. They reported that they had worked the field
out and that it was very patchy. This report speedily reached Cooktown,
setting it on fire, everyone believing that there were millions of
ounces of the precious metal awaiting their grasp. A party of 26
diggers left Cooktown on August 14th, in the schooner _Griffin_, other
sailing vessels following at short intervals.
This discovery caused the Home Government to create British New Guinea
a "British Possession," which was declared at Port Moresby on September
6th, 1888, and an Administrator, now Sir William Macgregor, was
appointed.
A high customs tariff was at once imposed on all imports, which revenue
came as a relief to the impoverished state of the New Guinea funds.
Six or seven weeks after the above events, the cutter "_S----l_," 12
tons register, owned by a friend of mine, arrived from Cooktown. As my
friend purposed going on to the Sud-Est Goldfield, I decided to go with
him in his cutter.
They had a large cargo on board of dutiable goods, such as tobacco,
general stores, etc.
Up to this time (September 30th, 1888) no word of the declaration had
reached us from Port Moresby, nor any schedule of the tariff, which we
took for granted would be imposed. The Government schooner _Hygeia_,
with the Administrator on board, was hourly expected from the
above-named port.
As most of the goods on board the "_S----l_" were under bond, we were
anxious to reach Sud-Est before the arrival of the Government and get
rid of a quantity before duties could be levied.
Having got everything ship-shape and still no sign of the _Hygeia_,
Captain S----g went to the Government Agent at Samarai, Mr. Edelfelt,
an ignorant foreigner, and asked him for his clearance for Sud-Est. The
agent very impolitely refused to grant it, stating that, as the
_Hygeia_ was expected every moment, it would be necessary for us to pay
duty on everything before we could obtain a clearance.
What an absurdity! Fancy paying duty before knowing what the duties
were, or having had any official intimation of them! We distinctly
refused to grant this request, and demanded our clearance, as our sails
were all unfurled and everything ready for a start. We then went on
board our cutter, telling the agent we would give him an hour to
reconsider his decision.
In about an hour and a half we received a letter from him, in which he
defied us to leave without a clearance, and stating that if we did so
we should have to take the consequences. Seeing that nothing was to be
gained by arguing with such a man,[1] orders were at once given to let
go; the sails were hoisted and away we went without the coveted
clearance, as we had lost quite enough time as it was. We touched at
Sariba to take in water and left the same evening for Sud-Est. No
sooner had we got abreast of the Island of Doini (Blanchard), six miles
distant, than the _Hygeia_, from Port Moresby, hove in sight, bound for
Samarai.
[1] Mr. Edelfelt has since deemed it advisable to resign his
appointment.
She only stayed two hours in port, when she hurriedly left for Sud-Est.
As she was a smart sailer, and of 60 to 70 tons burthen, she passed us
during the following night, reaching Sud-Est two days in advance of us.
The Administrator had, of course, been duly informed by the agent, Mr.
Edelfelt, of our reprehensible conduct in leaving without his august
sanction.
The trip to Sud-Est was most enjoyable, the weather being everything
that could be desired. We kept inside the Long Reef, passing Teste
Island on our right. We were never more than half a day out of sight of
land.
We had to pass through a perfect network of reefs and islands--islands
of tropical beauty, covered with succulent grasses, and smiling groves
of palms bending beneath the weight of their luscious fruit.
Every now and then a large canoe, filled with dusky forms, would shoot
out from an adjacent island and pay us a flying visit.
We had a tow line astern with a hook covered with a piece of red and
white calico, and every day we hauled up a couple of splendid fish,
sometimes a king fish, at other times a sea salmon. We ate what we
could and dried the remainder, cutting them into strips and hanging
them in the rigging.
After passing Brooker Island, we entered the Sud-Est Barrier, and the
next night anchored off Grassy Island, as just here the reefs are very
numerous, making it unsafe to travel at night.
At daylight in the morning we were off again, and in the afternoon,
when only three miles from the anchorage of Sud-Est, we grounded on a
coral patch. We tried to get her off, but she would not budge; however,
the tide was making, so we had nothing to fear. Whilst in this
position, a boat from H.M.S. _Swinger_, containing the chief lieutenant
and half-a-dozen Jack tars, boarded us. The lieutenant, who was most
courteous, informed us that Sir Wm. Macgregor was very wroth at our
behaviour and had a good mind to seize our vessel. We received this
news with wonderful calmness and fortitude, as for the life of us we
could see no reason for seizure. By the kind help of the lieutenant and
his men, we were enabled to get clear of the reef, and proceeded to our
anchorage, which we reached just before dark. At the request of the
Administrator, on the following morning Captain S----g went on board
the _Hygeia_. The governor, who was in anything but a good humour,
asked him why his vessel should not be seized? Captain S----g explained
all the circumstances of the case, not forgetting to dwell on the
stupidity of the Government Agent at Samarai.
The governor then said:
"Well, you will have to pay duty on all your goods before landing a
package," to which my friend answered:
"I have no intention of doing anything of the kind, nor have I the
necessary funds for the purpose. I am quite prepared to pay duty on
such goods as I may require for immediate sale, and the balance of them
you can put in the Government Bond until such time as I may require to
clear them."
The governor had evidently imagined that he had an ignorant fool to
deal with, and was consequently disagreeably surprised. He foolishly
lost his temper, telling S----g "that he ought to know perfectly well
that the Government had not any bonded stores on Sud-Est yet." But, in
the name of common-sense, how does that give the Government a right to
exact from people the duty on the whole of their goods? However, the
result was, the governor had to give in. My friend only paid about L8
in duties, the balance of the bonded goods having to be sealed down
under hatches. _So_ we won the day.
The next morning I went ashore. The landing, which is at Griffin Point,
is very bad. You have to wade through mangrove mud, the stench of which
is enough to breed fever, and then climb a very steep ascent to the
first camp.
Here there are numbers of canvas tents pitched on a grassy flat, and it
is no easy task carrying heavy packages and tools up to it. About 400
men were on the ground. Some were doing well, others making good wages,
whilst many were not making "tucker." Others again were lying in the
tents sick with fever.
The field only lasted twelve months, during which time dozens of
diggers died from malaria, and, although several thousands of ounces of
gold were obtained from the islands, it cost a lot of money to get
them. It was all alluvial digging from six inches to two feet wash, no
reef carrying gold having been found.
Sud-Est is a large island 40 miles in length and eight miles broad. The
coast runs east and west, and is surrounded by a fringe of mangroves,
with a coral reef extending some distance from its shores. It has high
land, the principal mountain, Mount Rattlesnake, which is on the
south-east coast, having an altitude of over 3,000 feet. There are
hundreds of deep gullies running north and south, with bold hills,
covered with good grass, separating them. These hills would make
excellent pasturage for cattle, and after a time for sheep also, the
grass at present being a little too rank. The deep gullies on all sides
would act as natural fences. There is also an inexhaustible supply of
good water. There are hundreds of native foot-paths leading along these
hills and across the gullies throughout the length and breadth of the
island. The gullies are very steep and densely wooded. The rivers and
creeks, whose name is legion, run north and south, with gullies, for
the most part dry, meeting them at right angles.
The greater part of the gold was found on the western side of the
island. Strange to say, there was no indication of any leaders or reefs
bearing gold, although, occasionally, nuggets weighing four ounces were
obtained. At the same time there are many barren quartz reefs here and
there. In my opinion, Sud-Est is one of the healthiest spots in New
Guinea. The great sickness amongst the diggers was caused by turning up
the virgin soil in the workings and so releasing the malarial germs.
When the unwholesome food and change in the climate is further
considered, one cannot wonder at the result. Such is nearly always the
case in new gold-fields.
All the native houses on Sud-Est are built on the summit of the highest
hills or mountains. I should estimate the total population to be from
3,000 to 4,000.
The natives I saw are smaller than those living on the mainland, in
fact, as far as I could judge, they seemed to be half-starved. The
coco-nut trees are very few and far between, and yams anything but
plentiful. I believe the real reason for this barrenness is to be
traced to the fear of their enemies. This is undoubtedly the reason why
they build their houses in such inaccessible places, invisible until
you are close to them. The natives of Brooker Island constantly make
expeditions to Sud-Est in their large war canoes for the express
purpose of obtaining heads, and as they are more powerful than their
opponents, seldom leave without a number of these ghastly trophies. No
wonder the natives of Sud-Est live in mortal dread of them.
Whilst I was on the island, a deputation of miners waited on the warden
(Mr. Cameron), requesting him to interview the governor with respect to
taking a party of diggers in the _Hygeia_ for prospecting Rossel and
other large islands, as the number of men on Sud-Est was too great for
the amount of gold procurable.
Mr. Cameron spoke to the governor, who consented to act on the
suggestion on the understanding that the number must not exceed 15, and
that those brought their own "tucker." A committee was formed of seven,
of which I was one, and the ballot for the 15 took place in one of the
tents. The names of those elected were posted up outside.
The party left the next morning, arriving at Rossel Island the
following day. Rossel is the last and easternmost island in the
Louisiades. It is not so large as Sud-Est, being only about 25 miles
long. The eastern end is thickly inhabited. The natives here have a
very bad character, and up to the present time white men have been
unable to trade with them. It is said that many years ago a large
vessel,[2] with 350 Chinamen on board, got driven out of her course
through stress of weather and ran ashore on the island. The natives,
who were very numerous, surrounded her, and succeeded in capturing all
the Chinamen. They made prisoners of them, fattened them up, and killed
and ate them whenever their stocks ran short.
[2] 1858. The _St. Paul_, bound from Hongkong to Sydney with
327 Chinamen on board, of whom only _one_ escaped.
It is a curious and also a fortunate fact that the natives much prefer
a Chinaman, or one of their own race, to a European. The reason they
give is, that a European is not a good-feeding animal; he eats too much
meat and not enough vegetables.
The above facts may be of some use to the advocates of vegetarianism.
Cannibalism is still rampant in some districts, but in others has died
out. A man who has died a natural death is never eaten. Human flesh is
deemed far superior to pig, of which animal they have plenty, and,
strange to say, cannibalism is just as rife in districts where other
food is abundant as in those where it is scarce. The natives have no
European prejudices regarding the human body, and eat it with as good a
conscience and as much gusto as we do butcher's meat. To a civilized
person, this is of course repugnant, but we must remember "different
countries have different customs."
The _Hygeia_ party spent three days on Rossel, but did not succeed
in finding paying gold, only bare "colours" of the precious metal. What
else could they expect for a three days' prospect? They then went to
Messima (St. Aignan), a large island 40 miles to the north, spent a
couple of days on shore finding nothing but "colours," never attempting
to follow them up. They afterwards visited Normanby, Ferguson, and
Goodenough, all large islands lying to the north of East Cape, and on
to China Straits, where they disembarked, having failed in their
search.
A few weeks later, a number of "diggers" left Sud-Est on their own
behalf, journeying to St. Aignan. They spent several weeks in
prospecting, at the end of which they had the satisfaction of
discovering two large gullies bearing paying gold. The news of the
"find" soon reached Sud-Est, and in a short time 100 men found their
way to the new "rush."
The country of St. Aignan is much more broken than Sud-Est, and, owing
to the denseness of the scrub, is more difficult to travel in. In spite
of these disadvantages, a large quantity of gold was obtained, and had
it not been for the great amount of sickness amongst the diggers, this
quantity would have been considerably increased. Three friends of mine
left St. Aignan and went in a small cutter to Normanby Island. They
stayed there for four weeks, and not meeting with success proceeded to
the adjoining island, viz., Fergusson. The latter is larger than
Sud-Est, is only 15 miles from the mainland, and is thickly populated.
In a few days they discovered good traces of gold. Unfortunately they
were unable to continue the search, as their "tucker" had run short,
and also their number (three) was too small to cope with the savages.
They liked the look of the country and were strongly of the opinion
that it contained paying gold, and much regretted their inability to
remain. There are numerous boiling springs on this island, which is
evidently of volcanic origin.
The discovery of this "Field" has nevertheless proved conclusively that
gold in paying quantities exists in British New Guinea. It certainly
was found 100 to 150 miles away from the mainland, but from the
formation of the islands, which extend from within a few miles of it in
one unbroken line as far as Sud-Est, there being only very narrow
straits separating them, it is not too much to say that at one time
they formed part of that mainland; therefore it is a fair hypothesis
that gold exists there in payable quantities and merely requires
tracing.
There have been one or two prospecting parties for that purpose,
principally in the neighbourhood of the San Joseph River, on the south
coast. They were badly equipped, and as might be expected, were
unsuccessful.
Notwithstanding this discouragement, I see no reason to doubt that,
within the coming two years, gold will be found in New Guinea proper
and in large quantities, but the search, to be successful, must be
undertaken by a party fully equipped and with plenty of carriers, South
Sea Islanders being the best and most reliable.