_The Passage from New South Wales to New Guinea, with an Account of what
happened upon landing there_.
In the afternoon of Thursday, August the 23d, after leaving Booby
Island, we steered W.N.W. with light airs from the S.S.W. till five
o'clock, when it fell calm, and the tide of ebb soon after setting to
the N.E., we came to an anchor in eight fathom water, with a soft sandy
bottom. Booby Island bore S. 50 E., distant five miles, and the Prince
of Wales's Isles extended from N.E. by N. to S. 55 E.; between these
there appeared to be a clear open passage, extending from N. 46 E. to E.
by N.
At half an hour after five in the morning of the 24th, as we were
purchasing the anchor, the cable parted at about eight or ten fathom
from the ring: The ship then began to drive, but I immediately dropped
another anchor, which brought her up before she got more than a cable's
length from the buoy; the boats were then sent to sweep for the anchor,
but could not succeed. At noon our latitude by observation was 10° 30'
S. As I was resolved not to leave the anchor behind, while there
remained a possibility of recovering it, I sent the boats again after
dinner with a small line, to discover where it lay; this being happily
effected, we swept for it with a hawser, and by the same hawser hove the
ship up to it: We proceeded to weigh it, but just as we were about to
ship it, the hawser slipped, and we had all our labour to repeat: By
this time it was dark, and we were obliged to suspend our operations
till the morning.
As soon as it was light, we sweeped it again, and heaved it to the bows:
By eight o'clock we weighed the other anchor, got under sail, and, with
a fine breeze at E.N.E. stood to the north-west. At noon, our latitude,
by observation, was 10° 18' S., longitude 219° 39' W. At this time we
had no land in sight, but about two miles to the southward of us lay a
large shoal, upon which the sea broke with great violence, and part of
which, I believe, is dry at low water. It extends N.W. and S.E., and is
about five leagues in circuit. Our depth of water, from the time we
weighed till now, was nine fathom, but it soon shallowed to seven
fathom; and at half an hour after one, having run eleven miles between
noon and that time, the boat which was a-head made the signal for shoal
water; we immediately let go an anchor, and brought the ship up with all
the sails standing, for the boat, having just been relieved, was at but
a little distance: Upon looking out from the ship, we saw shoal water
almost all round us, both wind and tide at the same time setting upon
it. The ship was in six fathom, but upon sounding round her, at the
distance of half a cable's length, we found scarcely two. This shoal
reached from the east, round by the north and west, as far as the
south-west, so that there was no way for us to get clear but that which
we came. This was another hair's-breadth escape, for it was near high
water, and there run a short cockling sea, which must very soon have
bulged the ship if she had struck; and if her direction had been half a
cable's length more either to the right or left, she must have struck
before the signal for the shoal was made. The shoals which, like these,
lie a fathom or two under water, are the most dangerous of any, for they
do not discover themselves till the vessel is just upon them, and then
indeed the water looks brown, as if it reflected a dark cloud. Between
three and four o'clock the tide of ebb began to make, and I sent the
master to sound to the southward and south-westward, and in the mean
time, as the ship tended, I weighed anchor, and with a little sail stood
first to the southward, and after edging away to the westward, got once
more out of danger. At sun-set we anchored in ten fathom, with a sandy
bottom, having a fresh gale at E.S.E.
At six in the morning we weighed again and stood west, having, as usual,
first sent a boat a-head to sound. I had intended to steer N.W. till I
had made the south coast of New Guinea, designing, if possible, to touch
upon it; but upon meeting with these shoals, I altered my course, in
hopes of finding a clearer channel, and deeper water. In this I
succeeded, for by noon our depth of water was gradually increased to
seventeen fathom. Our latitude was now, by observation, 10° 10' S., and
our longitude 220° 12' W. No land was in sight. We continued to steer W.
till sun-set, our depth of water being from twenty-seven to twenty-three
fathom: We then shortened sail, and kept upon a wind all night; four
hours on one tack and four on another. At day-light we made all the sail
we could, and steered W.N.W. till eight o'clock, and then N.W. At noon
our latitude, by observation, was 9° 56' S., longitude 221° W.;
variation 2° 30' E. We continued our N.W. course till sun-set, when we
again shortened sail, and hauled close upon a wind to the northward:
Our depth of water was twenty-one fathom. At eight, we tacked and stood
to the southward till twelve; then stood to the northward, with little
sail, till day-light: Our soundings were from twenty-five to seventeen
fathom, the water growing gradually shallow as we stood to the
northward. At this time we made sail and stood to the north, in order to
make the land of New Guinea: From the time of our making sail, till
noon, the depth of water gradually decreased from seventeen to twelve
fathom, with a stoney and shelly bottom. Our latitude, by observation,
was now 8° 52' S, which is in the same parallel as that in which the
southern parts of New Guinea are laid down in the charts; but there are
only two points so far to the south, and I reckoned that we were a
degree to the westward of them both, and therefore did not see the land,
which trends more to the northward. We found the sea here to be in many
parts covered with a brown scum, such as sailors generally call spawn.
When I first saw it, I was alarmed, fearing that we were among shoals;
but upon sounding, we found the same depth of water as in other places.
This scum was examined both by Mr Banks and Dr Solander, but they could
not determine what it was: It was formed of innumerable small particles,
not more than half a line in length, each of which in the microscope
appeared to consist of thirty or forty tubes; and each tube was divided
through its whole length by small partitions into many cells, like the
tubes of the conferva: They were supposed to belong to the vegetable
kingdom, because, upon burning them, they produced no smell like that of
an animal substance. The same appearance had been observed upon the
coast of Brazil and New Holland, but never at any considerable distance
from the shore. In the evening a small bird hovered about the ship, and
at night, settling among the rigging, was taken. It proved to be exactly
the same bird which Dampier has described, and of which he has given a
rude figure, by the name of a Noddy, from New Holland. [See his Voyages,
vol. iii. p. 98, Tab. of Birds, fig. 5.][98]
[Footnote 98: Additional information on this subject remains for a
subsequent part of our work.--E.]
We continued standing to the northward with a fresh gale at E. by S. and
S.E., till six in the evening, having very irregular soundings, the
depth changing at once from twenty-four fathom to seven. At four we had
seen the land from the mast-head, bearing N.W. by N.; it appeared to be
very low, and to stretch from W.N.W. to N.N.E., distant four or five
leagues. We now hauled close upon a wind till seven, then tacked and
stood to the southward till twelve, at which time we wore and stood to
the northward till four in the morning, then laid the head of the vessel
off till daylight, when we again saw the land, and stood in N.N.W.,
directly for it, with a fresh gale at E. by S. Our soundings during the
night were very irregular, from seven to five fathom, suddenly changing
from deep to shallow, and from shallow to deep, without in the least
corresponding with our distance from the land. At half an hour after six
in the morning, a small low island, which lay at the distance of about a
league from the main, bore N. by W. distant five miles: This island lies
in latitude 8° 13' S., longitude 231° 25' W.; and I find it laid down in
the charts by the names of Bartholomew and Whermoysen. We now steered
N.W. by W.W.N.W., W. by N.W. by S., and S.W. by W., as we found the
land lie, with from five to nine fathom; and though we reckoned we were
not more than four leagues from it, yet it was so low and level that we
could but just see it from the deck. It appeared, however, to be well
covered with wood, and, among other trees, we thought we could
distinguish the cocoa-nut. We saw smoke in several places, and therefore
knew there were inhabitants. At noon we were about three leagues from
the land; the westermost part of which that was in sight bore S. 79° W.
Our latitude, by observation, was 8° 19' S., and longitude 221° 44' W.
The island of St Bartholomew bore N. 74 E. distant 20 miles.
After steering S.W. by W. six miles, we had shoal water on our starboard
bow, which I sent the yawl to sound, and at the same time hauled off
upon a wind till four o'clock, and though during that time we had run
six miles, we had not deepened our water an inch. I then edged away S.W.
four miles more; but finding it still shoal water, I brought-to and
called the boats aboard. At this time, being between three and four
leagues from the shore, and the yawl having found only three fathom
water in the place to which I had sent her to sound, I hauled off close
upon a wind, and weathered the shoal about half a mile.
Between one and two o'clock we passed a bay or inlet, before which lies
a small island that seems to shelter it from the southerly winds; but I
very much doubt whether there is sufficient depth of water behind it for
shipping. I could not attempt to determine the question, because the
S.E. trade-wind blows right into the bay, and we had not as yet had any
breeze from the land.
We stretched off to sea till twelve o'clock, when we were about eleven
leagues from the land, and had deepened our water to twenty-nine fathom.
We now tacked and stood in till five in the morning, when, being in six
fathom and a half, we tacked and laid the head of the vessel off till
daylight, when we saw the land, bearing N.W. by W., at about the
distance of four leagues. We now made sail, and steered first W.S.W.,
then W. by S.; but coming into five fathom and a half, we hauled off
S.W. till we deepened our water to eight fathom, and then kept away W.
by S. and W., having nine fathom, and the land just in sight from the
deck; we judged it to be about four leagues distant, and it was still
very low and woody. Great quantities of the brown scum continued to
appear upon the water, and the sailors having given up the notion of its
being spawn, found a new name for it, and called it sea saw-dust. At
noon, our latitude, by observation, was 8° 30' S., our longitude 222°
34' W.; and Saint Bartholomew's Isle bore N. 69 E., distant seventy-four
miles.
As all this coast appears to have been very minutely examined by the
Dutch, and as our track will appear by the chart, it is sufficient to
say, that we continued our course to the northward with very shallow
water, upon a bank of mud, at such a distance from the shore as that it
could scarcely be seen from the ship till the third of September. During
this time we made many attempts to get near enough to go on shore, but
without success; and having now lost six days of fair wind, at a time
when we knew the south-east monsoon to be nearly at an end, we began to
be impatient of farther delay, and determined to run the ship in as near
to the shore as possible, and then land with the pinnace, while she kept
plying off and on to examine the produce of the country, and the
disposition of the inhabitants. For the two last days we had, early in
the morning, a light breeze from the shore, which was strongly
impregnated with the fragrance of the trees, shrubs, and herbage that
covered it, the smell being something like that of gum Benjamin. On the
3d of September, at day-break, we saw the land extending from N. by E.
to S.E., at about four leagues distance, and we then kept standing in
for it with a fresh gale at E.S.E. and E. by S. till nine o'clock, when
being within about three or four miles of it, and in three fathom water,
we brought-to. The pinnace being hoisted out, I set off from the ship
with the boat's crew, accompanied by Mr Banks, who also took his
servants, and Dr Solander, being in all twelve persons, well armed; we
rowed directly towards the shore, but the water was so shallow that we
could not reach it by about two hundred yards; we waded, however, the
rest of the way, having left two of the seamen to take care of the boat.
Hitherto we had seen no signs of inhabitants at this place; but as soon
as we got ashore we discovered the prints of human feet, which could not
long have been impressed upon the sand, as they were below high-water
mark: We therefore concluded that the people were at no great distance,
and, as a thick wood came down within a hundred yards of the water, we
thought it necessary to proceed with caution, lest we should fall into
an ambuscade, and our retreat to the boat be cut off. We walked along
the skirts of the wood, and at the distance of about two hundred yards
from the place where we landed, we came to a grove of cocoa-nut trees,
which stood upon the banks of a little brook of brackish water. The
trees were of a small growth, but well hung with fruit; and near them
was a shed or hut, which had been covered with their leaves, though most
of them were now fallen off: About the hut lay a great number of the
shells of the fruit, some of which appeared to be just fresh from the
tree. We looked at the fruit very wishfully, but not thinking it safe to
climb, we were obliged to leave it without tasting a single nut. At a
little distance from this place we found plantains, and a bread-fruit
tree, but it had nothing upon it; and having now advanced about a
quarter of a mile from the boat, three Indians rushed out of the wood
with a hideous shout, at about the distance of a hundred yards; and as
they ran towards us, the foremost threw something out of his hand, which
flew on one side of him, and burnt exactly like gunpowder, but made no
report: The other two instantly threw their lances at us; and as no time
was now to be lost, we discharged our pieces, which were loaded with
small shot. It is probable that they did not feel the shot, for though
they halted a moment, they did not retreat; and a third dart was thrown
at us. As we thought their farther approach might be prevented with less
risk of life than it would cost to defend ourselves against their attack
if they should come nearer, we loaded our pieces with ball, and fired a
second time: By this discharge it is probable that some of them were
wounded; yet we had the satisfaction to see that they all ran away with
great agility. As I was not disposed forcibly to invade this country,
either to gratify our appetites or our curiosity, and perceived that
nothing was to be done upon friendly terms, we improved this interval,
in which the destruction of the natives was no longer necessary to our
own defence, and with all expedition returned towards our boat. As we
were advancing along the shore, we perceived that the two men on board
made signals that more Indians were coming down; and before we got into
the water we saw several of them coming round a point at the distance of
about five hundred yards: It is probable that they had met with the
three who first attacked as; for as soon as they saw us they halted, and
seemed to wait till their main body should come up. We entered the water
and waded towards the boat, and they remained at their station, without
giving us any interruption. As soon as we were aboard we rowed abreast
of them, and their number then appeared to be between sixty and a
hundred. We now took a view of them at our leisure; they made much the
same appearance as the New Hollanders, being nearly of the same stature,
and having their hair short cropped: Like them also, they were all stark
naked, but we thought the colour of their skin was not quite so dark;
this however might perhaps be merely the effect of their not being
quite so dirty. All this while they were shouting defiance, and letting
off their fires by four or five at a time. What these fires were, or for
what purpose intended, we could not imagine: Those who discharged them
had in their hands a short piece of stick, possibly a hollow cane, which
they swung sideways from them, and we immediately saw fire and smoke,
exactly resembling those of a musket, and of no longer duration. This
wonderful phenomenon was observed from the ship, and the deception was
so great that the people on board thought they had fire-arms; and in the
boat, if we had not been so near as that we must have heard the report,
we should have thought they had been firing volleys.[99] After we had
looked at them attentively some time, without taking any notice of their
flashing and vociferation, we fired some muskets over their heads: Upon
hearing the balls rattle among the trees, they walked leisurely away,
and we returned to the ship. Upon examining the weapons they had thrown
at us, we found them to be light darts, about four feet long, very ill
made, of a reed or bamboo cane, and pointed with hard wood, in which
there were many barbs. They were discharged with great force; for though
we were at sixty yards distance, they went beyond us, but in what manner
we could not exactly see; possibly they might be shot with a bow, but we
saw no bows among them when we surveyed them from the boat, and we were
in general of opinion that they were thrown, with a stick, in the manner
practised by the New Hollanders.
[Footnote 99: So far as the writer recollects, no satisfactory account
of this singular fact has been given. He has long borne it in
remembrance, and sought for further information respecting it, but
hitherto has failed. He can conjecture, it is true, two or three modes
of explanation; but he does not chuse to be wise abase what is
written.--E.]
This place lies in the latitude of 6° 15' S., and about sixty-five
leagues to the N.E. of Port Saint Augustine, or Walche Cape, and is near
what is called in the charts C. de la Colta de St Bonaventura. The land
here, like that in every other part of the coast, is very low, but
covered with a luxuriance of wood and herbage that can scarcely be
conceived. We saw the cocoa-nut, the bread-fruit, and the plantain tree,
all flourishing in a state of the highest perfection, though the
cocoa-nuts were green, and the bread-fruit not in season; besides most
of the trees, shrubs, and plants that are common to the South-Sea
islands, New Zealand, and New Holland.
Soon after our return to the ship, we hoisted in the boat, and made sail
to the westward, being resolved to spend no more time upon this coast,
to the great satisfaction of a very considerable majority of the ship's
company. But I am sorry to say that I was strongly urged by some of the
officers to send a party of men ashore and cut down the cocoa-nut trees
for the sake of the fruit. This I peremptorily refused, as equally
unjust and cruel. The natives had attacked us merely for landing upon
their coast, when we attempted to take nothing away, and it was
therefore morally certain that they would have made a vigorous effort to
defend their property if it had been invaded, in which case many of them
must have fallen a sacrifice to our attempt, and perhaps also some of
our own people. I should have regretted the necessity of such a measure,
if I had been in want of the necessaries of life, and certainly it would
have been highly criminal when nothing was to be obtained but two or
three hundred of green cocoa-nuts, which would at most have procured us
a mere transient gratification.[100] I might indeed have proceeded
farther along the coast to the northward and westward, in search of a
place where the ship might have lain so near the shore as to cover the
people with her guns when they landed; but this would have obviated only
part of the mischief, and though it might have secured us, would
probably in the very act have been fatal to the natives. Besides, we had
reason to think that before such a place would have been found, we
should have been carried so far to the westward as to have been obliged
to go to Batavia, on the north side of Java, which I did not think so
safe a passage as to the south of Java, through the Streights of Sunday:
The ship also was so leaky, that I doubted whether it would not be
necessary to heave her down at Batavia, which was another reason for
making the best of our way to that place, especially as no discovery
could be expected in seas which had already been navigated, and where
every coast had been laid down by the Dutch geographers. The Spaniards,
indeed, as well as the Dutch, seem to have circumnavigated all the
islands in New Guinea, as almost every place that is distinguished in
the chart has a name in both languages. The charts with which I compared
such part of the coast as I visited, are bound up with a French work,
entitled, "Histoire des Navigationes aux Terres Australes," which was
published in 1756, and I found them tolerably exact; yet I know not by
whom, or when they were taken: And though New Holland and New Guinea are
in them represented as two distinct countries, the very history in which
they are bound up, leaves it in doubt.[101] I pretend, however, to no
more merit in this part of the voyage than to have established the fact
beyond all controversy.
[Footnote 100: Delicacy of feeling, perhaps, would have preferred the
omission of what has now been recorded as to the advice of some of the
officers, to the stating it in such a manner as leaves the responsible
persons under the shade of the guiltless, or implicates the latter in
the odium of the former. The advice, at all events, might have been
stated impersonally, as a mere suggestion that would naturally present
itself to any one who considered the benefit of the crew only, without
respect to the rights and properties of the natives,--a suggestion,
however, which it required but a moment's reflection on the laws of
humanity to dissipate with reproach. Some readers, it is probable, will
be sensible, as well as the writer, of an uncomfortable emotion at the
perusal of this part of the text, exclusive entirely of disapprobation
of the matter of which it treats.--E.]
[Footnote 101: The work here mentioned was the valuable labour of
President De Brosses, and appeared at Paris, in two vols. quarto. It was
translated into English, and published at London in 1767. We shall
hereafter have occasion to cull some information from it, and to revert
to the fact of the separation of New Holland and New Guinea now alluded
to. Callender published a work at Edinburgh, in 1766, in three vols.
octavo, entitled, "Terra Australis Cognita; or Voyages to the Terra
Australis, or Southern Hemisphere, &c." It bore to be an original, but
is in fact a translation of what has now been mentioned.--E.]
As the two countries lie very near each other, and the intermediate
space is full of islands, it is reasonable to suppose that they were
both peopled from one common stock; yet no intercourse appears to have
been kept up between them; for if there had, the cocoa-nuts,
bread-fruit, plantains, and other fruits of New Guinea, which are
equally necessary for the support of life, would certainly have been
transplanted to New Holland, where no traces of them are to be found.
The author of the "Histoire des Navigationes aux Terres Australes," in
his account of La Maire's voyage, has given a vocabulary of the language
that is spoken in an island near New Britain, and we find, by comparing
that vocabulary with the words which we learnt in New Holland, that the
languages are not the same. If therefore it should appear that the
languages of New Britain and New Guinea are the same, there will be
reason to suppose that New Britain and New Guinea were peopled from a
common stock, but that the inhabitants of New Holland had a different
origin, notwithstanding the proximity of the countries.[102]
[Footnote 102: An interesting enough subject for enquiry is here
started. We shall, in another part of our work, have to give it some
attention.--E.]