Sail from Cape York.
Mount Ernest described.
Find Kalkalega tribe on Sue Island.
Friendly reception at Darnley Island, and proceedings there.
Bramble Cay and its turtle.
Stay at Redscar Bay.
Further description of the natives, their canoes, etc.
Pass along the South-east coast of New Guinea.
Call at Duchateau Islands.
Passage to Sydney.
Observations on Geology and Ethnology.
Origin of the Australians considered.
SAIL FROM CAPE YORK.
December 3rd.
At length we have bade a final adieu to Cape York, after a stay of
upwards of two months, which have passed away very pleasantly to such of
us as were in the habit of making excursions in the bush, or who spent
much of their time on shore. We are now on our way to Sydney, by way of
Torres Strait, New Guinea and the Louisiade, chiefly for the purpose of
running another set of meridian distances, the position of Cape York
being now sufficiently well determined to serve as a secondary meridian,
one of the starting points of the survey. The natives learned at daylight
that we were to leave them in a few hours, so in order to make the most
of their last opportunity of getting bisiker and choka, they hauled a
large canoe across the dry sands after much trouble, and under the
direction of Baki, who affected great grief at the prospect of parting
with us, went off to the ship.
MOUNT ERNEST.
We sailed at 8 A.M. for Mount Ernest--at which place a round of
theodolite angles was required--and in the afternoon anchored off its
south-western side in nine fathoms, one mile off shore. A solitary native
was seen at work upon a canoe near the beach, but when a boat approached
the shore he withdrew. The canoe was about half finished, and close by
was a small shed of bamboo thatched with grass. After crossing a small
sandy plain covered with short grass growing in tufts, we met the native
on the edge of a brush to which he had slowly retired in order to pick up
his spears and throwing-stick, both of which were precisely similar to
those of Cape York, from which place they had probably been procured. He
was a quiet, sedate, good-natured old man, and although at first rather
shy he soon laid aside his fears on receiving assurances in the Kowrarega
language, which he understood, that markai poud Kulkalaig Nagir (the
white men are friends of the Kulkalega tribe of Mount Ernest) backed by a
present of some biscuit and a knife. On subsequent occasions, when
accompanying us from place to place, the quiet listless apathy of the old
fellow was a source of some amusement. He did what was told him, and
exhibited little curiosity, and scarcely any surprise at the many
wonderful things we showed him--such as shooting birds with a gun, and
procuring a light from a lucifer match.
MOUNT ERNEST DESCRIBED.
On the following day I had an opportunity of examining the whole of the
northern or inhabited side of the island. Mount Ernest is little more
than a mile in greatest length, of a somewhat triangular shape, its
eastern and larger portion hilly, rising gradually to an elevation of 751
feet, and its western part low and sandy. The rock is grey sienite, and
from the striking similarity of aspect, it appeared to me pretty certain
that Pole, Burke, and Banks Islands are of the same formation; they agree
in exhibiting massive peaks, respectively 409, 490, and 1,246 feet in
height.
Mount Ernest is the headquarters of the Kulkalega tribe of Torres Strait
Islanders who are now absent on one of their periodical migrations,
leaving in possession only the old man whom we met yesterday, and his
family, among whom is a daughter of rather prepossessing appearance for a
female of her race. The village consists of a single line of huts, which
would furnish accommodation for, probably, 150 people. It is situated on
the north-west, or leeward side of the island, immediately behind the
beach, and in front of a belt of jungle. The huts are long and low, with
an arched roof, and vary in length from ten to twenty feet, with an
average height of five feet, and a width of six. They consist of a neat
framework of strips of bamboo, thatched with long coarse grass. Each hut
is usually situated in a small well-fenced enclosure, and opposite to it
on the beach is the cooking place, consisting of a small shed, under
which the fire is made. We saw indications of many turtle having lately
been cooked here upon a framework of sticks over a small fire, precisely
as is practised by the natives of New Guinea and the Louisiade
Archipelago.
SIGNS OF CULTIVATION.
The strip of forest behind the village is traversed in every direction by
well beaten paths, chiefly leading to the back part of the island, where,
on the slope of a hill in good soil, we found many patches of rude
cultivation. The chief plant is a broad-leaved species of yam, trained
upon tall poles kept in position by cross bamboos, forming a framework
divided into little squares, each of which contains a plant. A species of
Calladium with an esculent root is also much cultivated; it is planted in
regular rows with the earth heaped up in ridges, as in a potato or turnip
field at home. I noticed some small plots of ground prepared with more
than usual care for the growth of what Giaom told me was a herb used as
tobacco; the young plants were protected from the sun with pieces of
matting.
COLLECTION OF HUMAN SKULLS.
Not far from the village, under the shade of an aged mimusops tree on the
outskirts of the wood, we observed a cleared oval space where ten human
skulls--of former members of the tribe, as we were informed--were
arranged upon a plank raised on stones a foot or so from the ground. The
skulls were mostly old and weather-worn, and some of them had pandanus
seeds stuck in the orbits by way of eyes. In front was a large smooth
stone painted red and black, and partially embedded in the earth, and
beside it were some painted human leg and arm bones, shells and other
ornaments. Behind, some thirty or forty skulls of turtle were arranged on
the ground in several rows forming a triangle.
CURIOUS SCREEN.
In a beautiful opening among the trees behind the village we saw an
extraordinary screen--named wows--the purpose of which, so far as we
could understand, had some connection with the memory of the dead. It
extended fifty-six feet in length, with a slight outward curvature, and
measured five feet and a half in height. It was formed of a row of poles
stuck in the ground, crossed in front by three horizontal strips of
bamboo, and covered with cross latticework. The bars of the screen were
daubed over with red paint, and hung with rows of spider-shells also
painted red. Some poles projecting above the others two to four feet had
painted jaws of the dugong and large conch shells (Fusus proboscidiferus)
fixed to the top, and numerous other dugong bones and shells were
scattered along the front. On the ground along the foot of the screen was
a row of stones painted with black and red in imitation of grotesque
faces, and to several of these the old man who acted as cicerone attached
the names of persons who were dead. In some the painting was
comparatively recent, and the stones appeared to have been placed there
singly at different periods to commemorate the death of the heads of
families of the tribe. We saw another of these curious funeral
screens--like the first one it was situated in a little glade in the
forest, but unlike it the front was covered or thatched with coconut
leaves, and it had a small door-like opening in the centre.
The natives must have left the island either on account of its being now
the turtling season, or else from the want of water. A small deep well
behind the village, apparently the only one in the place, was almost
entirely dried up. From the old man I procured the names of some of the
neighbouring islands, and also a few other Kulkalega words which are so
similar to those of the Kowrarega language as to corroborate Giaom's
assertion that both have many words in common. By way of illustration I
may give a few examples. Thus muto, small bird; kudulug, dove; geinow,
pigeon; kakur, egg; burda, grass; waraba, coconut; moda, enclosure round
the huts.
At one place I saw indications of an upheaval of the northern side of the
island in a bed of coral conglomerate six feet thick, with its raised
wall-like edge towards the hill as if tilted up, and the remainder
sloping down towards the sea. A similar appearance on a small scale
exists on most of the coral islands which I have visited, but I had not
before seen these sloping beds above the influence of the salt water, or
at least beyond reach of the spray, still less supporting luxuriant
vegetation, consisting in the present instance of a large extent of
jungle, with trees often of great size, and a dense growth of underwood.
PRODUCTIONS OF THE ISLAND.
Among the natural productions of the island I may first allude to the
large thickets of bamboo scattered along the base of the hill as the
first new feature in the vegetation, and secondly, to the small Eucalypti
growing between the hill and the brushes, as this is the most northerly
limit of that Australian genus known to me. Among the trees of the
brushes I may mention the Anacardium, or cashew nut, with large red acrid
fruit, Mimusops kaukii, often attaining a great size, and a species of
Bombax, or silk-cotton tree, from the trunk of one of which the canoe we
saw upon the beach was being constructed.
Of birds the Australian quail, Torres Strait pigeon, and brown dove were
plentiful, and afforded good sport to the shooters; Pitta strepitans (a
handsome thrush-like bird of gaudy colours--red, green, blue and black)
was heard calling in every brush and thicket. Several large lizards were
seen; one of these, about four feet in length, perched upon the fence of
one of the deserted huts, at first took so little notice of my approach
that I refrained from shooting it, thinking it had been tamed. The colour
of this lizard (Monitor gouldii) is a dull bluish green, spotted and
variegated with yellow. It is much esteemed as food, and the skin is used
for covering the warup or New Guinea drum.
SUE ISLAND.
December 7th.
In the morning a canoe, with seven men in it, came off to the ship from
Sue Island, near which we were at anchor. At first they approached
cautiously, holding up pieces of tortoise-shell, and making a great
noise, shouting out, "kaisu (tortoise-shell)
kapo-bue--kapo-buai--poud--poud," etc., besides other words which were
unintelligible, pointing at the same time to the island (which they
called Waraber) as if inviting us to land.
KULKALEGA TRIBE OF NATIVES.
These blacks belonged to the Kulkalega or Kulkalaig tribe, as was
ascertained by Giaom, who was well-known to some of them, and understood
enough of their language to keep up a conversation. Nearly the whole
tribe, she was informed, are now upon Sue Island, although their
headquarters are, as mentioned before, at Mount Ernest. The men in the
canoe differed in no material respect from the natives of the Prince of
Wales Islands on one hand, and those of Darnley Island on the other. Many
had the characteristic faint oval scar on one shoulder, some wore the
hair in moderately long pipe-like ringlets, while others had it cut
close. All were perfectly naked, and the only ornaments worn were the
large round pearl-shell on the breast. The canoe was rather singular in
form, with greater beam than I had ever seen in one, nor did the sides
tumble home as usual; the bow was sharp, but the stern square, as if
effected by cutting a very large canoe in halves, and filling up the open
end. We saw several bamboo bows and bundles of arrows, stowed away under
the platform; these the natives would not part with, but a large quantity
of very fine tortoise-shell was obtained, chiefly in exchange for leaf
tobacco, which they know by the name of sugub.
When the tide slackened we got underweigh, and the natives returned to
their island. Sue, although the largest of the Three Sisters, is not more
than the third of a mile in length. Like all the islands of the eastern
side of Torres Strait, with the exception of the Darnley and Murray
Islands, this is of the coral sand formation, low and thickly wooded.
Some coconut-trees grow at the west end of the island, where there is a
native village which we approached close enough to have a good view of it
with the spy-glass. It consisted of several long huts, thatched with
grass, which apparently are not much used during the daytime, as we saw
no one entering or coming out of them. Many of the people, both men and
women, ran down to the beach, waving green branches to induce us to land;
others were sitting down under temporary sheds made by stretching large
mats--the sails of their canoes--over a framework of sticks. The inside
of one large enclosure was concealed by a fence six feet high, and an
adjacent shed, under which some cooking was going on, was completely
covered with some recent shells of turtle, apparently about thirty in
number. Three very large canoes were hauled up on the beach, protected
from the sun by matting, and two smaller ones were kept afloat. There
appeared to be about 60 people upon the island, from which, and other
circumstances, I do not suppose the Kulkalega tribe to consist of more
than 100 souls. The women whom we saw wore loose petticoats of leaves
reaching to below the knees.
The ship worked up through the channel between Bet and Sue Islands, and
anchored for the night off the eastern extreme of the reef running out
from the former. Four large canoes coming from the northward passed over
the reef at high-water, going towards Sue Island.
LAND ON ARDEN ISLAND.
Next day we passed Coconut Island on our right, and Dove Island on our
left, and anchored near Arden Island, where we landed on the following
morning before daylight with a seining party. The place is scarcely more
than a quarter of a mile in length, low and sandy, covered with tall
bushes and a few clumps of trees (Pisonia grandis). We saw traces--but
none very recent--of visits paid by the natives, indicated by remains of
fires, turtle bones, a large pit dug as a well, and two old graves. As
usual a coral reef extends from the shore, without leaving a clear spot
of sufficient size to admit of the seine being hauled. Species of Cissus
and two or three Capparidae constituted the bulk of the vegetation, and
rendered the low scrub almost impervious in many places. A number of
Torres Strait pigeons, chiefly young birds, and some stone-plovers and
other waders, were shot, and one rare bird was obtained for the
collection, a male of Pachycephala melanura. Soon after our return we got
underweigh, passed on our right Rennel, Marsden, and Keat Islands, and
anchored three miles to the northward of the last of these.
NATIVES COME ON BOARD.
December 10th.
While getting underweigh, a canoe with a party of natives from Stephens
Island came off to us in a very confident manner, and at once called out
for a rope (laga) with which they made fast to the ship. Among them were
two of the natives of Darnley Island, one of whom, Dzum, soon recognised
me as an old acquaintance, under the name of Dzoka, by which I had
formerly been known on shore during the Fly's visits. They had a few
coconuts, and a little tortoise-shell for barter, and were very urgent
that the ship should go to Campbell Island on her way to Darnley,
promising us abundance of water, coconuts, yams, and tortoise-shell, of
the first of which at least they could have had none to spare. In the
evening they left us, after spending the greater part of the day on
board, with their canoe towing astern. I found the native names of at
least three of the islands to differ from those given in the Admiralty's
chart of Torres Strait from the Fly's survey. Thus Nepean Island is
Edugor, not Oogar--Stephens Island is Ugar and not Attagor--and Campbell
Island is Zapker (nearly as Lewis makes it) and not Jarmuth. These names
were obtained under circumstances which obviated the possibility of
mistake. Dzum also gave much information regarding other matters, and
enabled me to fix the limits of the tribe to which he belonged, a matter
which had frequently puzzled me before. In the afternoon the Bramble--as
told to us by the natives--appeared in sight, but we could not reach
Darnley Island, so anchored after dark in forty-five fathoms, mud, seven
miles to the northward of it.
December 11th.
A light air from the North-West carried us up to the anchorage in
Treacherous Bay about noon. A canoe from the village of Kiriam came off
to us, and lay under our stern bartering tortoise-shell for knives, axes,
and tobacco, and when we shoved off in the first cutter to communicate
with the shore, one of the natives, on being asked to accompany us,
jumped into the water without a moment's hesitation, and swam to the
boat. We landed at Kiriam, and were received by a crowd of people on the
rocks and in the water.
ARE RECEIVED IN A FRIENDLY MANNER.
My old friend Siwai, with whom I had gone through the ceremony of
exchanging names nearly five years ago, showed much joy at seeing me
again, and made many enquiries regarding Jukes and others then in the
Fly. But these five years have sadly altered him--he now presents the
appearance of a feeble emaciated man prematurely old, with a short cough
and low voice--his back is bowed down, and even with the aid of a stick
he can scarcely totter along. He is now the man in most authority in the
island, his rival Mamus having been killed in New Guinea in company with
several other Darnley Islanders whose names were mentioned to me; they
had been on a visit to a friendly tribe, one of whose quarrels they
espoused, and only a few returned to Errub to tell the tale. The natives
wished us to stay at Kiriam, but as the principal object of the ship's
coming to the island was to procure water, we were anxious to know
whether it could be obtained in sufficient quantity at Bikar, where the
Fly and Bramble had watered before. As Siwai told us that there was none
at Bikar, but plenty at Mogor--his own village--we pulled along to the
latter place, accompanied by himself and three of his sons. In passing
along the south-west side of the island, we were struck with the superior
richness of vegetation and apparent fertility, compared with what we had
seen in New Guinea and the Louisiade Archipelago during the previous part
of the cruise. Some portions reminded one of English park scenery--gently
sloping, undulating, grassy hills, with scattered clumps and lines of
trees.
UNABLE TO FIND WATER.
On landing at the village, which consists of two or three houses only, we
were taken a quarter of a mile--by a path leading along a small valley
through a grove of coconut-trees, bananas, and various cultivated plants
(among which I observed the Mango in full bearing) to a pool of water in
the dried-up bed of a small rivulet. But the quantity of water was not
enough for our purpose, even had it been situated in a place more easy of
access. Some magnificent Sago palms overhung the water with their large
spreading fronds; these we were told had been brought from Dowde or New
Guinea, many years ago. Siwai and his sons, at their own urgent request,
were allowed a passage with us to the ship, and remained all night there,
sleeping among the folds of a sail upon the poop.
December 12th.
In the morning a party landed at Bikar (abreast of the ship) to look for
water, but the pool which on several occasions supplied the Fly, Bramble,
and Prince George, was now dry. At this season too, during the prevalence
of North-West winds, landing is difficult on account of the surf, and we
had much trouble in keeping our guns dry while up to the waist in water.
In the afternoon both cutters were sent to Mogor to procure vegetables
for the ship's company by barter with the natives, and I accompanied the
party, but, contrary to expectation, no one was allowed to land, the
person in authority having seen something on shore to alarm him, the
nature of which continued to us a mystery. The second cutter laid off,
and the first remained in water about knee-deep, surrounded by a crowd of
unarmed natives. The scene was at that time very animated--groups of men,
women, and children, were to be seen staggering under a load of coconuts,
wading out to the boats, scrambling to be first served, and shouting out
to attract attention to their wares, which in addition included some
tortoise-shell, a few yams, bananas and mangos. Siwai was present in the
boat, and by exercising his authority in our behalf, matters went on more
smoothly than otherwise might have been the case. A large supply of
coconuts and a few vegetables having been obtained for axes, knives,
calico, and red cloth, we returned to the ship.
BARTERING SCENE.
December 13th.
Three boats were sent to Kiriam to procure more coconuts. There being no
prohibition of landing, I remained onshore during the bartering, sitting
in a shady place among a group of women and children, and employed in
procuring materials for a vocabulary. Most of them remembered me of old,
and in consequence fancied they had a claim upon my tobacco, the stock of
which was quickly exhausted.
INTERIOR OF A HUT.
The huts of Darnley Island--together with the inhabitants--have been so
fully described in the voyage of the Fly, that it is unnecessary for me
to enter upon the subject. The natives always objected to show to us the
inside of their huts, many of which we knew were used as dead houses--but
Mr. Huxley today was fortunate enough to induce one of them to allow him
to enter his house, and make a sketch of the interior, but not until he
had given him an axe as an admission fee. These huts resemble a great
beehive in shape--a central pole projects beyond the roof, and to this is
connected a framework of bamboo, thatched with grass, leaving a single
small low entrance to serve as door and window.
HUMAN SKULLS OFFERED FOR SALE.
Several human skulls were brought down for sale, also a little shrivelled
mummy of a child. Some of the former had the skin quite perfect, the nose
artificially restored in clay mixed with a resinous substance, and the
orbits occupied by a diamond-shaped piece of mother-of-pearl, with a
black central mark. Towards the end of the bartering the natives had
become very noisy, and even insolent, and everything seemed to indicate
that some at least of them were dissatisfied, and inclined to resent some
injury or cause of offence, for which purpose apparently they had their
bows and arrows ready, and their gauntlets upon the left forearm. Some of
them desired me to get into the boat and be off, intended as I understood
for a friendly caution, while Dzum came up with an air of profound
mystery, wishing me to come with him (now that I was alone) to a
neighbouring hut to see a barit which he had brought over for me from
Stephens Island. This name is applied to the opossums of the genus Cuscus
which the Torres Strait Islanders occasionally procure from New Guinea.
However it was time for me to be off, so I contented myself with
promising a large reward for the animal if taken off to the ship. The
produce of our barter on this and previous occasions amounted to 467
coconuts, 388 pounds of yams* (then very scarce) and 159 pounds of
bananas.
(*Footnote. Not less than nine different kinds of yams and yam-like
tubers--including the sweet-potato--are cultivated in Torres Strait, and
are specially distinguished by name.)
DZUM AND THE BARIT.
While at dinner news was brought that Dzum was under the stern in a
canoe, shouting out loudly for Dzoka, and, on going up I found that he
had brought off the barit, which, after a great deal of trouble, I struck
a bargain for, and obtained. It was a very fine specimen of Cuscus
maculatus, quite tame, and kept in a large cage of split bamboo. Dzum
seemed very unwilling to part with the animal, and repeatedly enjoined me
to take great care of it and feed it well, which to please him I promised
to do, although I valued it merely for its skin, and was resolved to kill
it for that purpose at my first convenience. He had also brought a
basketful of yams of an inferior quality, as sea stock for the barit
during the voyage, and promised more on the following morning.
ANCHOR OFF BRAMBLE CAY.
December 16th.
Two days ago we left Darnley Island for Bramble Cay, distant about thirty
miles North-East, but owing to calms and light winds had to anchor twice.
A strong North-West breeze which came on last night, and caused us to
drag the stream anchor, at length brought us up to our destination, near
which we anchored in 25 fathoms, sand, the island bearing North-West 1/2
West distant a mile and a quarter. In the afternoon I landed for an hour,
passing many turtles on the water both going and returning. As usual the
islet was covered with seabirds, only two species, however, of which were
breeding. The Brown Booby (Sula fusca) and a large tern (Thalasseus
pelecanoides) existed in about equal numbers; the latter, in one great
colony, had laid their solitary large speckled eggs in a slight
excavation in the sand, the former were scattered all over the island,
and had regular nests of weed, containing either two eggs, or a single
young bird covered with white down. Well does the booby deserve its name.
The grotesque and stupid look of the old bird standing by its eggs or
young--irresolute whether to defend them or not, and staring with an
intensely droll expression at the intruders--is very amusing; at length
on being too closely approached, it generally disgorges the contents of
its stomach--consisting at this time of very fine flying-fish--and after
some half shuffling, half flying movements, manages to get on wing and be
off. As the tern's eggs were within a short time of being hatched we
broke all we saw in order to ensure some newly-laid ones in a day or two.
CAPTURE MANY TURTLES.
We remained at this anchorage for the two following days, during which
time the weather was generally gloomy and unsettled, with occasional
heavy rain. As numerous recent tracks of turtles upon the sandy beach
indicated that the season had not yet ended, parties were sent on shore
to watch for them after dark, and although only one was taken on the
first night, yet on the following not less than eighteen were secured and
brought off: fifteen of them were of the green, and three of the
hawksbill kind. The last, I believe, is undescribed: it is certainly not
the one (Caretta imbricata) producing the greater part of the
tortoise-shell of commerce, and which is not rare in Torres Strait,
distinguished by having the posterior angle of each dorsal plate
projecting, so as to give a serrated appearance to the margin of the
carapace which, in the present species is quite smooth. The green turtle
averaged 350 pounds each, and the hawksbills about 250 pounds. Although a
strong prejudice existed against the hawksbill as an article of food, we
all found reason to change our minds, and pronounce it to be at least
equal to the other. The newly-hatched turtles (all hawksbills) were
running about in every direction, and among their numerous enemies, I was
surprised to see a burrowing crab (Ocypoda cursor) which runs with great
swiftness along the sandy beaches. These crabs even carried off a plover
which I had shot, not allowing more than ten minutes to elapse before one
of them had it safely (as it thought) stowed away in its burrow.
The golden plover was plentiful on the island during our visit, and one
afternoon I killed fifteen in about an hour. Two days after the terns'
eggs had been broken we found a small colony of laying birds, and picked
up some dozens of eggs; and had we remained a few days longer, doubtless
a very great number might have been procured. The weed which in the Fly
we used to call spinach (a species of Boerhaavia, apparently B. diffusa)
being abundant here, was at my suggestion collected in large quantity for
the use of the ship's company as a vegetable, but it did not seem to be
generally liked.
December 21st.
Two days ago we left Bramble Cay for Cape Possession in New Guinea, with
a fine breeze from the North-West, and next morning at daylight saw the
land about the Cape on the weather-beam. The wind, however, died away in
the afternoon, but this morning a light north-westerly breeze sprang up,
before which we bore up and were brought in the afternoon to an anchorage
in 11 fathoms, mud, half a mile to leeward of the Pariwara Islands.
ARRIVE AT REDSCAR BAY.
Meanwhile Lieutenant Yule, upon our destination being changed, was
ordered by signal to proceed to Cape Direction and survey the
intermediate space between that and Redscar Bay, in order to connect his
former continuation of the Fly's work with ours, and thus complete the
coastline of the whole of the south-east part of New Guinea.
We remained at this anchorage for upwards of a week, during which a rate
for the chronometers was obtained, and the Bramble returned.
WEATHER DURING WESTERLY MONSOON.
The weather during our stay was very variable and unsettled; rain fell on
several occasions. The wind was usually from the westward, varying
between North-West and South-West, and on one occasion during the night
we had a sudden and very violent squall from the westward, which for a
time was thought to be the beginning of a hurricane, but the gale
moderated very gradually next day. When the wind during the day was light
and from seaward, a land breeze generally came off at night, occasionally
with rain. The cause of this last seems to be the influence exerted upon
the winds here by Mount Owen Stanley and the ranges connected with it,
from which the clouds accumulated during the prevalence of the seabreeze,
are reflected after its subsidence. The low and well wooded district
between the mountains and the sea receives the passing influence of these
clouds surcharged with moisture, and the climate there and in all the low
maritime districts of the south-east part of New Guinea backed by high
land, is probably always a moist one, little affected by the prevalence
of either the North-West or South-East monsoon. The observations made
during our last visit to determine the height of Mount Owen Stanley and
not considered very satisfactory, were repeated under more favourable
conditions, but with nearly the same result. This mountain, the highest
of the range of the same name, is somewhat flat-topped (as viewed from
our anchorage) about six miles in length, and the mean of five
observations from different stations gave 13,205 feet as the height of
the highest part above the level of the sea.
PARIWARA ISLAND.
On the largest Pariwara Island, although abundance of rain had fallen
lately, there was no water left in any pool or hole in the rock. Nor
although the soil, from the additional moisture, looked darker and richer
than during my former visit in September, was there any perceptible
improvement in the vegetation. A few fork-tailed red-fronted swallows
(Hirundo neoxena) were hawking about, and a large yellow and black
butterfly (Papilio epius, common in collections from India and China) was
abundant. Many Torres Strait pigeons were observed from the ship to
resort nightly to the second largest of the group, which is covered with
trees and seems quite inaccessible from the steepness of its low cliffs.
On several successive evenings about sunset, and until it became too dark
to distinguish them, immense numbers of frigate-birds were observed
flying over Redscar Head, and going out to the North-North-East. This
being a gregarious bird only when associated at a breeding place, and
there being no known sandbank or islet in the direction which they were
pursuing, rendered their object a subject for much conjecture.
MANY NATIVES VISIT US.
We were occasionally visited by parties of natives, chiefly coming from
the northward, probably from some of the large rivermouths known to exist
there. Although in bringing their women and children off to see the ship
they indicated little suspicion or fear, yet on one occasion only could
we induce any of the men to come on board, and the two who did so would
not be persuaded to go below, and made their stay very short. As I had
better opportunities of making observations upon these natives than
during our former visit, some additional information regarding them may
be given here. The inhabitants of Redscar Bay, judging from what was seen
alongside the ship, are rather smaller in stature than those seen at
Dufaure and Brumer Islands and the Louisiade, but perhaps more frequently
show handsome features and good expression. Neither were there any men
exceeding the rest in height by even three inches, as had often been the
case in other places. They are usually of a very light copper colour, but
one man was of a very pale yellow and much resembled a Chinaman in hue;
although it may at first appear strange, yet this pale-skinned individual
by his very colour excited feelings of disgust in the minds of some of
us, such as would be created by the sight of a person whose body was
covered with a loathsome eruption and who still publicly exposed it. And
why should not our pale faces be regarded by these savages in a similar
light? Some had perfect Malayan features, but none seen on this occasion
appeared to practice betel-chewing--a remarkable circumstance, since the
men who on our former visit came off to the ship, then only about fifteen
miles to the north-west, had their teeth discoloured.
PIGTAILS AND TATTOOING.
None of the natives had any hair upon the face; various ways of dressing
that of the head were practised, the most singular of which has already
been described in Volume 1. The hair was usually of its natural dark
colour at the base, with the remainder dyed reddish brown and frizzled
out into a mop with long-toothed combs of wood or tortoise-shell. One
child had the head so shaved as to leave a long tuft on the forehead, and
another on the back of the head--precisely in the same manner as is
sometimes practised in Java. Nor must I omit noticing a singular
appendage formerly alluded to--analogous to the pigtail once in
vogue--worn by many of these people; it is formed of human hair wrapped
round with twine, and ends in one or more bunches of shells, dogs' teeth,
and tails of pigs--the longest one which I saw measured twenty-one inches
in length. Among numerous ornaments the most common is a large round
concave portion of melon shell, sometimes beautifully inlaid with
filagree work of tortoise-shell, worn on the breast. Fillets of cassowary
feathers, fur of the spotted bare-tailed opossum, or woven stuff studded
with shells, were often seen.
Painting the face or body does not seem to be practised here, but the men
are usually tattooed on the breast, cheeks, forehead, and arms, also
occasionally on other places. Their tattooing, however, is much fainter
and less profuse than among the women, every visible part of whose skin
is generally marked with a great variety of patterns, the most usual
style among them consisting in series of double parallel or converging
lines an inch or more apart, the intervals being occupied by small
figures, or irregular lines, with detached rectilinear figures fancifully
filled up.
DRESS AND ARMS.
The women wear a petticoat of shreds of pandanus leaf, plaited above into
a waistband and below reaching nearly to the knee.
They brought off little with them for barter besides bows and arrows, and
as before appeared perfectly ignorant of the use of iron. A few coconuts,
plantains, and mangos were obtained from them, but they had no yams.
Nearly every canoe which came alongside contained several large baked
earthen pots of good construction, some with wide, others with narrow
mouths, and a third sort shaped like a saucer. Besides bows and arrows,
we saw many spears, mostly of small size and usually finely jagged or
barbed towards the end, but of very inferior workmanship, also some
shields, one of which may be described.* It measures 33 inches in length
by 14 in width, and in shape resembles a fiddle, being rounded at the
ends and slightly contracted in the middle; it is made of wood,
three-fourths of an inch thick, neatly covered with fine cane matting,
fitting very tightly.
(*Footnote. Figured in volume 1.)
SINGLE OR DOUBLE CANOES.
The canoes seen here are either single or double, in the latter case
consisting merely of two lashed together, usually without an outrigger.
The single canoes vary in length from 20 to 30 feet, and carry from five
to a dozen people. Each end tapers to a sharp projecting point longer at
the bow. The outrigger frame consists of five poles laid across the
gunwale in grooves, and the float, which is rather less than half the
length of the body of the canoe, is secured to the ends of each by three
pegs, a foot in length. The opposite ends of the outrigger poles project
beyond the side only a few inches, and are secured by lashing of cane to
a piece crossing them; the gunwale is further strengthened by slender
poles running along it from end to end. A small portion only of the
outrigger frame is converted into a platform by a few loose poles or a
plank or two: some of the latter were as much as two feet in width, and
only an inch in thickness, and must have been cut with stone axes out of
a log of wood. The largest canoe seen was judged to be thirty-five feet
in length, with a width at the bow of four and a half feet, but this far
exceeded in bulk any of the other single ones. Like the rest it
essentially consisted of the hollowed-out trunk of a tree. All the heavy
canoes are pulled with oars, working in cane grommets, the others are
propelled with paddles. Both oars and paddles have lanceolate blades and
thick handles, without any attempt at ornament or even neatness of
design.
The sail (of pandanus matting) is a long parallelogram, twelve feet by
three, its sides secured by two tough slender poles, between which it is
stretched, and which serve both as masts and yards. In making sail one of
the poles is shipped, two stays from the centre leading fore and aft are
then set up, after which the second pole is fixed and secured by stays,
so as to give the sail the requisite inclination. We frequently saw a
second smaller sail set before the first, at the distance of eight or ten
feet, and managed precisely in the same way, but, even with both sails
set, owing to the disproportion between the spread of canvas and the bulk
of the canoe, the latter moves slowly at all times, and on a wind makes
much leeway.
SAIL FROM REDSCAR BAY.
December 31st.
We sailed yesterday from our anchorage in Redscar Bay, but did not clear
the sunken ridge of coral in the offing--a submarine extension of the
Barrier Reef, stretching between Low Island and the vicinity of
South-west Cape--until this forenoon, when we got out of soundings. The
Bramble is to remain behind for three or four weeks upon the coast, to
fill up various blanks in the chart between this and Rossel Island, while
we are to make the best of our way to the Duchateau Islands, to obtain a
meridian distance, and thence proceed direct to Sydney.
January 6th, 1850.
Our passage to the Duchateau Isles, a distance of less than 400 miles,
has been protracted by the prevalence of light winds, although these were
generally favourable, or from the westward. Occasional calms, squalls,
and rain occurred, but the weather generally was finer than during the
South-East monsoon.
CLEARNESS OF THE ATMOSPHERE.
As an instance of the clearness of the atmosphere, so different from what
we had usually experienced during our former visit to these shores, it
may be mentioned, that on one occasion during a light breeze from the
north-west we clearly saw Mount Yule (10,046 feet high) and the summit of
Mount Owen Stanley, distant respectively, one hundred and twenty, and
eighty miles from the ship. On this occasion also we had a full view of
the whole of Mount Astrolabe, which although 3,824 feet in greatest
height, and appearing to D'Urville as he ran past to be the highest land
on this portion of the coast, is rendered quite insignificant by the
lofty though distant range behind. Mount Astrolabe differs in character
from any other of the New Guinea mountains seen by us, indicating a
different geological formation. The summit extends thirteen miles,
running parallel with the coastline and distant from it about eight
miles. Viewed from the south-westward the outline is regular, exhibiting
a series of nearly flat tops with slight interruptions, but from the
southward it appears as a succession of terraces or projecting cliffs,
precipitous in front near the summit, with a long steep slope below,
probably of debris, while the flat top slopes backwards with a very
gentle declivity. Owen Stanley Range again presented quite a different
aspect as seen on the occasion alluded to, when nearly one half of its
whole length (300 miles) from Mount Yule to Heath Bay was in full view:
the outline was irregular but never suddenly so, and no peaks or other
remarkable points were seen.
I may mention here in relation to this part of New Guinea, though not in
continuance of the narrative, that the Barrier Reef, beginning (or
ending) at Low Island, is continued to the southward and eastward for 150
miles, as far as Cape Colombier, generally following the trend of the
coast, at a distance off it from three to fifteen miles. A long strip of
apparently navigable water is thus enclosed between the reef and the
shore, with numerous passages, many of which appeared to be clear to
Lieutenant Yule as he passed along close to the outer margin of the reef.
HARBOURS INSIDE THE BARRIER REEF.
Some good harbours doubtless exist here; the Bramble passed through
Roundhead Entrance and found good anchorage in fifteen fathoms
immediately inside. The whole of this extent of coast appeared to be well
peopled. On the western side of Mount Astrolabe, for instance, numerous
villages and patches of cultivated land were seen from the Bramble.
THE SAGO PALM.
Both in Redscar Bay and for the first two or three days after leaving it
numbers of sago palms, some quite recent, were observed on the water,
occasionally with boobies and noddies perched upon them. These trees had
probably grown upon the banks of the rivers of the bay, and been washed
away by the undermining of the low alluvial banks on which they grow, and
carried out to sea by the current. Along several of the freshwater
channels on the western side of the Great Bight examined by the Fly's
boats in 1844, I had seen this palm growing on the margin of the stream
in great profusion, and according to Giaom, the bisi tree (as she called
it) is occasionally carried by the winds and currents as far south as the
Prince of Wales Islands, when the natives scoop out the soft spongy inner
wood, wash it well with fresh water, beat it up into a pulp, separate the
farinaceous substance which falls to the bottom of the vessel, and bake
it as bread. On no part of the coast of New Guinea, however, did we ever
see any of this sago bread, which is known to constitute the principal
food of the inhabitants of the north-west coast of that great island.*
(*Footnote. Forrest endeavours to show that an acre of ground planted
with 300 sago palms will maintain fourteen men, as each tree produces 300
pounds of sago flour, when arrived at full maturity in its seventh year.
Voyage to New Guinea and the Moluccas in 1774 to 1776 by Captain Thomas
Forrest second edition page 44.)
On one occasion lately the water was discoloured by a conferva resembling
the sea-sawdust of Captain Cook, with which it was found to agree
generically in consisting of long filaments joined together by a softer
gelatinous-looking substance. The present species, however, is six times
larger than the more common sort, some of which was mixed up with it,
their diameters as ascertained by Mr. Huxley, being respectively 8 1/2
over 5000 and 1 1/8 over 5000 of an inch.
Today we stood in for the Duchateau Isles, and, rounding them to the
westward, anchored in the afternoon in seventeen fathoms, with the
central island bearing south, distant one mile.
SHOOTING PARTY ON DUCHATEAU ISLES.
January 7th.
Along with a shooting party I landed soon after daylight on the
westernmost Duchateau Island. Numbers of Nicobar pigeons left the island
as we approached, having apparently used it merely as a roosting-place.
HABITS OF DUPERREY'S MEGAPODIUS.
Heavy showers and thunderclouds passed over at intervals during the whole
morning, rendering our shooting not quite so successful as it might have
been; still we procured about fifty pigeons and a few of Duperrey's
megapodius. In habits this last bird resembles the Australian species,
especially in constructing enormous mounds for the reception of its eggs.
Those which I saw averaged five feet in height and fifteen in diameter,
and were composed of the sandy soil of the neighbourhood, mixed up with
rotten sticks and leaves, but without any shells or coral. Some were
placed on the outer margin of the thickets close to the beach, and others
were scattered about more inland. As several of these mounds showed
indications of having lately been opened by the birds, I entertained
hopes of being able to procure an egg, but after digging several pits
three feet in depth, with no more efficient implements than my hands, I
had to give up the work from sheer exhaustion. This bird is apparently
very pugnacious at times, as I frequently saw them chasing each other
along the ground, running with great swiftness, and uttering their cry
more loudly than usual, stopping short suddenly and again starting off in
pursuit. The cry consists of one or two shrill notes, uttered at
intervals and ending in a hurried tremulous cry repeated five or six
times. The noise made by this megapodius while scratching among the dead
leaves for food may sometimes be imitated with such success as to bring
the bird running up within gunshot. When suddenly forced to rise from the
ground it flies up into a tree, and remains there motionless, but
exceedingly vigilant, ready to start on the approach of anyone, but on
other occasions it trusts to its legs to escape. Its food is entirely
procured on the ground, and consists of insects and their larvae
(especially the pupae of ants) small snails, and various fallen seeds and
fruits. Although a great number of the Nicobar pigeons had left, many yet
remained, and the whole island resounded with their cry mixed up with the
cooing of the Nutmeg pigeon. Little skill is required in shooting these
birds, for they generally admit of very close approach, as if trusting to
the chance of being overlooked among the dense foliage.
ARE VISITED BY NATIVES.
January 8th.
During the night a party of natives in five canoes came over from the
Calvados Group, and first attracted our attention by making several fires
on the middle and easternmost islands. Soon after daybreak they came
alongside in their usual boisterous manner. A few words of their language
which were procured proved to be of great interest by agreeing generally
with those formerly obtained at Brierly Island, while the numerals were
quite different and corresponded somewhat with those of my Brumer Island
vocabulary. Two of the canoes--one of which carried sixteen people--were
large and heavy and came off under sail, tacking outside of us and
fetching under the ship's stern. In these large canoes the paddles are of
proportionate size and very clumsy--they are worked as oars with the aid
of cane grommets--the sail is of the large oblong shape formerly
described. One of the canoes was furnished with a small stage above the
platform for the reception of a large bundle of coarse mats, six feet
long and two and a half broad, made by interlacing the leaflets of the
cocoa-palm; these mats are probably used in the construction of temporary
huts when upon a cruise.
Although rather a better sample of the Papuan race than that which we had
lately seen at Redscar Bay, there was no marked physical distinction
between these inhabitants of the Louisiade and the New Guinea men. The
canoes, however, are as different as the language; here, as throughout
the Archipelago, the canoes have the semblance of a narrow coffin-like
box, resting upon a hollowed-out log, the bow having the two
characteristic ornaments of the tabura, or head-board, and the crest-like
carved woodwork running out along the beak. Some of the natives were
recognised as former visitors to the ship. Nearly all were painted,
chiefly on the face, the favourite pattern being series of white bars and
spots on a black ground. Except their ornaments and weapons, they had
little to give us for the iron hoop so much in request with them; only a
few coconuts, and scarcely any yams were obtained, and to the latter they
attached a much higher value than formerly.
SAIL FOR SYDNEY.
At length the natives left us, three canoes making to the northward, and
two returning to the Duchateau Isles. Morning observations for rating the
chronometers having been obtained, we got underweigh soon afterwards,
and, bidding farewell to the Louisiade Archipelago, commenced our voyage
to Sydney.
Our daily average progress during the passage to Sydney (which occupied a
period of twenty-eight days) was less than fifty miles. The winds for the
first few days, or until beyond the influence of the land, were light and
variable, shifting between South-West and North-East by the northward,
and accompanied by occasional squalls and rain. It became a matter of
difficulty to determine when we got into the south-east trade; it was not
until we had reached latitude 20 degrees South that the wind--light on
the preceding day, but on this strong, with squalls and rain--appeared
steady between East-South-East and South-South-East and this carried us
down to Sandy Cape.
REEFS OF THE CORAL SEA.
In traversing the Coral Sea, the numerous detached reefs were so
carefully avoided that we saw none of them--thus in one sense it is to be
regretted that the passage through them of a surveying vessel, with
seventeen chronometers on board, was productive of no beneficial result
by determining the exact position of any one of these dangerous reefs,
most of which are only approximately laid down upon the charts.*
(*Footnote. About this time a new reef was discovered during the passage
from Cape Deliverance to Sydney of H.M.S. Meander, Captain the Honourable
H. Keppel. While this sheet was passing through the press, I saw an
announcement of the total wreck upon Kenn Reef--one of those the position
of which is uncertain--of a large merchant ship, the passengers and crew
of which, 33 in number, fortunately however, succeeded in reaching
Moreton Bay in their boat--a distance of 400 miles.)
PRACTICAL RESULTS OF THE SURVEY.
The most important practical result of Captain Stanley's survey of the
Louisiade Archipelago and the south coast of New Guinea, was the
ascertaining the existence of a clear channel of at least 30 miles in
width along the southern shores of these islands, stretching east and
west between Cape Deliverance and the north-east entrance to Torres
Strait--a distance of about 600 miles. This space was so traversed by the
two vessels of the expedition without any detached reefs being
discovered, that it does not seem probable that any such exist there,
with the exception of the Eastern Fields of Flinders, the position and
extent of which may be regarded as determined with sufficient accuracy
for the purposes of navigation, and the reefs alluded to in Volume 1,
which, if they exist at all, and are not merely the Eastern Fields laid
down far to the eastward of their true position, must be sought for
further to the southward. The shores in question may now be approached
with safety, and vessels may run along them either by day or night under
the guidance of the chart--without incurring the risk of coming upon
unknown reefs, such as doubtless exist in other parts of the Coral Sea
further to the southward--judging from the occasional discovery of a new
one by some vessel which had got out of the beaten track. Whalers will no
doubt find it worth their while--with the characteristic enterprise of
their class--to push into those parts of the Coral Sea now first thrown
open to them, and, although we have not as yet sufficient grounds to
warrant the probability of success in the fishery, yet I may mention that
whales were seen on several occasions from both of our vessels.
USEFUL PRODUCTIONS OF NEW GUINEA.
This naturally originates the question--to what extent do the Louisiade
Archipelago and the south-east coast of New Guinea afford a field for
commercial enterprise? What description of trade can be established there
by bartering European goods for the productions of these countries?
Unfortunately at present most of the evidence on this point is of a
negative kind. Besides articles of food, such as pigs, yams, and
coconuts, and weapons and ornaments of no marketable
value--tortoise-shell, flax, arrowroot, massoy bark, and feathers of the
birds of paradise were seen by us, it is true, but in such small
quantities as to hold out at present no inducement for traders to resort
to these coasts for the purpose of procuring them. That gold exists in
the western and northern portions of New Guinea has long been known, that
it exists also on the south-eastern shores of that great island is
equally true, as a specimen of pottery procured at Redscar Bay contained
a few small laminar grains of this precious metal. The clay in which the
gold is embedded was probably part of the great alluvial deposit on the
banks of the rivers, the mouths of which we saw in that neighbourhood,
doubtless originating in the high mountains behind, part of the Owen
Stanley Range.
It is evident, however, that our acquaintance with the productions of a
great extent of coastline upon which we never once landed must be very
slight, but with that little we must be content until some more complete
exploration of the shores, which were only cursorily examined, and
especially of the rivers of the Great Bight--which seem to offer a ready
means of penetrating far into the interior of New Guinea--shall have been
effected. That an expedition with this end in view will soon be
undertaken is, however, highly improbable, the survey of the Rattlesnake
having completed all that was requisite for the immediate purposes of
navigation in those parts.
GEOLOGICAL REMARKS.
The fact of the existence of several active volcanoes on islands
immediately adjacent to the north coast of New Guinea (first made known
by Dampier) and the circumstance of volcanic bands traversing the length
of many of the great islands of the Malayan Archipelago, and others as
far to the southward as New Caledonia and New Zealand, rendered it
extremely probable that we should have found indisputable signs of
comparatively recent volcanic action in the south-east part of New
Guinea. We saw no volcanoes, however, and the great central mountain
chain appeared to me to be probably granitic. The large Brumer Island is
composed of igneous rocks as formerly mentioned; and at Dufaure Island I
obtained from some canoes which came off to us a few smooth water-worn
pieces of hornblendic porphyry. Some specimens of obsidian, or volcanic
glass, were also procured from the natives at the latter place, where
sharp-edged fragments are used for shaving with; one variety is black,
another of a light reddish-brown, with dark streaks. Mount Astrolabe is
apparently of trap formation, as I have already stated. Some conical
hills scattered along the coast may possibly be of volcanic origin,
especially one of that form rising to the height of 645 feet from the
lowland behind Redscar Head. It is in this neighbourhood also that we
find the upraised calcareous rocks of modern date exhibited by the
Pariwara Islands and the neighbouring headland, with which they were
probably once continuous; near this, too, the barrier reef of the coast
ceases at Low Island, which it encloses, although its line is continued
under water, as a ridge of coral, as far as the South-west Cape, where
the coral ends, unless the shoals apparently blocking up the channel
south of Yule Island are of the same formation.
LOUISIADE ARCHIPELAGO.
Reference to the outline chart will enable the reader to follow me in
some general remarks which did not properly enter into the narrative. The
Louisiade Archipelago, reduced to what I conceive to be its natural
limits, includes that extensive group of islands comprised between the
parallels of 10 degrees 40 minutes and 11 degrees 40 minutes South
latitude, and the meridians of 151 degrees and 154 degrees 30 minutes
East longitude. About eighty are already known, and probably many others
remain yet to be discovered in the north-west, a large space there being
as yet a blank upon the chart. All the islands of the group, with the
exception of the low ones of coral formation to the westward, appear to
be inhabited, but probably nowhere very densely, judging from the
comparatively small number of natives which we saw, and the circumstance
of the patches of cultivation being small and scattered, while the
greater part of the large islands is either covered with dense forest, or
exhibits extensive grassy tracts with lines and clumps of trees. Such of
the islands as were examined consisted of mica slate, the line of
direction of the beds of which is nearly the same as that of the
Archipelago itself, and the physical appearance of the other islands
leads me to believe that the same rock prevails there also.
CORAL REEFS OF THE LOUISIADE ARCHIPELAGO DESCRIBED.
One of the most remarkable features connected with the Louisiade
Archipelago is the manner in which its shores are protected by the coral
reefs which have frequently been alluded to above. The principal of these
are good examples of that kind distinguished by the name of barrier
reefs. Rossel Reef has already been described, and the only other large
one of this description which we saw more than a portion of, is that
partially encircling South-east Island at a variable distance from the
land, then passing to the westward as far as longitude 152 degrees 40
minutes, where it ceases to show itself above water; thence, however, the
edge of a bank of soundings (represented on the chart by a dotted line)
which is suddenly met with in coming from the deep blue unfathomed water
to the southward, can be traced in a continued line to the westward as
far as the Jomard Isles, whence it turns round to the northward for ten
miles further, where our examination ended. This last may be considered
as a submarine extension of the barrier, which probably reappears again
above water, and passing to the northward of the Calvados Group, reaches
as far as the northern entrance to Coral Haven, enclosing nearly all the
high islands of the Archipelago. The expanse of water inside when not
occupied by land usually exhibits a depth of from 15 to 30 fathoms, with
numerous sunken patches of coral, and several reefs which partially dry
at low-water. The shores of the islands also are generally protected by
fringing coral reefs, the largest of which is that extending off the west
and south side of Piron Island to a distance of seven or eight miles,
with a well defined border towards Coral Haven.
At the western portion of the Louisiade Archipelago the reefs seen by us
exhibit great irregularity of outline, continuity, and width. Some are
linear reefs, others atolls* more or less distinct in character, and the
remainder are usually round or oval. Viewed as a whole they form an
interrupted chain, with numerous deepwater channels, which terminates in
the West Barrier Reef of the chart but is connected with the coast of New
Guinea by a bank of soundings, with, probably, a well-defined margin.
Many low, wooded islands are scattered along this line. I know of no
distinguishing feature presented by the coral reefs of the Louisiade
compared with those which I have seen elsewhere. One remarkable
occurrence, however, connected with them, may be mentioned. While passing
in the ship the most northern point of Rossel Island, I observed upon the
reef, about a hundred yards inside its outer border, a series of enormous
insulated masses of dead coral rising like rocks from the shallow water.
The largest of these, examined through a good telescope from the distance
of half a mile, was about twenty feet in length and twelve in height,
with a well-defined high-water mark. It formed quite a miniature island,
with tufts of herbage growing in the clefts of its rugged sides, and a
little colony of black-naped terns perched upon the top as if incubating.
(*Footnote. "An atoll differs from an encircling barrier reef only in the
absence of land within its central expanse; and a barrier reef differs
from a fringing reef in being placed at a much greater distance from the
land with reference to the probable inclination of its submarine
foundation, and in the presence of a deep water lagoon-like space or moat
within the reef." The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs by
Charles Darwin page 146.)
THEORY OF THEIR FORMATION.
I had only once before seen a similar exhibition of such great and
permanently elevated masses of dead coral upon a living reef--a
phenomenon of much interest in connection with Mr. Darwin's theory of the
mode of formation of coral reefs. This was on a portion of the Great
Barrier Reef of Australia, visited in company with Mr. Jukes, who has
published a detailed account of it.* In both cases the only obvious
explanation is that these huge blocks--too massive to have been hove up
from deep water into their present position by any storm--reached their
present level by the elevation of the sea bottom on which they were
formed.
(*Footnote. Voyage of H.M.S. Fly by J.B. Jukes volume 1 page 340.)
Before quitting the subject of the coral reefs of the Louisiade I may be
permitted to express my conviction of the perfect manner in which many,
perhaps all of the appearances which they present may be satisfactorily
accounted for by the application of Mr. Darwin's theory. We have only to
presume the whole of the Archipelago to have once formed part of New
Guinea--a supposition highly probable in itself (suggested even by a
careful examination of the large charts) and strengthened by the total
absence of signs of volcanic agency in what the theory in question would
require to be an area of subsidence as opposed to those of elevation,
such as are known to exist in parts of New Guinea.
ETHNOLOGY OF NEW GUINEA.
The ethnology of New Guinea is involved in so much confusion and
obscurity for the want of sufficient data, that even with the aid of some
additional recently acquired information bearing upon the subject, I wish
the following brief remarks to be regarded more as probable assumptions
than as views the correctness of which admits of demonstration. Besides,
to give all the proofs, such as they are, would cause much repetition of
what has been already stated above.
I must premise that most of our previous definite information regarding
the inhabitants of New Guinea applies only to a small portion of the
north-west coast of that great island in the neighbourhood of Port Dorey,
which is known to be peopled by several distinct varieties of mankind, of
which one (with which, as occupying the coast, we are best acquainted) is
designated the Papuan, or Papua, as generally understood by that
appellation when used in its restricted signification. These Papuans,
according to Dumont D'Urville,* compose the principal part of the
population of Port Dorey, and, judging from his description, I have no
hesitation in referring to them also the inhabitants of the Louisiade
Archipelago and the South-East coast of New Guinea, and agree with
Prichard (in opposition to the views of others) that they "constitute a
genuine and peculiar tribe."**
(*Footnote. Voyage de l'Astrolabe tome 4 page 603.)
(**Footnote. Researches into the Physical History of Mankind volume 5
page 227.)
NATIVES OF NORTH-WEST COAST.
Another variety among the inhabitants of Port Dorey, spoken of by M.
d'Urville as the Harfours, is supposed by him to include, along with
another race of which little is known--named Arfaki--the indigenous
inhabitants of the north-west part of New Guinea. The Harfours,
Haraforas, or Alforas, for they have been thus variously named, have
often been described as inhabiting the interior of many of the large
islands of the Malayan Archipelago, but, as Prichard remarks, "nothing
can be more puzzling than the contradictory accounts which are given of
their physical characters and manners. The only point of agreement
between different writers respecting them is the circumstance that all
represent them as very low in civilisation and of fierce and sanguinary
habits."* Their distinctness as a race has been denied with much apparent
reason by Mr. Earl, and they are considered by Prichard to be merely
various tribes of the Malayo-Polynesian race retaining their uncivilised
and primitive state. Be this as it may, of these Harfours D'Urville
states, that they reminded him of the ordinary type of the Australians,
New Caledonians, and the black race of Oceania, from their sooty colour,
coarse but not woolly hair, thick beards, and habit of scarifying the
body. I mention these Harfours for the purpose of stating that no people
answering to the description of them given above were seen by us in New
Guinea or the Louisiade Archipelago.
(*Footnote. Ibid page 255.)
VARIETIES OF THE PAPUAN RACE AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION.
It appears to me that there are two distinct varieties of the Papuan race
inhabiting the south-east portion of New Guinea. The first occupies the
western shores of the Great Bight, and probably extends over the whole of
the adjacent country, along the banks of Aird River, and the other great
freshwater channels. Judging from the little that was seen of them during
the voyage of the Fly, these people appear to agree with the Torres
Strait Islanders--an offshoot, there is reason to believe, of the same
stock--in being a dark and savage race, the males of which go entirely
naked.
The second variety occupies the remainder of the south-east coast of New
Guinea and the Louisiade Archipelago. Their characteristics have already
been given in this work, as seen at intermediate points between Cape
Possession and Coral Haven; they agree in being a lighter-coloured people
than the preceding, and more advanced in civilisation: mop-headed,
practising betel-chewing, and wearing the breech-cloth. Without entering
into the question of their supposed origin, I may state that, in some of
their physical, intellectual, and moral characters, and also partially in
their language, they seem to me to show indications of a
Malayo-Polynesian influence, probably acquired before their arrival in
New Guinea, along the shores of which they seem to have extended,
colonising the Louisiade during their progress, which at Cape Possession
was finally arrested by their meeting with the other section of the race
alluded to in the preceding paragraph.
It would be curious to see the effects produced at the point of junction
of these two sections of the same race, probably somewhere between Aird
River and Cape Possession. It is not unlikely that the Papuans of Redscar
Bay and its vicinity derived the use of the bow and arrow from their
neighbours to the westward--and that the kind of canoe in use in Torres
Strait was an introduction from the eastward, is rendered
probable--setting aside other considerations--by a circumstance suggested
by the vocabularies, i.e. that the name for the most characteristic part
of the canoe in question--the outrigger float--is essentially the same
from the Louisiade to Cape York.*
(*Footnote.
Louisiade: Sama.
Darnley Island: Charima.
Dufaure Island: Sarima.
Prince of Wales Islands: Sarima.
Redscar Bay: Darima.
Cape York: Charima.)
I have alluded in a preceding part of this work (Volume 1) to the
circumstance that the small vocabulary obtained at the Louisiade may,
along with others, throw some light upon the question: whence has
Australia been peopled?
ORIGIN OF THE AUSTRALIAN RACE.
It may safely be assumed that the aborigines of the whole of Australia
(exclusive of Van Diemen's Land) have had one common origin; in physical
character the natives of Cape York seem to me to differ in no material
respect from those of New South Wales, South or Western Australia, or
Port Essington,* and, I believe I am borne out by facts in stating that
an examination of vocabularies and grammars (more or less complete) from
widely remote localities, still further tends to prove the unity of the
Australian tribes as a race.
(*Footnote. M. Hombron (attached to D'Urville's last expedition as
surgeon and naturalist) considers--as the result of personal
observation--that the aborigines of New South Wales exhibit certain
points of physical difference from those of the North Coast of Australia,
meaning, I suppose, by the latter, those natives seen by him at Raffles
Bay and Port Essington. I may also mention that M. Hombron considers the
Northern Australians to be a distinct subdivision of the Australian race,
in which he also classes the inhabitants of the smaller islands of Torres
Strait (as Warrior Island for instance) attributing the physical
amelioration of the latter people to the fact of their possessing
abundant means of subsistence afforded by the reefs among which they
live, and the necessity of possessing well constructed canoes as their
only means of procuring fish and dugong, stated by him to constitute the
chief food of the Torres Strait islanders. Voyage au Pole Sud, etc.
Zoologie tome 1 par M. Hombron pages 313, 314 et 317.)
The two places from one of which the Australian population may be
supposed to have been more IMMEDIATELY derived, are Timor on the one hand
and New Guinea on the other: in the former case the first settlers would
probably have landed somewhere on the north-west coast, in the latter, at
Cape York.
Mr. Eyre believes that there are "grounds sufficient to hazard the
opinion that Australia was first peopled on its north-western coast,
between the parallels of 12 and 16 degrees South latitude. From whence we
might surmise that three grand divisions had branched off from the parent
tribe, and that from the offsets of these the whole continent has been
overspread."* Proceeding still further Mr. Eyre has very ingeniously
attempted to explain the gradual peopling of Australia, and even indicate
the probable routes taken by the first settlers during the long periods
of years which must have elapsed before the whole continent was overrun
by the tribes now collectively forming the Australian race. Dr. Prichard,
when alluding to the probable mode of dispersion of the black tribes of
the Indian Archipelago, conjectures that one of the branches during the
migratory march probably passed from Java to Timor, and from thence to
Australia.** Dr. Latham also inclines to the belief that Australia was
peopled from Timor and not from New Guinea, judging, in the absence of
positive proof, from the probability that "occupancy had begun in
Australia before migration across Torres Strait had commenced in New
Guinea," inferred "from the physical differences between the Australian
and the Papuan, taken with the fact that it is scarcely likely that the
Papuans of Torres Strait would have failed in extending themselves in
Australia had that island been unoccupied." Timor also is much nearer
than New Guinea to the REMOTE source--assumed to be the continent of
Asia--whence the Australians have been derived.***
(*Footnote. Journals of Expeditions of Discovery into Central Australia
etc. by E.J. Eyre Volume 2 page 405.)
(**Footnote. Researches into the Physical History of Mankind Volume 5
page 214.)
(***Footnote. Natural History of the Varieties of Man by R.G. Latham,
M.D. pages 257 and 253.)
The unity of the Australian race being admitted implies one common
origin, and that such was not derived from New Guinea, can scarcely, I
think, be doubted. Upon examining the neighbourhood of the point of
contact between the New Guinea-men and the Australians, we find Cape York
and the neighbouring shores of the mainland occupied by genuine and
unmixed Australians, and the islands of Torres Strait with the adjacent
coast of New Guinea by equally genuine Papuans; intermediate in position
between the two races, and occupying the point of junction at the Prince
of Wales Islands we find the Kowrarega tribe of blacks. At first I was
inclined to regard the last more as degraded Papuans than as improved
Australians: I am now, however, fully convinced that they afford an
example of an Australian tribe so altered by contact with the Papuan
tribes of the adjacent islands as at length to resemble the latter in
most of their physical, intellectual and moral characteristics. Thus the
Kowraregas have acquired from their island neighbours the art of
cultivating the ground, and their superior dexterity in constructing and
navigating large canoes, together with some customs--such as that of
preserving the skulls of their enemies as trophies: while they retain the
use of the spear and throwing-stick, practise certain mysterious
ceremonies connected with the initiation of boys to the rights of
manhood--supposed to be peculiar to the Australian race--and hold the
females in the same low and degraded position which they occupy
throughout Australia.
That the Kowraregas settled the Prince of Wales Islands either prior to
or nearly simultaneously, with the spreading downwards from New Guinea of
the Papuans of the islands, scarcely admits of absolute proof: but that
the former have existed as a tribe for a long period of years is shown by
the changes which I presume to have taken place in their language. While
this last unquestionably belongs to the Australian class, as clearly
indicated by Dr. Latham's analysis of the pronouns,* one of the
characteristic parts of the language, and, therefore, least liable to
change, yet the occurrence in the Kowrarega of a considerable number of
words resembling and often identical with those of the known Papuan
languages of Torres Strait,** and which I believe to have been derived
from the latter, seems to indicate a degree of long-continued intercourse
between the two races: for changes in language to so great an extent are
not effected in a short space of time any more than the nearly complete
fusion of two different races which has evidently taken place at the
Prince of Wales Islands. Scarcely opposible to this supposition is the
extreme improbability that the Papuans, who had nothing to gain from so
comparatively inferior a race as the Australian, should be indebted to
the latter for the words common to both found to exist in the Kowrarega
and Miriam languages.
(*Footnote. See the Appendix.)
(**Footnote. As means of comparison I used the Darnley and Murray Island
vocabulary given in Jukes' Voyage of the Fly, also a manuscript one of my
own, which furnishes some additional particulars; some words from Massid
given by Jukes; and a few from Mount Ernest procured by myself.)
Another mode of procedure suggests itself to one endeavouring to trace
the proximate origin of the Australians--and that is, to search the
records of voyagers and others for any traces of such customs, the use of
certain implements, etc., as are supposed to be most characteristic of
these people. Yet, taking, for example, the boomerang* and
throwing-stick,** we find nothing approaching to either of these
instruments in any part of New Guinea yet visited by Europeans: in the
absence of any evidence to the contrary from Timor, they may be
considered as true Australian inventions; and assuming the Australians to
be the descendants of a colony from Timor, the circumstance of the
natives of Melville Island--a part of Australia distant only 200 miles
from their presumed place of origin--being ignorant of the use of the
throwing-stick, is in favour of part of this supposition. But a thorough
investigation of the question of the origin of the Australian race, and
their dispersion over the continent, although NOW I believe rendered
quite practicable by the great mass of additional information contributed
by voyagers and travellers since Mr. Eyre wrote upon the subject, is not
consistent with the objects of this work.
(*Footnote. Some of the fowling-sticks of the ancient Egyptians closely
resemble the boomerang in form and appear to have been used in a similar
manner, but I am not aware that anything approaching it has been seen
elsewhere. A specimen which suggested this remark is exhibited in the
British Museum Egyptian Room Case 36, 37 Number 5646.)
(**Footnote. The throwing-stick is completely represented in the Aleutian
Islands (See in Ethnographical Room of British Museum, a specimen in case
16): in shape it differs from the Australian ones (which themselves vary
in different localities) but the principle of construction and mode of
use are precisely the same. In the islands of Tanna and New Caledonia a
contrivance is in use to produce the same effect as the throwing-stick in
propelling the spear; but, apart from other considerations, the nature of
the instrument (a piece of stiff plaited cord six inches long, with an
eye in one end and a knot at the other) is such as quite to preclude the
probability of the Australians having derived their throwing-stick from
this source.)