Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake Volume I Part 18

July 23rd.

Yesterday we were prevented from reaching our intended anchorage at the Duchateau Isles by a strong easterly tide, the wind at the same time being too light to allow us to stem it. Today the ship was moved closer in, and moored in a convenient berth in 13 fathoms, half a mile north from the middle island.

We remained here for eleven days, thus affording good opportunities for examining the group. The Duchateau Isles are three low, wooded, coral islets, the largest of which is only three-fourths of a mile in length.

The two eastern islands are connected by a reef, partly dry at low water, and separated by a narrow pa.s.sage from the smaller reef, surrounding the western island. The southern, or windward margin of these reefs, presents a similarity to the barrier cla.s.s by rising up suddenly from an unknown depth, with constant and very heavy breakers, but the northern, and at present the leeward portion, extends only a little way, with irregular and not well defined outline, and anchorage near it in from twelve to fifteen fathoms. The three islands agree in presenting the same physical characters.

PLANTS AND ANIMALS.

They are margined by a beach of white coral sand, with occasional thin beds and ledges of coral conglomerate, succeeded by a belt of tangled bushes and low trees, after which the trees become higher and the ground tolerably free from underwood, with occasional thickets of woody climbers. The cocoa-palm grows here in small numbers, usually several together, overtopping the other trees among which one of the Bombaceae (silk-cotton trees) and Pisonia grandis attain the greatest dimensions, having frequently a girth of twelve or fifteen feet, with a height of sixty or seventy. A large-leaved Calophyllum is the prevailing tree of the island, and among the others I may mention a Myristica and a Caryophyllum, neither of which, however, are of the species furnishing the nutmegs and cloves of commerce.

Of mammalia a large Pteropus, or fruit-eating bat, was seen once or twice, but no specimen was procured. The little Indian rat occurs abundantly on all the islands, taking to hollow logs and holes under the roots of trees for shelter. Here it is tamer than I have elsewhere seen it--by sitting down in a shady place, and remaining quiet, I have sometimes had three or four within a few yards of me playing about, chasing each other, or turning over the dead leaves. It even climbs bushes and low trees, and gets out among the branches like a squirrel.

NICOBAR AND NUTMEG PIGEONS.

Birds were plentiful, and our sportsmen committed great havoc among the megapodii and pigeons. The former were very numerous, running about the thickets, and calling to each other like pheasants in a preserve at home.

Among the other game birds, first in size and splendour comes the Nicobar pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica). As its appearance exhibits a near approach to the gallinaceous birds, so do its habits. It lives chiefly on the ground, runs with great swiftness, and flies up into a tree when disturbed. A nest found here was of the rude platform construction usually found among the pigeon family; it was built in a tree about ten feet from the ground, and contained a single white egg. The most common of the family, however, is one of the nutmeg pigeons, Carpophaga oceanica. Many of both s.e.xes were furnished with a large, round, fleshy caruncle on the bill at the base of the forehead--this is said to be present during the breeding season only. Its favourite place of resort during the heat of the day is among the nutmegs and other spreading shady trees where we found it difficult of detection, even when led up to the spot by its cooing. This last may be represented by the letters poor-oo-oo-oo hoor-r-r-r, the first syllable loud and startling, the remainder faint and long drawn-out; on the other hand the cry of the Nicobar pigeon is merely hoo-hoo. In flavour the Oceanic pigeon far surpa.s.ses the white or Torres Strait species, the merits of which, as an article of food, we had so often fully appreciated during our last cruise. Most of them were very fat, and some even burst open in falling to the ground after having been shot. A solitary specimen of another large pigeon--with the throat white, and the plumage with purple and green metallic reflections--was obtained, also a small dove of a new species, with pink forehead and broad cream-coloured pectoral band, which has been named by Mr. Gould Ptilonopus strophium.

BIRDS, REPTILES, AND FISHES.

The only other bird which I shall mention is a very fine kingfisher (Halcyon saurophaga) with white head, neck, and lower parts, green scapulars, and blue wings and tail, previously known by a single specimen from New Guinea in the British Museum. It is a very shy bird, frequenting the margin of the island, usually seen perched on some detached or solitary branch, as if sunning itself, and darting off into the dense brush upon being approached.

Small lizards were plentiful, but we met with no large ones or snakes during our rambles on the Duchateau Isles. These islands are probably much resorted to by turtles, as they were daily seen swimming about, and one was caught on sh.o.r.e during our stay by a party of natives. The variety of fishes caught at this anchorage was considerable, and furnished many additions to the ichthyological collection, to which the paucity of other objects in zoology for some time back enabled me to bestow much attention.* Among the genera most remarkable for singularity of form and brilliancy of colouring I may mention Holocentrum, five kinds of which were procured here, one brilliantly coloured with blue and silver, and the remainder more or less of a bright scarlet.

(*Footnote. Besides many kinds preserved in spirits, which have not yet been examined, my collection contained stuffed specimens of about forty species of Louisiade fishes. These, I have been informed by Sir John Richardson, have nearly all been previously described from other parts of Oceania, the Indian Ocean, and the China Sea. The family Sparidae is that best represented in the Louisiade Archipelago so far as I could judge--three species of Pentapus numerically more than equal all the rest, and the next commonest fish is Diacope octo-lineata.)

Sh.e.l.lS AND HERMIT-CRABS.

The landsh.e.l.ls appear here to be limited to a solitary Helicina, found on the leaves and trunks of trees; and the trifling amount of rise and fall of tide, not exceeding three feet, prevented any search for marine species upon the reef. By dredging, however, in some of the sandy channels among the coral patches, in two or three fathoms water, some small Mitrae, Na.s.sae, Subulae, and other interesting sh.e.l.ls were procured, but no zoophytes came up in the dredge, and hardly any crustacea. One can scarcely avoid taking notice of the prodigious numbers of small hermit-crabs (Coen.o.bita) tenanting dead univalve sh.e.l.ls, and occurring from the margin of the beach as far back as the centre of the islands, where they are found even in the holes of decaying trees at some height above the ground.

During our stay at this anchorage the weather was fine for the first three days, but afterwards was usually hazy, with strong breezes from between east and south-east, with squalls and occasional showers, the thermometer ranging between 72 and 85 degrees--respectively the maximum and minimum temperature registered on board.

NATIVES OF THE CALVADOS.

We were frequently visited by canoes from the Calvados Islands. The parties of natives usually landed on one of the adjacent Duchateau Islands before communicating with the ship, and sometimes pa.s.sed the night there before returning on the following morning. They brought with them coconuts, yams, and various other articles to barter with; among these were some productions of the country which I had not previously seen--Indian corn, ginger, and sugarcane. The canoes were of the common description, with the exception of one of large size, closed at the bow and stern, with a high peak at each end, a standing mast, large oval sail, and the platform entirely covered over.* Few additional observations upon the natives were made here. On one occasion I procured a few words of their language, all of which, with one doubtful exception, are similar to those formerly obtained at Brierly Island. At another time we saw squatted down in a canoe alongside, with four men in it, two female children about three years of age, quite naked, with their hair twisted into long yarn-like strands falling over the shoulder; one of the two was a plump, laughing, intelligent creature, with fine features, great black eyes, and long silky eyelashes.

(Footnote. This is the canoe figured.)

At this place we had the misfortune to lose by death our carpenter, Mr.

Raymond. His remains were interred on the largest of the islands, in a clearing made by the woodcutters, and as an additional precaution, for the purpose of concealing the grave from the keen sight of the natives, a large fire was made upon it to efface all marks of the spade.

DUPERRE ISLANDS.

August 4th.

We left our anchorage this morning for the Duperre Islands, twenty-one miles to the westward, and reached them before noon. On our way we pa.s.sed in sight of the Montemont and Jomard groups, each consisting of two low, wooded islets, similar to those which we had left. As the ship went along she raised prodigious numbers of flying-fish in large schools, closely watched by frigate-birds, b.o.o.bies, and terns.

UNABLE TO FIND ANCHORAGE.

The afternoon was ineffectually spent in searching for an anchorage, the pinnace and one of the cutters having been sent insh.o.r.e for that purpose.

In the evening the anchor was let go after a cast of fifty fathoms, but slipped off the bank, and had to be hove up again. In company with the Bramble we pa.s.sed the night in standing off and on the islands, directed by bright moonlight, and a fire on the westernmost of the group which the pinnace's people had been sent in to make.

The following day was spent in a similar manner, and with the like result. The Bramble, when ordered by signal to point out the anchorage which Lieutenant Yule had found a week before, at once pa.s.sed through an opening in the northern margin of the reef connected with the Duperre Isles, and brought in the smooth and moderately deep water inside, but it was not judged safe for us to follow, so the pinnace was hoisted in-board, and the ship kept underweigh all night.

August 6th.

We pa.s.sed out to sea to the southward by a wide and clear channel between the Duperre and Jomard Islands. The former are five in number, all uninhabited, small, low, and thickly covered with trees. They extend over a s.p.a.ce of about six miles on the northern margin of a large atoll or annular reef extending eleven miles in one direction and seven in another, with several openings leading into the interior, which forms a navigable basin afterwards called Bramble Haven. Inside the greatest depth found was twenty fathoms, with numerous small coral patches showing themselves so clearly as easily to be avoided--outside, the water suddenly deepens to no bottom with one hundred fathoms of line, at the distance of a mile from its edge.

WESTERN ISLANDS OF THE LOUISIADE.

For several days we continued making traverses off and on the line of barrier reefs extending to the westward, obtaining negative soundings, and occasionally communicating by signal with the Bramble, which was meanwhile doing the insh.o.r.e part of the work. The next islet seen was Ile Lejeune of D'Urville, situated in lat.i.tude 10 degrees 11 minutes South and longitude 151 degrees 50 minutes East, eight miles to the westward of the nearest of the Duperre group, with a wide intervening pa.s.sage. The sea-face of the barrier now becomes continuous for twenty-one miles further, its northern side broken into numerous openings, leading into shoal water. It is, in fact, an elongated, almost linear atoll, with islands scattered along its sheltered margin. After this, the barrier becomes broken up into a series of small reefs, with pa.s.sages between, still preserving a westerly trend, until it ends in longitude 150 degrees 58 minutes East. Several small, low islets are scattered along its course; of these the Sandy Isles come first, three in number, two of them mere sandbanks, and the third thinly covered with trees, apparently a kind of Panda.n.u.s. The neighbouring Ushant Island (supposed to be that named Ile Ouessant by Bougainville) is larger and densely wooded, and still further to the westward we saw the two Stuers Islands, also low, and wooded. All those islets. .h.i.therto mentioned as occurring along the line of the barrier reef are of the same character--low, of coral formation, and generally wooded--and so are two others situated a few miles to the northward of the reef, and unconnected with it. These last are Kosmann Island, in lat.i.tude 11 degrees 4 1/2 minutes South and longitude 151 degrees 33 minutes East, and Imbert Island, situated thirteen miles further to the westward.

August 11th.

Today we came in sight of two groups of high rocky isles, very different from the low coral islets in the line of the barrier reef, which here ceases to show itself above water. These are the Teste and Lebrun Islands of D'Urville, the latter two in number, and of small size (the westernmost, in lat.i.tude 10 degrees 53 minutes South and longitude 150 degrees 59 minutes East) the former, a group of four, of which the largest measures two and a half miles in length, while the smallest is a remarkable pyramidal projection, to which the name of Bell Rock was given--this last is situated in lat.i.tude 10 degrees 57 1/2 minutes South and longitude 151 degrees 2 minutes East.

ARRIVE IN SIGHT OF NEW GUINEA.

August 12th.

We saw in the distance part of the high land of New Guinea in the neighbourhood of where its south-east cape has been conjectured to be, and approached within a few miles of the Dumoulin* Islands, a group of four rocky isles, the westernmost of which is 400 feet high, and less than a mile in length; there are besides five rocks, some of considerable size.

(*Footnote. The hydrographical engineer attached to D'Urville's last expedition, and the constructor of most of the charts published in the Hydrographical Atlas of Voyage au Pole Sud etc.)

DUMOULIN ISLANDS.

The Dumoulin Isles are inhabited, and appear fertile--they are tolerably well-wooded with small trees and a sprinkling of cocoa-palms. In standing off for the night, the water suddenly shoaled from no bottom with 80 fathoms to casts of 16 and 12 fathoms, of coral, and sand and sh.e.l.ls, and then deepened again as we went out. One is inclined to suspect that this may be a submarine extension of the barrier reef.

The Bramble meanwhile had been ordered in to look for anchorage, and found it under the lee of the largest island in 25 fathoms. She remained in that neighbourhood for several days while we were beating about at sea. Several of the Dumoulin Islands proved to be inhabited, and the natives exhibited no hostile feeling towards the Bramble's people. A specimen of the rock, taken from the sh.o.r.e and given me by Lieutenant Yule, is a very curious siliceous breccia; when viewed from the sea I had observed the cliffs to exhibit horizontal and vertical fissures--apparently lines of cleavage--as I had seen a.s.sumed on various occasions during our last cruise by granite and porphyry. This, at least, indicated a great approaching change in the geological structure of the New Guinea Islands, contrasted with those of the Louisiade Group which had come under our observation.

CHAPTER 1.7.

Brumer Islands.

Catamarans and Canoes.

Friendly relations with the Natives of New Guinea.

Are well received at their Village.

Tatooing and Dress of the Women.

The Huts described.

Large Canoe from the Mainland.

Ta.s.sai ladies return our visit.

The Natives described.

Their Weapons, Ornaments, Food, etc.

Cul de Sac de l'Orangerie, and Communication with the Natives.

Redscar Bay and its Inhabitants.

Leave the Coast of New Guinea.

Arrive at Cape York.

BRUMER ISLANDS.