Two Years Among the Savages of New Guinea Part 16

Sir William Macgregor is a hardy Scotchman, with a tall, gaunt frame, and possessed of great strength. He began life as a ploughman on a farm. He was mainly self-taught, and by dint of industry and perseverance rose to the position of a doctor of medicine.

He held the appointment of Government Health Officer in Fiji, and also took an active part in the administration of that colony. In August, 1888, he was appointed Administrator of British New Guinea.

A better man for the post it would be difficult to find. His energy is untiring, and by his dogged determination he manages to overcome difficulties that would appear to others insuperable.

His manners are rather uncouth, but they are suited to a wild and rugged country like New Guinea. Shortly after his arrival in that country he received the honour of knighthood.

During his residence there he has been engaged in exploring different portions of the "Possession."

In December last he ascended the Fly River for upwards of six hundred miles, and reached the boundary dividing the German and English territories.

The following is a short _resume_ of the expedition:--

He started on the 21st of November last in the steamer _Merrie England_. At a point, which he says is beyond D'Albert's farthest, in 5 54' S., he found the river divides into two branches of equal size. One of these, named by him the Palmer, he followed up for eight days to the frontier. The whale-boat stopped at 605 miles from the mouth of the river. The first mountains met with in the ascent are on the frontier, and were not explored.

Speaking of the climate, he says: "The heat on the whole, has not been oppressive for this lat.i.tude. The average day temperature in the shade has been about 85 Fahr., but of course it is a moist heat. The health of the men has been fair, some having suffered from fever--short, sharp attacks."

At a point (not far from Ellengowan Island) above the estuary, the river was found to be 599 yards wide, the rate of current midstream about 3-3/4 miles an hour, and at 50 yards from the banks about 2-3/4 miles; the depth was five to six fathoms. The influence of the tide was not observed above 120 miles from the mouth. As a waterway he says "the Fly river will supply excellent means of transport. After proceeding 100 miles the river is very monotonous, and continues so for the next 80 miles. The forest produces no food for man. For European settlement, such a country, as far as can be judged, is quite unsuitable; but, of course, no man can speak of the country beyond a mile or two from the river, the greatest distance to which we could penetrate."

Of the natives of the large island of Kiwai, in the delta, Sir Wm.

Macgregor speaks favourably.

The island is about thirty-six miles long and two and a half broad.

Sir William went round it twice, and walked across it once, visiting all the villages, and was everywhere treated with great friendliness. The total population he puts at 5,000. They produce large quant.i.ties of vegetable food, which may in future create a considerable export trade. The cultivation of the banana receives from them much attention. They have no fewer than thirty-six different varieties. They also plant and cultivate sago trees, of which they distinguish twenty-five varieties; of yams they grow twenty kinds, three of which are remarkably good; and of sweet potatoes ten, two of which are suitable for exportation. They possess no knowledge of pottery. The sole utensil is a large slipper-sh.e.l.l. Its name is "wedere," and the consequence is that the Kiwai native has no other name than "wedere" for all our pots and pans and different kinds of dishes.

In August news reached me of the murder of two white men by the natives of Cloudy Bay, South coast. Both men were well-known to me; one of them I had known for many years. Their names were "Jimmy McTeer" and "Frenchy."

They had been in the Louisiades digging for gold, had been fairly successful, and had arrived in Samarai early in July, where I saw a good deal of them. They had a great idea of thoroughly prospecting the mainland for gold, and intended to start from the head of Milne Bay, which is on the south-east coast, and make their way overland to Port Moresby, and determine, once and for ever, whether the country carried gold. It was a most hazardous undertaking for two men to attempt, but they were plucky young fellows, used to "roughing it" and without fear.

I entertained serious notions of accompanying them, but fortunately, as events proved, I was suffering from fever and was unable to withstand the fatigues of the journey.

"Frenchy" had about 16 ozs. of gold. I advised him to leave it behind at Samarai, in case of accidents, but he decided to take it with him, as it might come in handy when he reached Port Moresby. I suggested that it would be as well to wear a suit of armour, as in their journey they would meet with thousands of savages. They considered my suggestion a good one, so we fixed some corrugated iron on to a coco-nut tree. We then stood 30 paces off and hurled spears against it. The experiment proved a failure, the spear penetrating the iron into the tree.

They then suggested tortoise-sh.e.l.l, but whether they carried out the idea or not I cannot say.

They were of course armed with rifles and revolvers, but of what avail would they be against thousands of hostile natives? Nothing, however, would prevent them making the attempt, and they had good hopes of accomplishing their task.

I saw them off to Milne Bay, and wished them good-bye, with the fervent hope that they would meet with no disaster and arrive safely in Port Moresby.

Yet I hardly expected that they would escape from a cruel death. Both were young men with good const.i.tutions, accustomed to hardships, and who would sell their lives dearly. The start was made from the village "Maivara," a number of natives watching their departure with interest.

The two, who had been mates together for some time, and had pa.s.sed safely through many dangers, commenced their lonely tramp with brave hearts and in good spirits.

This was the last seen of the unfortunate travellers.

The first week of their journey, how they got on, what dangers they may have pa.s.sed through, will never be known. It must ever remain a blank.

One circ.u.mstance alone we know. When they had reached the country at the back of Cloudy Bay, they were surrounded by hundreds of savages and treacherously put to death. Their heads had been completely severed from their bodies, and one of the skulls, when found, was discovered smashed into pieces.

By-and-by the news reached Port Moresby. Sir Wm. Macgregor at once ordered the _Merrie England_ to proceed to Cloudy Bay, with an armed party on board, who were instructed to find, if possible, the remains of the murdered men, and to punish the ill-doers.

A force of twelve men, well armed, landed as directed, and marched inland, where they came upon a large village, near which they found the two skulls (or rather what was left of them) of the unhappy victims.

They also came upon the gold which "Frenchy" had in his possession, and which the natives had left untouched.

This discovery conclusively proved the ident.i.ty of the men.

The armed party from the _Merrie England_ shot down several of the natives, and informed the others that, unless the ringleaders were given up, they would destroy the village and its inhabitants. Two more good and true men have been added to the long list of those who have met with a tragic death in British New Guinea. Let us trust that they may be the last. The hope is no doubt a vain one, but we cannot be blamed for expressing such a wish.

CHAPTER XI.

CONCLUSION.

The coast runs as nearly as possible west-north-west and east-south-east. It has a most bold appearance, mountains of Alpine height, from 8,000 to 13,000 feet, rearing their heads, looking down in their awful majesty, backed by lofty ranges covered with dense scrub.

The geological formation is sometimes basaltic, at others slate, porphyry, etc. Numbers of coral reefs jut out from the mainland, making the navigation difficult. Hundreds of islands of various extent are dotted here and there, sparkling in the sun like gems, diversifying the scene and lending colour to the landscape.

There are several magnificent rivers which carry off the great torrents of water from the mountains, notably the "Fly," named by the officers of H.M.S. _Fly_, when engaged in surveying the south coast in the year 1845. The "Fly" empties itself into the great "Gulf of Papua" and is navigable for six hundred miles from the coast inland. It will be the main waterway of New Guinea in the future. Then there are the "Baxter," the "San Joseph," "Aird," and "Tait," besides many others of less importance. The harbours are few and far between; the princ.i.p.al ones in British New Guinea are China Straits on the south-east coast, and Port Moresby and Hall Sound on the south coast.

There are no wild animals in the strict sense of the term, the chief ones being the wild ordinary tusked hog (Babi-rusa), ca.s.sowary, wallaby, tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus), cuscus, opossum and alligators.

Snakes are to be met with, but are not so numerous as in Queensland.

There are numbers of birds of beautiful plumage, the far-famed Bird of Paradise, of which there are something like twenty varieties, whose haunt is the tallest trees on the mainland, some 40 or 50 varieties of pigeons, the gigantic crowned pigeon among them, the rifle bird, etc.

Besides these, there are thousands of scrub hens, parrots, c.o.c.katoos (both black and white), and the flying fox, a species of bat, which, when young, is capital eating. At night, just after sundown, they come in large flocks to the trees, where they feed on the fruit.

The b.u.t.terflies are magnificent, they are most gorgeous in colour and of immense size, some of them measuring from tip to tip of the wings over a foot in length. The sea furnishes the celebrated "Dugong," or sea-cow, the flesh of which is equal, if not superior, to that of an ordinary cow. The oil obtained from the Dugong is, or rather was, very valuable. Unfortunately, it has of late years been much adulterated, and thus the marketable value has been lowered. Then there are turtles, many of them of great weight. It is not uncommon to find them to the weight of 5 cwt. The harbours swarm with edible fish of all kinds, the king-fish, sea salmon, barramundi, cod, yellow tail, and a host of others. Take it altogether, Nature in these parts has been bountiful in her gifts. The climate is very unhealthy, the tropical scrub being a harbinger of malignant fevers, malaria, etc.; and it will take years of cultivation before it alters for the better. The natives even are subject to attacks, but in a milder form. Where there is little scrub and no swamp, fever is not quite so prevalent. Quinine is the best remedy, but it should be taken advisedly.

The prevailing wind, which blows from the south-east, lasts for eight months, from April to November inclusive, when the north-west monsoon sets in.

The average rainfall is heavy, especially at the eastern end, where there is no decided wet season. At Port Moresby, on the other hand, the annual rains generally commence in January continuing until the end of March. The remainder of the year is exceedingly dry, so much so that nothing can be cultivated.

The heat of New Guinea is a moist one, and at times very great. The mean temperature in the shade during the summer months is 85; were it not for the trade winds, the heat would be overpowering. Winter is unknown in these lat.i.tudes. In June and July the mornings and evenings are fresh and comparatively cool. With this exception, it is impossible to distinguish winter from summer.

The tides are very strong, and most irregular. Occasionally there will be only one tide in 24 hours. I have studied the tides for many days, but they remain an enigma to me. No doubt the irregularity is partly caused by the numerous islands which would naturally cause a deviation.

Therefore, the irregularity is, maybe, only an apparent one. I do not pretend to be learned in the laws of tides, but older and wiser heads than mine have been hopelessly puzzled by them. At full and change it is high water at 8 a.m., once a year there is an unusually high tide, called in consequence, a "king tide."

The strongest wind blows from the westward and is known to the natives as an "Arras." It occurs in the months of February and March, and as a rule lasts for a couple of days, when there is a lull. It blows with great force, causing a nasty sea, so when anch.o.r.ed it is wise to "pay out" plenty of chain, or you may find your vessel has dragged and is being drifted away by the tide at the rate of six or seven knots an hour. The tide runs parallel with the coast. This is comforting, as, should you drift away in the night unawares, you run no risk of being stranded on a coral sh.o.r.e.

Some friends of mine were fast asleep on board their craft and awoke to find they had drifted ten miles from home and it took them the whole of the next day to beat back again to their anchorage.

The native population is estimated at 300,000. This is, however, a very rough estimate, as no census has ever been taken; also the interior is a _terra incognita_. The population of the coast can be fairly gauged, but who can tell what number of inhabitants the interior contains?

There is every reason for believing that parts of the interior carry a dense population. Great valleys have been seen in the distance; immense tracts of gra.s.s land have been cleared, evidently for the purposes of cultivation.

There are, I am aware, certain districts along the coast where the population is spa.r.s.e. This can always be accounted for by the poverty of the soil. Likewise parts of the interior may be unfit for cultivation, and therefore would be thinly inhabited.