Two Years Among the Savages of New Guinea Part 5

Mr. Douglas had given them special powers and privileges to prospect for gold and other minerals over the whole of the territory under British protection. I may as well here state the causes that led to this sudden action on the part of Mr. Douglas.

Two months previously, David Whyte, who was engaged on a pearl-sh.e.l.ling boat in the Louisiade Archipelago (which is part and parcel of British New Guinea territory), and who, by the bye, was hard up at the time, informed Mr. Douglas that he had discovered an auriferous reef on Johannet Island, situated in the above named group, showing him specimens therefrom.

This information resulted in Mr. Douglas purchasing the _Juanita_, a cutter of seven to nine tons burthen, and provisioning it for a three months' cruise. Mr. Whyte found eight practical miners who were willing to go with him although they were well aware that he was not a miner.

The adventurous party, who were loudly cheered on their departure from Cooktown, set sail on May 23rd, and arrived, as I have already stated, off the Island of Samarai on the evening of May 28th, 1888. The party stayed on the island for a couple of days in order to take in a fresh supply of wood and water before proceeding on their journey.

Johannet Island lies 140 miles to the eastward of China Straits, which necessitates beating to windward nearly the whole of the distance. At the time of their arrival H---- and I were the only white men on Samarai, whilst there were as many as 250 natives, most of them visitors from different parts, some from Milne Bay, others from Tube-Tube (Engineer group), Basilaki, and various places. The resident natives only numbered about 50.

On May 31st I was strolling round the island with two or three of the "diggers," pointing out some of its beauties, when, near a large group of natives, I heard a buzz of angry voices. I immediately hastened to the spot anxious to find out the cause of the disturbance. Numbers of large canoes belonging to the native visitors were drawn up in regimental line on the beach. Hard by, in an open grove of beautiful coco-palms, about 100 natives belonging to Wagga-Wagga (Milne Bay) were drawn up in review order, opposite to them were 50 natives from Tube-Tube, one of the islands of the Engineer Group, ranged in double ranks in the position known as "ready to receive cavalry." A few moments before not an arm, not a spear, was to be seen. Now they appeared to have sprung from the ground, as all the warriors were suddenly armed with them. The spears had, in fact, been hidden in the canoes a few yards away.

Matters began to wear a serious aspect. Both parties had worked themselves into a most excited state. The attacking party, viz., the men from Wagga-Wagga, intent on crushing their foes, gradually drew nearer, each with his long and deadly spear poised, ready to lunge it in the breast of his antagonist, until they had advanced to within a few yards of their opponents. I expected every moment to see the spears, held in itching hands, hurled. I could not but admire the cool courage with which the Tube-Tube men awaited the onslaught, nothwithstanding the disparity of numbers. Each belligerent party hesitated.

However, I could plainly see that it was merely a question of time. In a few minutes, maybe, their feelings would get the better of their judgment and blood be spilt. Not knowing what evil consequences might not result from such an ending, there being nearly 300 savages on the island, I hastily despatched a native boy named "Ginger" to a house a short distance away, telling him to bring back three or four Winchester rifles duly loaded. He returned in a few minutes with them. We armed ourselves and forced the Wagga-Wagga natives to retire, and leave the island in their canoes, thus averting unnecessary bloodshed. Had we not acted promptly, goodness knows where the fight would have ended. There was great excitement in the place for several hours afterwards, the wives and sweethearts of the men taking a lively interest in the events of the day. War was averted.

It seems, according to the Wagga-Wagga version, that one of the Tube-Tube men had stolen something from a Wagga-Wagga man. This the Tube-Tube natives denied, but it was evident that the two tribes were natural enemies, and that the quarrel was only got up through their hatred of one another.

The weapons used in this part are the spear, stone hatchet, club, shield, and a small spear something like a dart. To the westward they have the spear, club, tomahawk, and bow and arrows.

They are wonderfully expert with the latter, being dead shots at a distance of 80 yards, the bow and arrow being much more dangerous to my mind than the spear. The bows are very large, strong, and beautifully made. They have also a horrible, murderous-looking weapon, called a man-catcher, which is used by them in their nefarious head-hunting expeditions. It is a large loop of rattan with a long handle of bamboo; at the bottom or foot of the loop a sharp spike about four inches in length is inserted. The loop is thrown over the head of the retreating victim, the sudden jerk causing the spike to enter the base of the skull, producing instant death; the head is then severed from the body and kept as an article of barter. You will often come across a number of skulls stuck in a ghastly row outside the houses. This, of course, is direct evidence of the wealth of the proprietor, as with them he can purchase anything he desires.

Having taken in a fresh supply of wood and water, the prospecting party left in the _Juanita_ for Johannet Island, which they reached on June 10th.

Whyte was asked by the "diggers" to point out the golden reef that he had discovered. He showed them a "buck reef" (by which is meant a quartz reef not bearing gold), which never had carried gold and never would. In fact there was no trace of gold on the whole island. The outraged feelings of the diggers may be imagined; they were simply furious.

Fortunately, however, there was a larger island seven miles distant, viz., Sud-Est.

They went there, and on the second day after landing discovered traces of gold. Their spirits rose at once. They diligently followed them up, and in a little over two months obtained 150 ounces, of the value of 550. Mr. Douglas had stipulated that at the end of three months the boat was to be returned to the British New Guinea Government, which was accordingly done. I saw the members of the party in China Straits upon their return from Sud-Est. They reported that they had worked the field out and that it was very patchy. This report speedily reached Cooktown, setting it on fire, everyone believing that there were millions of ounces of the precious metal awaiting their grasp. A party of 26 diggers left Cooktown on August 14th, in the schooner _Griffin_, other sailing vessels following at short intervals.

This discovery caused the Home Government to create British New Guinea a "British Possession," which was declared at Port Moresby on September 6th, 1888, and an Administrator, now Sir William Macgregor, was appointed.

A high customs tariff was at once imposed on all imports, which revenue came as a relief to the impoverished state of the New Guinea funds.

Six or seven weeks after the above events, the cutter "_S----l_," 12 tons register, owned by a friend of mine, arrived from Cooktown. As my friend purposed going on to the Sud-Est Goldfield, I decided to go with him in his cutter.

They had a large cargo on board of dutiable goods, such as tobacco, general stores, etc.

Up to this time (September 30th, 1888) no word of the declaration had reached us from Port Moresby, nor any schedule of the tariff, which we took for granted would be imposed. The Government schooner _Hygeia_, with the Administrator on board, was hourly expected from the above-named port.

As most of the goods on board the "_S----l_" were under bond, we were anxious to reach Sud-Est before the arrival of the Government and get rid of a quant.i.ty before duties could be levied.

Having got everything ship-shape and still no sign of the _Hygeia_, Captain S----g went to the Government Agent at Samarai, Mr. Edelfelt, an ignorant foreigner, and asked him for his clearance for Sud-Est. The agent very impolitely refused to grant it, stating that, as the _Hygeia_ was expected every moment, it would be necessary for us to pay duty on everything before we could obtain a clearance.

What an absurdity! Fancy paying duty before knowing what the duties were, or having had any official intimation of them! We distinctly refused to grant this request, and demanded our clearance, as our sails were all unfurled and everything ready for a start. We then went on board our cutter, telling the agent we would give him an hour to reconsider his decision.

In about an hour and a half we received a letter from him, in which he defied us to leave without a clearance, and stating that if we did so we should have to take the consequences. Seeing that nothing was to be gained by arguing with such a man,[1] orders were at once given to let go; the sails were hoisted and away we went without the coveted clearance, as we had lost quite enough time as it was. We touched at Sariba to take in water and left the same evening for Sud-Est. No sooner had we got abreast of the Island of Doini (Blanchard), six miles distant, than the _Hygeia_, from Port Moresby, hove in sight, bound for Samarai.

[1] Mr. Edelfelt has since deemed it advisable to resign his appointment.

She only stayed two hours in port, when she hurriedly left for Sud-Est.

As she was a smart sailer, and of 60 to 70 tons burthen, she pa.s.sed us during the following night, reaching Sud-Est two days in advance of us.

The Administrator had, of course, been duly informed by the agent, Mr.

Edelfelt, of our reprehensible conduct in leaving without his august sanction.

The trip to Sud-Est was most enjoyable, the weather being everything that could be desired. We kept inside the Long Reef, pa.s.sing Teste Island on our right. We were never more than half a day out of sight of land.

We had to pa.s.s through a perfect network of reefs and islands--islands of tropical beauty, covered with succulent gra.s.ses, and smiling groves of palms bending beneath the weight of their luscious fruit.

Every now and then a large canoe, filled with dusky forms, would shoot out from an adjacent island and pay us a flying visit.

We had a tow line astern with a hook covered with a piece of red and white calico, and every day we hauled up a couple of splendid fish, sometimes a king fish, at other times a sea salmon. We ate what we could and dried the remainder, cutting them into strips and hanging them in the rigging.

After pa.s.sing Brooker Island, we entered the Sud-Est Barrier, and the next night anch.o.r.ed off Gra.s.sy Island, as just here the reefs are very numerous, making it unsafe to travel at night.

At daylight in the morning we were off again, and in the afternoon, when only three miles from the anchorage of Sud-Est, we grounded on a coral patch. We tried to get her off, but she would not budge; however, the tide was making, so we had nothing to fear. Whilst in this position, a boat from H.M.S. _Swinger_, containing the chief lieutenant and half-a-dozen Jack tars, boarded us. The lieutenant, who was most courteous, informed us that Sir Wm. Macgregor was very wroth at our behaviour and had a good mind to seize our vessel. We received this news with wonderful calmness and fort.i.tude, as for the life of us we could see no reason for seizure. By the kind help of the lieutenant and his men, we were enabled to get clear of the reef, and proceeded to our anchorage, which we reached just before dark. At the request of the Administrator, on the following morning Captain S----g went on board the _Hygeia_. The governor, who was in anything but a good humour, asked him why his vessel should not be seized? Captain S----g explained all the circ.u.mstances of the case, not forgetting to dwell on the stupidity of the Government Agent at Samarai.

The governor then said:

"Well, you will have to pay duty on all your goods before landing a package," to which my friend answered:

"I have no intention of doing anything of the kind, nor have I the necessary funds for the purpose. I am quite prepared to pay duty on such goods as I may require for immediate sale, and the balance of them you can put in the Government Bond until such time as I may require to clear them."

The governor had evidently imagined that he had an ignorant fool to deal with, and was consequently disagreeably surprised. He foolishly lost his temper, telling S----g "that he ought to know perfectly well that the Government had not any bonded stores on Sud-Est yet." But, in the name of common-sense, how does that give the Government a right to exact from people the duty on the whole of their goods? However, the result was, the governor had to give in. My friend only paid about 8 in duties, the balance of the bonded goods having to be sealed down under hatches. _So_ we won the day.

The next morning I went ash.o.r.e. The landing, which is at Griffin Point, is very bad. You have to wade through mangrove mud, the stench of which is enough to breed fever, and then climb a very steep ascent to the first camp.

Here there are numbers of canvas tents pitched on a gra.s.sy flat, and it is no easy task carrying heavy packages and tools up to it. About 400 men were on the ground. Some were doing well, others making good wages, whilst many were not making "tucker." Others again were lying in the tents sick with fever.

The field only lasted twelve months, during which time dozens of diggers died from malaria, and, although several thousands of ounces of gold were obtained from the islands, it cost a lot of money to get them. It was all alluvial digging from six inches to two feet wash, no reef carrying gold having been found.

Sud-Est is a large island 40 miles in length and eight miles broad. The coast runs east and west, and is surrounded by a fringe of mangroves, with a coral reef extending some distance from its sh.o.r.es. It has high land, the princ.i.p.al mountain, Mount Rattlesnake, which is on the south-east coast, having an alt.i.tude of over 3,000 feet. There are hundreds of deep gullies running north and south, with bold hills, covered with good gra.s.s, separating them. These hills would make excellent pasturage for cattle, and after a time for sheep also, the gra.s.s at present being a little too rank. The deep gullies on all sides would act as natural fences. There is also an inexhaustible supply of good water. There are hundreds of native foot-paths leading along these hills and across the gullies throughout the length and breadth of the island. The gullies are very steep and densely wooded. The rivers and creeks, whose name is legion, run north and south, with gullies, for the most part dry, meeting them at right angles.

The greater part of the gold was found on the western side of the island. Strange to say, there was no indication of any leaders or reefs bearing gold, although, occasionally, nuggets weighing four ounces were obtained. At the same time there are many barren quartz reefs here and there. In my opinion, Sud-Est is one of the healthiest spots in New Guinea. The great sickness amongst the diggers was caused by turning up the virgin soil in the workings and so releasing the malarial germs.

When the unwholesome food and change in the climate is further considered, one cannot wonder at the result. Such is nearly always the case in new gold-fields.

All the native houses on Sud-Est are built on the summit of the highest hills or mountains. I should estimate the total population to be from 3,000 to 4,000.

The natives I saw are smaller than those living on the mainland, in fact, as far as I could judge, they seemed to be half-starved. The coco-nut trees are very few and far between, and yams anything but plentiful. I believe the real reason for this barrenness is to be traced to the fear of their enemies. This is undoubtedly the reason why they build their houses in such inaccessible places, invisible until you are close to them. The natives of Brooker Island constantly make expeditions to Sud-Est in their large war canoes for the express purpose of obtaining heads, and as they are more powerful than their opponents, seldom leave without a number of these ghastly trophies. No wonder the natives of Sud-Est live in mortal dread of them.

Whilst I was on the island, a deputation of miners waited on the warden (Mr. Cameron), requesting him to interview the governor with respect to taking a party of diggers in the _Hygeia_ for prospecting Rossel and other large islands, as the number of men on Sud-Est was too great for the amount of gold procurable.

Mr. Cameron spoke to the governor, who consented to act on the suggestion on the understanding that the number must not exceed 15, and that those brought their own "tucker." A committee was formed of seven, of which I was one, and the ballot for the 15 took place in one of the tents. The names of those elected were posted up outside.

The party left the next morning, arriving at Rossel Island the following day. Rossel is the last and easternmost island in the Louisiades. It is not so large as Sud-Est, being only about 25 miles long. The eastern end is thickly inhabited. The natives here have a very bad character, and up to the present time white men have been unable to trade with them. It is said that many years ago a large vessel,[2] with 350 Chinamen on board, got driven out of her course through stress of weather and ran ash.o.r.e on the island. The natives, who were very numerous, surrounded her, and succeeded in capturing all the Chinamen. They made prisoners of them, fattened them up, and killed and ate them whenever their stocks ran short.

[2] 1858. The _St. Paul_, bound from Hongkong to Sydney with 327 Chinamen on board, of whom only _one_ escaped.