NEW GUINEA.*
CAPTAIN' MORESBY'S narrative of discovery and survey on the coasts of New Guinea makes a valuable contribution to our geographical knowledge. It is written in a very pleasant style, which well sustains the reader's interest to the end, and incident- ally, too, it conveys much information regarding the disposition, manners, and ethnological relations of the natives of that great island. But the main object which Captain Moresby had in view in the explorations conducted by him was to determine the form of New Guinea, to mark out the unknown part of its coasts, and to decide thether a shorter route than that previously followed • New Guinea and Polynesia. By Captain J. Moresby,R.N. London :d. Murray. existed for the trade between Eastern Australia and the Chinese ports. In the publication of this work, likewise, his intention was to make the public acquainted with the results he had arrived' at on these points. It is only incidentally, therefore, as we have- said, that he treats of the character and customs of the inhabitants of the coasts, for with these alone did he come into contact. More- over, the time at his disposal was so short that it left him little leisure to study the people. We cannot, therefore, too much commend his prudence and caution in abstaining altogether front. theoryrespecting the population, and rigorously confining him- self to a narrative of actual occurrences. We thus get an un- coloured statement of facts which may be confidently accepted as trustworthy, and which gives, to those who know how to use it, far more real information than a more elaborate account that might be biassed by preconceived theory. The curiosity felt in regard to New Guinea, and the interest of the information imparted,. make us wish for more, and we are tempted to complain that the latter part of the book is too much compressed, while upon the early portions judicious excision might have been practised with- out disadvantage. Still the information supplied is very con- siderable and exceedingly interesting.
Captain Moresby was employed upon the Australian station, when, at the beginning of 1871, he was sent to Torres Straits, to convey supplies to Somerset, a settlement upon the extreme northern point of Cape York, itself the most northern Australian land ; and. also to visit the pearl-shelling stations in the Straits, to inquire into the allegations of ill-usage of the Polynesian islanders em- ployed. Captain Moresby received strict orders not to approach New Guinea, and his stay in the Straits was rigidly limited in re- spect to time. After this his ship, the 'Basilisk,' was despatched upon a three-months' cruise among the South-Sea Islands, and on her return. she was again sent to Torres Straits. In two subsequent visits to the waters that divide New Guinea from, Australia, Captain Moresby made the discoveries which constitute the real value of his book. Nearly one-third of the work is, devoted to the earlier cruises, and although the narrative is ex- ceedingly interesting, we still feel tempted to regret that the author did not compress into a briefer space the story of his visits to the better-known islands, in order to expand the narrative of his discoveries in New Guinea. Previous to his survey, the south- east corner of New Guinea was totally unknown. It was supposed to run out almost to the Louisiade Reefs, a very long and ex- tremely dangerous line of sunken rocks, which are really some hundreds of miles distant ; and the north-east coast for nearly four hundred miles was equally unexplored. Two headlands on this long line had been seen from a distance, that was all. Even in Torres Straits, which is rapidly becoming a much-frequented ocean highway, and which, as the trade of Sydney, Brisbane, and the other ports of Eastern Australia expands, will probably rival the Straits of Malacca as a commercial route, the northern half was very imperfectly explored. The first task of the commander of the 'Basilisk,' then, was to survey Torres Straits. When this had been done, he proceeded to determine the configuration of south-eastern New Guinea. Beginning at Teeta Island, in the neighbourhood of the Louisiade Reefs, he found a passage through that dangerous barrier, and discovered that what had previously been supposed to be the extreme point of the main- land was in reality an island. This he named Moresby Island, after his father, and coasting round it, he found what he hoped would prove to be a shorter route between Sydney and China. He was disappointed, however, and continuing his search, he dis- covered a second island, which he named after his ship, Basilisk Island. The water between the two he called Fortescue Straits. Finally, he discoved a third island, in a straight line with the other two. This he named Hayter Island, after the officer second in command. Thus he arrived at the fact that what had been re- garded as a long narrow promontory of New Guinea, was a series of three islands, and consequently that New Guinea does not approach within very many miles of the Louisiade Reefs. Between Hayter Island and New Guinea, he ascertained that a passage for ships exists, which will shorten considerably the voyage from Australia to China, and which consequently he called China Straits. Beyond China Straits to the northwards, there is a very deep and broad indentation of the New Guinea coast, which was named Milne Bay. And beyond Milne Bay, the coast again projects very far to the eastward. The point of this pro- montory Captain Moresby called East Cape. The eastern coast, then, is two-pronged, the southern prong being formed by the series of three islands mentioned above, the northern by East Cape, which extends almost as far to the east- ward, and is exceedingly narrow. Beyond East Cape the coast
recedes rapidly to the westward. There a broad, bold promon- tory is met with, and beyond that the coast again recedes. The eastern portion of New Guinea, that is, the previously unknown district, is narrow, and it rises in the centre into a lofty mountain range, visible at sea both from north and south.
The population of the sea-coast—for the shortness of the time at the disposal of Captain Moresby did not permit him to pene- trate the interior—consists of two distinct races,—the Malay and the Black Papuan. Both were found invariably friendly. Perhaps their kindly disposition was in no small degree due to the fact that they had never before seen white men. They had not suf- fered from the atrocities of kidnappers, nor from the encroach- ment of settlers. They were, therefore, prepared to be friendly, and it speaks well for the humanity of Captain Moresby, and the discipline of his crew, that during his explorations no misunder- standing occurred between them and the natives. The state of civilisation varies considerably, but in no place does there seem to exist the savagery of the Australian aborigines. Of one village we read that "its inhabitants, numbering perhaps 800 of all ages, were well-fed, contented-looking people. The women seemed to busy themselves much in pottery, and moulded ,clay into large jars, which they baked slowly amongst the embers of wood fires. They use these jars much in their cookery, and I have partaken of a vegetable porridge cooked in them, consisting of mangrove fruit, taro, and yams, with cocoa- nut finely shred over all, and found it excellent. They are skilful in netting bags and fishing-nets, which they do so precisely in our mode, that our men often took up their shuttles and went on with the net." With regard to weapons of war, we are told the "the light-coloured Malay race of Eastern New Guinea are without bows and arrows. As far as Redscar Bay we saw toy bows amongst the children, but beyond that point the bow ceases altogether, till it reappears on the northern shores, west of Astrolabe Gulf. The houses visited by us all con- tained spears and stone weapons, some of the latter very well shaped and finished." Captain Moresby nowhere discovered any traces of cannibalism, though he did of devil-worship. In his trading with the natives, the substitute for money which he principally made use of was hoop-iron. There was an unlimited demand for the article in the greater number of the villages. But on some parts of the coast the use of iron was unknown, and gaily-coloured cloth took its place. The honesty of the natives was very re- markable. In one ease, for example, a pig was brought on board and exchanged, but the animal escaped. Shortly after- wards, its owner returned with another. In many ways there is a striking difference between the northern and the southern coasts of the great island. On the northern there is no outlying, barren reef, and the shore is quite steep. The mountains gene- rally run down to the sea, and all at once there is deep water. Furthermore, there are very few harbours. "Beyond Cape Dude and Chads Bay the forest ceases, and is succeeded by an openly-wooded plateau, full of villages, which is backed, two miles inland, by a range of sharp, grassy hills, bare of wood, each defined by a belt of dark brushwood at its base, and coming crowding down, hill upon hill, with such a curious effect as to remind us strongly of the plate in Black's Atlas of all the mountains in the world. Above the height of 2,000 feet, the forest, singularly enough, springs up again." The natives of the northern coast, moreover, were less friendly than those of the southern, and appear to be in a much lower stage of civilisation. In one village, for example, the people are described as dark and dirty-looking, and wholly destitute of clothing. On this shore, too, occurred the only attempt on the part of the natives to take life. A party having been sent from the ' Basilisk ' to cut wood, three officers wandered away, were pursued by a band of warriors, and would have been cut off, but for timely aid from the ship. Even in this case, however, no life was taken.
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