Two Years Among the Savages of New Guinea.

zen diggers had arrived on the island from St. Aignan and Sud-Est. Many of them were suffering from that dreadful scourge, malarial

omy in the extreme. The air was stifling, the heat unbearable, and a sickly miasma was rising from th

st in life has departed. When at its height, should any one take hold of you and throw you into the sea, you would not have the energy or the wish to utter a protest. I have seen ladies

for if once you give in it will not be long before you are removed to a better and healthier sph

gnan, an island 100 miles to windwar

im afloat until the cutter came up with them. Strange to say, a few weeks later he left Samarai in the same cutter on his way back to St. Aignan, and, being a bit of a sailor, had charge of the tiller. A mountainous sea was running, and the night was dark, when suddenly a sea wa

Ancell. He pulled down several of their houses, smashed up their canoes, destroyed their plantations, and took possession of their fishing-nets. Two months were occupied in capturing the natives, the last and principal malefactor being brought into Samarai on the 1

a and Lucy and Adelaide, besides other crafts of all shapes and sizes. The human race was

h sunshine, not a cloud in the sky, and a

to and fro, fraught with important business. Natives clad in bright new pocket-handkerchiefs were strolling down the stately avenue of c

arines" was landed from the Albatross and Hygeia

leven in number, were marched, with a strong guard of marines on either flank, to the court, which was held in the G

idently determined to be present at this

traders, fishermen, sailors, diggers and storekeepers, all

. On one side the Royal marines were drawn up, and opposite to them were the captains and officers of the Al

and the "Crown Prosecutor" (Mr.

hich was duly interpreted to the ac

ging to "Sariba," a

f Queensland, for Chad's Bay, for general trading purposes. The first witness called was the boy Charlie, a native of Pig Island, who was one of the boys on the ketch. He spoke English fairly

arlie was taken prisoner and confined

after some hardships reached Samarai. The other boy,

aged to escape death is a mystery to me. The blacks of Queensland are noted for the thickness of their skulls, but this boy beat them all. They left him for dead. He then crawled away and managed som

m, and, practically speak

he was thoroughly to be relied upon, and suggested that a double interpretation by Kumatti, a native of Milne Bay, and about

sh and Kumatti acted in that capacity. Other witnesses were then called, one of them from the village of Hayomah giving

rs, who were the ring-leaders, to death, five to one year,

prise. The Judge then informed the six prisoners that he had given them light sentences owing to this being

of them at Samarai and the remaining two at the village where the tragedy took place. Thus ended this memorable trial and thus was the white man avenged. Ha

that the two on board, S--g and W--, had been murdered. I made enquiries of numerous natives in the district, and all told the same tale, so that we feared it was but too true. We petitioned the

and ammunition and set sail in the Alice Meade for the scene of the reported outrage. Dawson Straits separates the islands of Ferguson and Normanby, and is distant from Samarai about 80 miles. Near

the report was untrue,

right, and those on board were much

ll for shipment to Queensland. The labour was done by natives, and, like many

his nature, we paid them, as a rule, at the rate of three sticks of tobacco per day each man. They invariably attempt to impose on you. At the end of the day's labour many present themselves for payment who have not done a stroke of work. Unless you take some precaution, it is difficult to avoid imposition, as

us rapidity. If busily employed, it is

ing for the island. Glasses were at once brought to bear on her, for the arrival of any and every boat has a pe

d at this time was acting as Government Agent on the labour schooner Myrtle. The boat they had come in was only 15 feet long, open, and with a square stern, in which they had travelled a distance of sixty miles, having had to row the whole

ice to his favourite god "Bacchus," Mr. Thompson gave us the

and) for the Solomon Islands on the 1st March. She had on board a Government Agent (Mr. Thompson), a mate

splendidly fitted up. Her commander had had a great many years' experie

e months in those regions, but it does not necessari

ruits we were likely to obtain, and the profits we would make by the voyage, but "L'homme propose et l

rm. We held on our course as far as practicable, never d

next day the wind veered again and the barometer had fallen considerably. Orders were at once given to shorte

violent spell. The hatches were battened down; everything loose about the deck was made secu

ight be running into the jaws of a hurricane, altered

ays avert the doom, in fa

the topmasts, which would have considerably reduced her to

urricane it has ever been my lot to encounter. This was not my first

reat. The boats hanging in the davits were smashed to pieces, one of them being blown away bit by bit until not a vestige of it was left. The scene was inde

n the legs of the old mate, and bang through the bulwarks, leaving him, wonderful to relate, unhurt. With the greatest difficulty the lashings of the masts were cut adrift and overboard they went. The boatswain, in cutting some of the rigging adrift, received a severe blow from one of the boats as it was clean lifted off the deck

secreted themselves down below, terrified out of their lives, and praying on their knees to their patron saints. They had completely given themselves up as lost, and for the matter of that, at one time, so h

Tornaros was heartrending to witness. H

had he not met with this disaster, would

at sea and had survived many storms, but in all

sabled state it was impossible to proceed on the voyage. We rigged up ju

as to

either to make for the Queensland c

the two routes, the New Guinea one, in his opinion, being the safer of the two. The danger of the

not much to choos

those on board were in favour of making

our long and perilous voyage. Our stumps of masts were p

on board, therefore he would have to remain

stern on her and canvassed her all over in order to make her water-tight. She was reduced to a length

previously been there, and should we by good fortune ever reach that country, and be within

signs of land. I was often disappointed; but one day, from my lofty post, I saw what I t

ath were soon to be decided. Should we fail to steer safely through an opening in the reef, our doom was sealed. Should we strike on those rocks

held their breath. We firmly beli

e on deck dressed in his Sunday best, ready to

and in a few minutes more would be dashed to pieces amidst the cruel rocks. All hope left our breasts, there was nothing more to be done. We steeled our hearts and pr

f points to windward. We then managed to clear the dreaded reef, the surf washing the sides of the vessel, and

spirits rose proportionately. We now had hopes of rea

s, we succeeded in reaching an anchor

ic account given u

ch vessel, it will be remembered, had been retu

luable aid of Mr. Thompson, it was fixed up as well as possible with the poor material at our disposal. At Mr. Thompson's

e voyage. Everything depended on the weather; but with a fair wind it was thought we should reach Dawson Island in one day. On the other hand, we might be several

and between it and the latter there are dozens of shoals an

dark, the gusts frequent, and as we were shipping a quantity of water on board, we had to take a couple of reefs in the mainsail. To add to our discomfort the rain came down in drifts, making us shiver again. We made

sound, and as we did not wish to hear it more distinctly, we kept to leeward for a time, until the sound had died away into a faint murmur. It was not surf beating upon a rock-bound shore, but an extra-strong "tide-rip" boiling with a force sufficient to turn us round like a

uation over a bottle of old French claret and with the aid of some choice Turkish cigarettes. He recounted to me the experiences of the hurricane. The hull of the vessel was not damaged, but above the deck nothing was left. An immense hole gaped through the bulwarks, and altogether she had a woe-begone appearance. The captain was anxious to know if it was possible, in her present condition, to navigate her safely through the reefs and bring her to China

ere are a few native houses which have been deserted for several years. The islands are picturesque, and on one

e two furthest north, and it was thr

have been better. The captain at once gave orders to weigh anchor, the sails were h

into the Juanita, with strict orders to

ne of the islands, having traversed a distance of ten miles. The next day, the wind still remaining in the same quarter, we passed the Engineer Group and managed to

ed in disposing of a large quantity. He then went to Queensland and informed the underwriters of the loss. They called for tenders for the purchase of the Myrtle as she lay at anc

loser by the disaster, and ev

en lost, suddenly made her appearance in port. I immediately boarded

me that they had been

ng made by K--, a trader, to form

t. The creek is a tidal one, and of no great depth. The banks are lined with mangroves, whose roots extend far into the water. On the branches are numerous oysters, known by the name of mangrove oysters. They are capital eating, and almost equal to the famous Rock oys

t of, and you enter a thick forest, lightly timbered and easily penetrated. This forest valley is well watered by numerous small creeks, and is flanked by lofty hills, covered w

e mountainous, and continues so until you get to the other side of the c

e; moreover, there was an excellent supply of running water, which we could, without much difficulty, bring to bear on it; and, what was still more important, the site was in close proximity to the creek, by w

iven. Our first object wa

of a number of natives from various parts o

, supplying them with the necessary tool

s built by the natives of the village, to be us

, and those who wished to do so could re

ursery. For this purpose the slope of a hill, about an acre in extent, was cleared, nothing but a few of the larger stumps being

lants for future transplantation. We next had ten

quantities of coffee seed had been sown. The results of the experiment cannot, at present, be estimated, as three years must

ng the natives of New Guinea, and is looked up to by them,

the past six months, and therefore am not in a positio