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There was only one crime to report. A poor woman had been guilty of what they called 'telling tales' – namely, saying that the laws of Murray Island were good, but that at Darnley Island they were 'very bad.' For this the old chief, King Jack, promptly fined her 200 cocoa-nuts, which, by the way, we bought for 10s., knowing what a welcome addition they will prove to our own and the crew's diet, for fresh vegetables are difficult to procure. Mr. Milman has taken the precaution of planting these islands with cocoa-nuts, and he allows the people to keep a certain number, so that there is a definite and just way of punishing them if they offend against the law, by fining them so many cocoa-nuts. The money paid for the cocoa-nuts goes into the national exchequer; and although the amount realised is not large, as may be imagined, it contributes to the cost of repairs or improvements.
During the afternoon 'Sir Roger' performed some of his tricks for the amusement of the assembled natives. Their delight was intense and unbounded. Though he may have had a more crowded, he never had a more enthusiastic, audience. The performance was repeated several times, but the natives never seemed to weary of it. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip to the island to-day, and found it delicious to lie lazily under the shade of the cocoa-nut trees and listen to just as much or as little as I liked of what was going on round me. The rustle of the wind through the long leaves of the cocoa-nut trees is far more calm and peaceful than even the murmur of the 'immemorial elms;' and the glimpses of the sea, dotted by small islands and coral reefs, on which the waves broke in beautiful creamy foam, were most lovely. About four o'clock we went down again to the village, passing through tracts of cultivated ground bearing crops of sweet potatoes. On our way we paused to admire the church bell – an ancient dinner-bell, which hung by a piece of string from the longest and scraggiest arm of a very old and leafless tree. All the rest of the party were assembled on the beach, and a brisk trade was being done in corals, shells, and cocoa-nuts, paid for in tobacco, which the islanders much prefer to money. The teacher's wife was made happy by the gift of a reel of white cotton and a packet of needles, which will enable her to carry out her dressmaking operations and repairs with much greater ease. Her eyes quite glistened as she took them. Mr. Savage told me that the two Regina birds-of-paradise tails which I bought to-day were obtained from a native of New Guinea who lives on the island of Peram, at the mouth of the Fly River. From this man's account, the birds must abound there; but I cannot help regretting that the poor creatures should be sacrificed merely to line the cloaks of rich ladies.
While we were up on the hill the crew had been engaged in procuring water to replenish our fast-failing stock. They had had great labour in bringing off the water, for the well is half a mile from the beach, and the sea was very rough. We only got a ton after all, when we should have liked a dozen or fourteen tons! Soon after our return on board a number of boats followed us, laden with baskets of sweet potatoes, yams, pumpkins, cocoa-nuts, shells, coral, &c. So great was the supply that the deck of the ship soon became covered with native produce, the owners of which, like all true savages, considered it a matter of etiquette and dignity not to express the least surprise or astonishment at anything they saw, although somewhat taken aback by the pictures and large looking-glasses. They were very pleasant and obedient, doing exactly what they were told without touching anything.
Though feeling much the better for my outing, I became tired, and was glad to lie down and rest in the deck-house. The little mission schooner, the 'Mary,' with a dove and olive-branch on her flag as a message of peace, was tossing and rolling about in the most unpleasant manner, exposing her keel at almost every wave, first to windward and then to leeward. Her captain and crew, a fine, determined-looking set of Kanaka men, did not seem to mind the sea at all. I pity poor Mr. and Mrs. Hunt, who will have to make their voyage to Murray Island to-morrow in the teeth of this heavy wind. Mrs. Hunt remained on shore, but Mr. Hunt and Mr. Savage came on board to dinner; and from Mr. Savage I heard a good deal of his work among the natives. The station here is comparatively small, but at Murray Island a training-school for native teachers has been established, that island being somewhat larger than this, surrounded by live coral reefs, and containing about 400 inhabitants. Their principal field of mission operations among the natives appears to be in the Fly River in New Guinea, which is a most unhealthy spot. Their work is now beginning to be attended with a large measure of success. At first no attempt was made to teach the Papuans English. The missionaries were the only people who could communicate with the natives. The ignorance of English proved a great drawback to all trade, and it has certainly retarded for years to come the opening up of the country. Not only is the climate bad, but the natives of New Guinea are treacherous, and not to be depended on for a moment.
Mr. Savage has been out here for two years, thirteen months of which time he has lived entirely by himself. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt are now going to inhabit Murray Island, with only one European carpenter as their companion, while Mr. Savage will be stationed principally at the Fly River. The mission receives all its supplies from England viâ Thursday Island, from which place they are fetched in the little schooner, built by the carpenter Bruce, who was formerly a yacht-builder. The life of these good people appears to be one of much self-abnegation. I hope with all my heart that the mission may succeed, and that the devoted missionaries will be rewarded for their self-denying exertions.
Saturday, August 27th.– A grey morning, with the wind blowing stronger than ever. Navigation in these seas is by no means easy. During the night we had dragged our anchor a little, enough to get unpleasantly near the shore; and just as we weighed, the sails did not fill so quickly as they ought to have done, which caused the yacht to pay off with her head towards the shore instead of off shore. There was barely a ship's length between us and the reef. It was with great difficulty, and only by promptly dropping the anchor, that we prevented ourselves from running straight on to shore. On first starting we thought we should only get to Bet Island, one of the three sisters. These islets swarm with turtle, which lay their eggs on the sandy shores all the year round. We were looking forward to turtle soup, turtle eggs, and all sorts of delicacies, to make a pleasant change in the monotony of our daily fare. The wind, however, blew so fresh that, though close-reefed, we sailed from ten to twelve knots an hour, which of course caused a considerable amount of motion.
At a little before noon to-day we were off Cocoa-nut Island. Later we passed in succession the Bet, Sue, and Poll Islands, and the Ninepin Rock, a curious-shaped little islet, though anything less like a ninepin I cannot imagine. In the afternoon, by dint of hard driving, we were able to reach a good anchorage in Flinders Channel, between Horn and Wednesday Island. As an instance of the rapidity of our sailing speed, I may mention that seven measured miles between the two islands was done in rather less than half an hour; which, considering we were close-hauled, was not bad work. We had a fairly quiet night, though it was blowing a gale, and of course the ship tumbled and rocked about a good deal.
Sunday, August 28th.– As the tide was running very strong, it was decided not to start until eleven o'clock. We therefore had prayers before starting, and sailed slowly across to our old anchorage, which we reached about midday.
In the afternoon I was carried ashore to see Mrs. Milman, who appears to be a great invalid. She has two nice little girls, who look after the house and save their mother a great deal of trouble. There was another little girl there, a daughter of Canon Taylor, who had come up from Cooktown on a visit.
The Residency is a pleasant house, open to every breath of wind that blows; of which, according to our experience of these parts, there is plenty. The inhabitants tell us that this is the normal condition of the weather here during nine months of the twelve. No doubt these breezes are health-giving, but the perpetual blowing of the wind must be fatiguing. It roars and whistles and shakes the house like an incessant hurricane. The three months during which there is no wind is at the period of the north-east monsoon, and then the rain descends in torrents. Life during this time of the year at Thursday Island is described as being dreary indeed.
We returned on board at half-past five, and everybody but myself landed again later, and went to church at half-past seven at the Court House. Mr. Milman read prayers and a sermon, and Tom read the lessons.
Monday, August 29th.– A very windy morning. Some pearl-merchants came on board, bringing fine specimens of pearls, which seem quite as costly here as in London. I bought some shells, more as specimens of queer freaks of nature than for any intrinsic beauty or value they possessed. In the afternoon we landed again on Thursday Island, and Tom and I explored the little town, round which I was carried in a comfortable chair. The place is larger than I expected, and the stores seemed well furnished with dry goods of all kinds, besides tinned meats, vegetables, and fruit; but there are no fresh provisions. A few goslings, very like our wild geese, but not so big as a good-sized duck, were running about, for which the owners asked 30s. apiece! There were also some chickens to be bought for 10s. each. Some of the houses are really not unsightly when seen from a distance, but when you approach them the adjacent ground is found to be strewn with straw, paper, old tins, broken bottles, and rubbish of every description. I should like to have all the rubbish taken out to sea and sunk, and then I would plant more trees and shrubs. At present some miserable-looking cocoa-nuts, and a few hibiscus-bushes, with their bright red blossoms, comprise everything in the way of vegetation. On our way from the town to the Residency we passed Mr. Symes's house. His mother very kindly came out to welcome us, and asked us to go into their comfortable bungalow and have some tea, which we were most thankful for. I was so tired. Mrs. Symes had a married daughter and two nice little grandchildren living with her, and we had a pleasant chat. She gave me what she says is an infallible cure for bronchitis, and I only hope it may prove so. I spoke to Mrs. Symes and her daughter, to whom I had previously sent papers, about the Ambulance; and they appeared to be quite keen about it, and promised to do all in their power to aid any classes that might be established here. Continuing our walk we went to the excellent lawn-tennis ground just below Mr. Milman's house. We could only make a short stay, for the sun had set and it was rapidly getting dark. The sea was rough going off, and I felt rather exhausted by the time I arrived on board. Mr. Hall and Dr. Salter came to dinner, and with the latter I had a long talk about the Ambulance. Dr. Salter is quite willing to give the lectures, but there would be great difficulty in bringing people together for the classes, for the tides are strong and shifty, and so uncertain that one can never know till the morning what they are going to be. The Doctor says the only chance of inducing people to come will be to find out approximately the most convenient day and hour and then hoist the signal on the flagstaff, so that the inhabitants of the neighbouring islands may see it and attend if they choose. Several of the masters and managers of the pearl-shelling stations have promised to come themselves, and then to try and pass on the knowledge they may acquire to their Malay, Manilla, and other 'boys' who go out pearl-fishing and after bêche-de-mer. The instructions will be useful to these people, for accidents often happen, principally from their own carelessness. The divers are sometimes hoisted up to the surface asphyxiated from want of air, and requiring almost precisely similar treatment to the apparently drowned. Only last week they had a man on board one of the schooners very nearly dead, but still able to speak and move. Instead of attempting to relieve him they brought him here, a distance of fifteen miles; and by the time he arrived, of course the little spark of life he had possessed was quite extinguished. If only a knowledge such as that conveyed by the instructions given by the St. John Ambulance Association can be spread here, particularly among the people employed at the pearl-fishing stations, it will be most valuable. There are a great many men engaged in the pearl trade in the Torres Straits, New Guinea, and the numerous islands in the vicinity. It is, of course, impossible to establish a centre here; but I hope before I leave to set a class on foot, with Mr. Hall for the secretary, as he is most enthusiastic on the subject. Tom and I will, as usual in such cases, become life members, so as to give the movement a start.
APPENDIX
PART I
VOYAGE FROM DARNLEY ISLAND TO PORT DARWIN, MAURITIUS, CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, AND ENGLAND
(By Lord Brassey.)
The pen having fallen from her hand, the task which a brave yet gentle spirit was struggling so hard to complete must be accomplished by one who does not possess her gifts. For obvious reasons, the description of the remainder of the voyage will be compressed within the closest limits.
The 'Sunbeam' sailed from Thursday Island on September 1st. For three days the winds were favourable, from the eastward. The next two days being calm, the voyage was pursued under steam.
On September 5th, in the evening, the 'Sunbeam' was navigated, not without difficulty, through the intricate channels of Clarence Strait. On the 6th, at an early hour the anchor was dropped off the settlement of Palmerston. Our arrival at Port Darwin took place under such circumstances as render it impossible to offer any description from personal observation.
Palmerston, the name given to the settlement at Port Darwin, is beautifully situated on wooded headlands, jutting out into the harbour, in whose ample waters it is no figure of speech to say the navies of Europe could be anchored. The buildings have been erected with considerable taste. A fine esplanade has been laid out along the sea front. The electric wire connects Palmerston with all the great colonies of Australia. In constructing the overland telegraph from South Australia, a great middle section of the continent was discovered, capable of producing pasture for tens of millions of sheep and millions of cattle and horses. The first section from the north, of what will eventually be the Trans-Australian Railway, has been commenced, and is being carried out with energy by Messrs. Miller, the well-known Melbourne contractors for public works.
The total area of the northern territory of South Australia is 523,620 square miles. Within this vast expanse are stony wastes and waterless tracts, vast rolling downs, wide grassy plains, rich alluvial flats, large navigable rivers, and metalliferous areas, exceptionally rich in tin, coal, copper, and silver. Thus far mining has been more successful than agriculture. The Chinese have alone been able to accomplish anything in cultivation. They have gathered harvests of rice and sugar-cane from the limited areas which they have taken in hand. On the banks of the rivers coffee could be grown in many places.
The climate is tropical, and malaria, with its fever and ague, is prevalent. The mean temperature of the year is 75 degrees, and the thermometer has never been seen lower than 68 degrees. The atmosphere is dank, steamy, and heavy with moisture during the wet season, and parching and malarial during the dry season.
From Port Darwin to the Cape of Good Hope, and thence to Sierra Leone, the voyage lay for the most part within the zone of the South-east Trades. Rodriguez Island was sighted on September 26th, and Mauritius was reached on September 29th. It is a painful task to attempt to describe scenes which would have been painted so much more effectively by another. To give the daily life, which, needless to say, was very sad, I will not attempt.
Mauritius is one of the few ports in which sailing ships still hold the field against steamers. It was filled with a noble fleet. As a mark of sympathy, which touched us deeply, their flags were hoisted at half-mast as soon as our sad intelligence became known.
Viewed from the anchorage of Port Louis, the island of Mauritius presents a scene of much beauty. A chain of peaks and craters of picturesque and fantastic forms runs through the island from end to end. The needle-shaped Peter Botte, 2,784 feet, and the Pouce, 2,707 feet, are conspicuous summits. All the mountains are of volcanic formation. Their barren precipices are blue and purple, and their vegetation, watered by frequent and abundant showers, is of the richest green. The landscape displayed admirable effects of colour, varying with every change from rain to sunshine.
The Botanical Gardens and the Observatory are the most interesting objects which Port Louis offers to the passing traveller. The gardens are lovely. The lakes, surrounded by palm trees and a most rich and abundant tropical vegetation, are a charming feature. The fine and rare specimens in the gardens included the Traveller's tree, abounding in water, the Ruffia palm from Madagascar, the lettuce-headed palm, the talipot palm, the Latania aurea from Rodriguez, and another variety of latania from Round Island.
The Observatory, under the supervision of Dr. Meldrum, is chiefly devoted to meteorological and astronomical investigations. In addition to these subjects, observations of the solar spots are taken daily, and transmitted monthly to the Solar Physics Committee in London. The transit of the moon has been observed with much success. Sea observations from the log-books of vessels touching at Mauritius are carefully recorded. The tracks and positions at noon of 299 tropical cyclones, which swept over the Indian Ocean south of the equator from 1856 to 1886, have been laid down on charts, and are ready for publication. The in-curving theory of cyclones, as worked out by Dr. Meldrum, is now generally adopted, and it would appear that the rules given for the guidance of ships in the Southern Indian Ocean have been the means of saving much life and property.
On the second day of our short stay we paid a quiet visit to the Acting Governor. The recent political convulsions in Mauritius, in connection with Sir John Pope Hennessy, had by no means subsided. During his leave of absence the Governor was being represented with admirable tact and judgment by Mr. Fleming, who had already succeeded in establishing amicable relations with both sides. Considerable jealousies exist between the English and French residents in Mauritius. They have been unfortunately aroused to an unprecedented degree of violence by the proceedings of Sir John Pope Hennessy. The mass of the population of Mauritius are of mixed race, descendants of the coolies employed on the plantations. French – or rather patois– speaking Creoles come next in point of numbers. The Chinese are the universal shopkeepers.
Later in the day we ascended the Pouce. It commands a view over the harbour of Port Louis and the interior of the island. The broad and shallow valleys, green with sugar-cane, reminded us much of our own South Downs. From the Pouce we drove to the residence of a relative, who is the owner of extensive sugar-cane plantations. The staple industry of Mauritius is the cultivation of sugar. More than 100,000 tons are annually exported. India and Australia are the chief markets. The bounty on the production of sugar in France and Germany has driven the sugar of Mauritius altogether out of Europe. Mauritius received a great blow from the opening of the Suez Canal, but it still possesses abundant resources. The wealth of the island may in some degree be measured by its public revenue, which amounts to no less than 700,000l. a year.
Mauritius produces scarcely anything required for its own consumption. It imports rice from India, grain from Australia, oxen from Madagascar, and sheep from the Cape.
Our last morning at Port Louis was devoted to the defences and the docks. Progress is being made with the improvement of existing defences and the construction of new forts. The works are well advanced, and the guns are promised shortly from home. Mauritius possesses three graving-docks. The Albion Dock could be readily enlarged to receive a ship of war. It would be a wise policy on the part of the Government to assist in the work.
The passage from Port Louis to Algoa Bay occupied eleven days. To the southward of the Trades, off the coast of Natal, a short but severe gale from the south-west was encountered. The gale was followed by a fresh breeze from the east, which carried the 'Sunbeam' rapidly to the westward. In three days a distance of 797 miles was covered, with winds from S.E. to N.E.
The 'Sunbeam' reached Port Elizabeth on October 12. The anchorage is protected from all winds except those from the south-east. Port Elizabeth from the sea has the aspect of a small Brighton. On landing it presents many cheerful indications of prosperity in its pier, railway station, municipal buildings, streets and shops, and last, but not least in the estimation of the traveller, its excellently appointed and hospitable club. The residential quarter is happily situated on elevated ground, swept by refreshing breezes from the ocean. A large space is covered with good houses and well-kept lawns. The public gardens are a great feat of horticulture. The arid and sterile soil has been converted by liberal irrigation into a green oasis, containing groves of palms and a varied tropical vegetation. Needless to say the work is the achievement of a Scotch gardener.
The prosperity of this active commercial centre is due to the trade carried on with Kimberley, of which it is the port. The value of the diamonds produced at Kimberley was estimated for 1883 at 2,359,000l.; 1884, 2,562,000l.; 1885, 2,228,000l.; and 1886, 3,261,000l. These amounts will be exceeded in later returns. As yet, the price per carat shows no tendency to decline. The work of mining for diamonds gives employment to a large amount of well-paid labour. Some 2,000 white employés are engaged at an average wage of 5l. 9s. per week. Twelve thousand coloured men are working under their direction, their earnings exceeding 1l. per week.
Port Elizabeth is the chief entrepôt for ostrich feathers. The value of this article of export for 1886 was over half a million sterling. The process of selling the feathers by auction is one of the most singular business transactions at which it has been my lot to assist. One of the buyers in attendance, on the occasion of our visit, represents a London firm, and is said to be making an income of over 1,000l. per year. A spirited effort is being made to establish an entrepôt for the Cape wines at Port Elizabeth. We visited the extensive cellars under the public market, where a company has opened a business, which it is intended to conduct in accordance with the most approved methods of treatment in the wine-growing districts of Europe.
A day was spent at Port Elizabeth, and two days of rapid sailing before an easterly wind brought the 'Sunbeam' into Table Bay on the morning of October 15, just in time to gain the anchorage before one of the hard gales from the south-east, which are not unfrequently experienced at the Cape, set in. Between Port Darwin and the Cape the distance covered was 1,047 knots under steam, and 5,622 knots under sail. The average speed under steam and sail was exactly eight knots. In the fortnight, October 13 to 27, 3,073 knots, giving an average speed of nine knots an hour, were covered under sail alone, with winds of moderate strength. Balloon canvas was freely used.
Table Mountain is admirably described by Hübner as a mighty buttress confronting the restless billows of the Southern Ocean. It was covered, on the morning of our arrival, with the graceful wreaths of mist which have so often excited the admiration of travellers. A strong south-east gale was blowing on the occasion. Table Mountain presents to the dwellers in Cape Town a scene of beauty which changes from hour to hour. Every veering of the wind brings some new yet ever effective adjustment of a mantle of vapour, seldom cast aside, which is sometimes silver, sometimes purple, and from time to time subdued to a sombre tone by an approaching fall of rain.
In former years many and disastrous were the losses of life and property in Table Bay. Gales from the N.W. and the NN.E. are frequent in the winter, and blow occasionally with resistless fury. In the old sailing days ships caught at anchor in the bay by one of these terrible storms were doomed to destruction. By the enterprise of the Colonial Government, and the skilful engineering of Sir John Coode, a wide area of sheltered anchorage is now afforded. The breakwater has been extended to a length of 560 yards, and a further extension is far advanced, which will give a total length of breakwater of 1,500 yards.
A wet dock has been formed, capable of receiving the largest steamers in the ocean mail service, and broad enough for an ironclad. The principal dimensions are: length, 540 feet; breadth, 68 feet; depth, 26 feet. An outer harbour, 44 acres in extent, will be gradually formed under the protection of the breakwater. When these works are completed, Cape Town will afford advantages to shipping such as are scarcely exceeded in any port of Great Britain.
Cape Town contains not a few buildings of which the inhabitants of an older capital might justly be proud. The House of Assembly is a noble structure. The admirably kept and beautifully situated Observatory, the banks, the railway station, and the docks are all excellent. The Botanical Gardens, and the shady avenue dividing them from Government House, would be an adornment to the finest capital in Europe.
Considerable as are the attractions of Cape Town, they are far exceeded by the charm of its picturesque suburbs, extending for some miles along the foot of Table Mountain on its eastern side. The country is richly wooded, chiefly with our own dear English trees, and abounds with pleasant buildings, surrounded with gardens bright with the flowers of the summer of our Northern latitudes. The scene recalls the most favoured part of Surrey. The cantonments of the troops at Wynberg, on a well-wooded plateau, have all the lovely features of an English park.
We made an excursion with Sir Gordon Sprigg and his kind family to Constantia, where the Government have purchased an old Dutch manor-house, and are cultivating the vine under the superintendence of Baron Von Babo, with the view of producing wines on the most approved European principles. Our host has made one of those interesting and honourable careers for which colonial life offers so many opportunities to those who know how to use them. He began life in the gallery of the House of Commons, as a reporter of debates, in the days of Cobden. As Premier of a Colonial Parliament, he has had an opportunity of applying the maxims of political wisdom gathered from a close observation of our own Parliamentary proceedings.
Another excursion was made to Stellenbosch, a characteristic example of the old Dutch towns of the Cape Colony. We were under the guidance of Sir Gordon Sprigg, Mr. Hofmeyr, and Mr. Tudhope, the Colonial Secretary. The journey from Cape Town occupied an hour by railway. Stellenbosch is in many ways a perfect reproduction of a country town in Holland. If we miss the canals, we have the domestic architecture, the fine avenues running through the principal streets, and the Dutch characteristics of the people. These features give to this distant settlement in South Africa, not one of whose inhabitants probably has ever visited Holland, a markedly national aspect.
On our arrival at Stellenbosch we were driven, under the guidance of the Mayor, to the University, where a mixed staff of professors, English and Dutch, are doing excellent work in education. We were received by a guard of honour, furnished by the students' Volunteer Corps. Having inspected the University buildings, we drove out to an old Dutch farm, under a burning sun, and through a country in which the foliage of the temperate and the tropical zones was closely intermingled.
The farm we visited comprises an extensive range of buildings, with an excellent dwelling-house, roomy stables, and the stores, filled with butts of wine, which are characteristic of the district. The buildings form a large quadrangle, surrounding a plot of grass shaded by noble trees. The situation of the farm is very striking. It stands in a deep valley, green, fertile, and well watered, but completely hemmed in by mountains of volcanic formation some 4,000 feet in height, beautiful in form, but entirely devoid of vegetation. Want of rain and the phylloxera are constant anxieties at the Cape. We observed that the field labourers were invariably men of colour. Their earnings do not exceed one shilling per day.
Cape politics have been a fertile source of trouble and anxiety to the British Government at home. With the necessarily imperfect knowledge of local circumstances, it is impossible, from London, to deal in a satisfactory manner with the relations between the Government of a distant colony and neighbours so little known as the Boers, and savages so rude as the Kaffirs and Zulus. Our errors of the past will not be repeated, if only we resolve firmly not to fetter the discretion of the local Governments, which, in pursuance of a wise policy, we have called into existence.
