ANCIENT DUTCH GUN.
ANCIENT DUTCH GUN.
ANCIENT DUTCH GUN.
The glass bottles I have mentioned were of a short stout Dutch build, and were placed in rows, as if for the purpose of collecting water; some of them were very large, being capable of holding five or six gallons; they were in part buried in the sand, and the portion which was left exposed to the air presented a singular appearance, being covered with a white substance that had eaten away the glaze. A number of seal bones were noticed on this island; and I have no doubt they are the remains of those that were killed by the crew of the Zeewyk for their subsistence. On the north end of the island was a hole containing brackish water; when we dug it deeper the salt water poured in. The next small islet to the East-South-East we discovered to be that on which the Dutchmen had built their sloop. On the west side of it was a spot free from coral reefs, thus offering them facilities, nowhere else afforded, for launching the bark which ultimately carried them in safety to Batavia.
A mile and a half to the southward of Gun Island, opposite a singular-looking indentation in the outer side of the reefs, a small cluster of cliffy islets approaches within half a mile of them. It is rather singular that in another of the group--larger than Gun Island, lying in the centre of the lagoon, and the only one not visited by the Beagle's boats--water should have been found by a party who came from Swan River to save the wreck of a ship lost in 1843, close to the spot on which the Batavia struck more than two hundred years ago. This island is called in the chart Middle Island. The well is on the south point, and the water, which is very good, rises and falls with the tide. Doubtless this must have been the island on which the crew of Pelsart's ship found water, though for some time they were deterred from tasting it by observing its ebb and flow, from which they inferred it would prove salt. The north point of Gun Island, which our observations placed in latitude 28 degrees 53 minutes 10 seconds South, longitude 1 degree 53 minutes 35 seconds West of Swan River, is fronted for half a mile by a reef.
MANGROVE ISLETS.
The ship was now moved to the north-east extreme of the lagoon, to which we crossed in 17 fathoms--the depth we anchored in, a mile north-west from a cluster of islets covered in places with mangroves, from which they receive their name. To the southward the depth in the lagoon, as far as a square-looking island, was 15 and 16 fathoms. The north extreme of the south island lay three miles to the south east of the Mangrove Islets, by which we found that its length was nearly ten miles, with a general width of about a tenth of a mile.
One of the eastern Mangrove Islets was a mere caY, formed of large flat pieces of dead coral, of the same kind as that of which I have before spoken as resembling a fan, strewed over a limestone foundation one foot above the level of the sea, in the greatest possible confusion, to the height of five feet. In walking over them they yielded a metallic sound. Pelsart, like Easter Group, is marked by a detached islet lying a mile off its north-east extreme.
May 3.
We fetched in under the Lee of Easter Group as the north-west gale of this morning commenced. The barometer did not indicate the approach of the gale, falling with it, and acting as in those we had encountered at Swan River.
SINGULAR SUNSET.
The sunset of the two days preceding had presented a very lurid appearance, and the most fantastically shaped clouds had been scattered over the red western sky. It seemed as though nature had determined to entertain us with a series of dissolving views. Headlands and mountains with cloud-capped pinnacles appeared and faded away; ships under sail floated across the sky; towers and palaces reared their forms indistinctly amid the vapour, and then vanished, like the baseless fabric of a dream.
The winds since the 29th had been very easterly; but early on the 1st became fresh from north-east; a stagnant suspicious calm then succeeded, during the forenoon of the 2nd. At noon the glassy surface of the water began to darken here and there in patches with the first sighing of the breeze, which soon became steady at north-west, and troubled the whole expanse as far as the eye could reach.
HEAVY GALE.
It was not, however, as I have said, before daylight of the 3rd that the gale commenced in earnest, continuing with great violence, accompanied with heavy squalls of rain, till noon next day, when the wind had veered to South-South-West. During this time the whole aspect of the scene was changed; immense dark banks of clouds rested on the contracted horizon; the coral islands by which we were surrounded loomed indistinctly through the driving mist; and the decks were drenched by heavy showers that occurred at intervals. The wind blew hardest from West-North-West, and began to moderate about nine on the morning of the 4th, when it had got round to south-west. The current during this breeze set a mile and a half East-South-East, changing again to the northward as the wind veered round to the southward. This clearly shows how certainly, in this neighbourhood, the movements of the air influence those of the sea.
WATER-SPOUTS.
It was the evening of the 5th before all was again clear overhead. In the morning, however, we shifted our berth, which had been a mile from the south extreme of the detached cluster of islets forming the north-east end of Easter Group. Several small water-spouts formed near the ship as we were about to weigh, which induced us to wait a little until they passed.
On the 8th we bore away for the northern group in 26 and 27 fathoms; the space between was named Middle Passage.
WALLABY ISLANDS.
Passing outside of a patch of breakers, lying two miles to the northward of the eastern islet, we hauled up south-east, and by feeling our way with the boats got the ship into a snug harbour on the south-east side of the highest island of the Abrolhos, which was afterwards named East Wallaby Island; another large one, named West Wallaby Island, lying two miles to the West-South-West with three small flat islets just between. To these we gave the name of Pigeon Islands, the common bronze-winged pigeon being found there in great numbers. The harbour we named Recruit Harbour, from its affording fresh supplies of the small kangaroo, in addition to the fish found everywhere else. Like the other ports in the Abrolhos, it is full of coral patches; the south point of north Pigeon Island, in one with a bare sandhill on the South-East point of West Wallaby Island, bearing South 50 degrees West, leads into the harbour clear of the spit on the north-west side and some coral patches on the east. In entering we had 7 and 8 fathoms, but the depth inside is 11 and 12; it is perfectly sheltered on all sides.
These islands, after the others, of which the greatest height is 12 feet, appear of considerable altitude; though the loftiest point rising on the north-east extreme of East Wallaby Island, measures no more than 50 feet. This island is upwards of a mile each way; whilst the west one is two miles and a half long, and one broad. In the centre of the eastern is a low flat, with hills rising all around, with the exception of the south side.
FLAG HILL.
The loftiest, which is called Flag Hill, is, as I have mentioned, on the north-eastern extreme, and has a long finger-shaped point running out from its foot in a north-east direction, to which we gave the name of Fish Point, from the number of snappers we caught there. They were so voracious that they even allowed themselves to be taken with a small bit of paper for a bait. Flag Hill is a rock formed of sand and comminuted shells; while the flat which stretches to the south-west from its foot is of limestone formation. In it we found a kind of cavern, about 15 feet deep, with a sloping entrance, in which was some slightly brackish water, that in percolating through the roof had formed a number of stalactites.
A reef, which dries in patches at low-water, connects the east and west Wallaby Islands. On the south-west point of the latter are some sandhills 30 feet high; and on that side also is a dense scrub, in which the mutton birds burrow, so that it forms rather troublesome walking.
SLAUGHTER POINT. NEW SPECIES OF WALLABY.
The northern end is a level, stony flat, terminating towards the sea in projecting cliffs six or eight feet high; with patches of bushes large enough to serve as fuel here and there, all full of a new species of wallaby, which, being plentiful on both the large islands, suggested their name. The reader will obtain a good idea of the numbers in which these animals were found, when I state that on one day, within four hours, I shot 36, and that between three guns we killed 76, averaging in weight about seven pounds each; which gave rise to the name of Slaughter Point for the eastern extreme of the island.
As there is no record of the Dutch having visited the northern group, it is impossible to say whether wallaby were then found on it or not. How they could have got there is a mystery, as there were no large floating masses likely to have carried them from the main. The species has been described from a specimen we obtained, as Halmaturus houtmannii; it is distinct from Halmaturus derbyanis, found on most of the islands on the southern parts of the continent.
We shall now fulfil our promise to the reader by laying before him the result of Mr. Bynoe's interesting observations on the Marsupiata, which the number of wallaby killed at Houtman's Abrolhos afforded him the means of perfecting. I may preface his remarks by stating, that all the information I could gain from the colonists on the subject was, that the young of the kangaroo were born on the nipple, which my own experience appears to corroborate.
MR. BYNOE'S OBSERVATIONS ON THE MARSUPIATA.
"My first examination," says Mr. Bynoe, "of the kangaroo tribe, to any extent, occurred at the Abrolhos; there I had an extensive field for ascertaining the exact state of the uteri of the wallaby of those islands. I opened between two and three hundred, and never found even the rudiments of an embryo; but in the pouch I have seen the young adhering to the nipple from the weight of half a dram to eight ounces and upwards. On examination, the only substance found in the womb when the animal was young and full grown, was a cheese-like substance of a straw colour: I likewise found a similar substance in the pouch around the nipples, and in many instances where the nipples were much retracted, it completely covered them, but it was of a darker hue than that in the uterus, and of a saponaceous or greasy feel; the aperture of the pouch so much contracted as scarcely to admit two fingers; wombs with their cornua remarkably small, and nipples in the pouch scarcely pointing, and in many instances retracted.
"Animals with these appearances, I concluded, had never borne young. Examinations frequently took place immediately after they were shot. In those that had recently discarded their young from the pouch, one nipple and frequently two were found much lengthened, and very often one more than the other. I have seen them in the wallaby frequently two inches in length, and with pouches so large, that you could with ease thrust your hand into them; the uteri with their appendages enlarged and apparently very vascular, as well as thickened; but in no one instance at the Abrolhos could I detect a gravid uterus; but I have seen the young adhering to the nipples less than half an inch in length, and in a perfectly helpless state. It is generally supposed that the uterus in the adult animal is not supplied with much arterial blood, merely sufficient to nourish that viscus. If such be the case, can it have the power of retaining the germ in the womb, when on the most minute examination of the young, I could not detect, by cicatrice or line of abrasion on any part of the abdomen, that they ever possessed umbilical vessels, or had been in any way nourished by a placenta? Let us take into consideration the small size of the animal found in the pouch, its utter helplessness, its slight power of motion, and its firm attachment to the nipple. The more it is in the embryonic state the firmer is its attachment to the mother; to separate it from the nipple requires some force; the surrounding parts of the opening of the mouth, after separation, bleed profusely, and the animal has no power to close it; the opening remains gaping and circular, the animal lies on its side, and if very young, soon dies. On each side of the opening is a line showing the extent of the mouth. When arrived at greater maturity it can make no noise until the mouth is fully developed, and then a faint hissing note; it has no power to stand until very large, and the hair is about to shoot out from the skin. An animal in so helpless a situation could not possibly, with all the aids and contrivances of the mother, attach itself to the nipple and produce adhesion of the oral aperture, when even at a later period it has no motion of life or power to close that opening. The retention in the uterus must be of short duration. I have been led to these conclusions from examinations on the banks of the Victoria River. A flying doe, inhabiting the grass flats, of more than ordinary size, was killed. In thrusting my fingers into the pouch, I found that the mammary glands were remarkably enlarged, pressing forcibly into that cavity. I questioned the seaman who took up the animal, immediately after being shot, whether he had taken the young out, and received a negative answer. Finding the mammary glands so extremely enlarged, I was induced (although pressed for time) to examine the uterus, and posterior and internal parts of those glands--the cornua as well as the other parts of the uterus were much thickened, and apparently highly injected with blood. On opening the cavity I found it throughout thickly coated with slimy or mucal secretion (the only uterus found by me in this state.) I now extended my examination in front of the womb to the posterior part of the mammae, and in doing so discovered a small gelatinous mass, about twice the size of a pea. On a closer inspection, it appeared to be retained in a thin transparent tube. I watched the substance narrowly and could distinctly perceive the rudiments of an animal. The feet were not developed, but pulsation and motion were not only observed by me, but by two of the men with me, both exclaiming "look at the little animal!" although I feel convinced that they did not know what I was searching for. There was not time to examine further into its state. I carefully removed the uterus, the apparent embryo and the mammae, and put it in a wide-mouthed bottle with some spirits, and gave it in charge of the seaman who was to carry a portion of the animal for the dinner of that day. It was placed in a canvas bag, but on crossing a Deep watercourse he had the misfortune to break the bottle, which he never mentioned until the following day. The contents soon dried up and became an uniform mass. The intense heat had rendered it so firm that nothing could be made of it; all the gelatinous parts had adhered so firmly to the bag, that I was compelled to abandon it. My object was to ascertain if there was a communication in a greater state of development between the womb and posterior part of the mammae, during the period of gestation; and I was fancying I had arrived at some conclusion, but all my hopes were destroyed by one fatal smash! So many theories have been formed on that point--that to advance this as a fact, would be treading too firmly on tender ground. At the first view of the gelatinous mass I seriously considered whether it could have been a gland, and whether the pulsation might have been communicated from muscular twitchings; I took my eye off the substance for some time, and on again looking at it, felt more confident than ever, that it was not a glandular substance. Its peculiar configuration and want of solidity proved it indeed not to be gland; its motion, on touching it with the point of the finger, was so much that of an embryonic animal, that I at once, without further investigation, pronounced it a kangaroo.
"Might not the tube I discovered convey the animal to the posterior part of the mammae, where it might become attached to the nipple in an inverted state? At any rate it was not in the body of the uterus. Had the mass been saved I should have taken one more look of inquiry without attempting to alter its structure, and left the matter for the judicious decision of some of the professors of comparative anatomy at home."
It may here be remarked that the birds met with on Houtman's Abrolhos, with the exception of one, resembling in shape and colour a small quail,* were known and common on the mainland. The aquatic species were also familiar to us; but the habit of one kind, of a sooty-black colour, generally called noddies, was quite new--that of building their nests, which are constructed of seaweed and contain only one egg, in trees. There were not many varieties of fish, the most abundant being snappers; of those that were rare Lieutenant Emery made faithful sketches.
(*Footnote. Haemapodicus scintilans, Gould.)
Half a mile west from Slaughter Point we found two caverns similar to that on East Wallaby Island, from which we got three tons of excellent water.
APPEARANCE OF THE REEFS.
The reefs surrounding this group appeared very much broken; and even at Easter Group we had found them to be not so regular as at Pelsart's. This suggests the idea, which appears to be borne out by all we saw, that the reefs are compact in proportion to the exposed position of the islands; the shelter afforded by Pelsart Group, in fact, did not require the reefs to be so united round the other islands to the north.
From the highest part of East Wallaby Island we discovered a patch of land bearing North-West 1/2 North eleven miles. The outer reef extended in that direction from the south-west point of West Wallaby Island, though it could only be traced by detached patches of breakers. To the south-east of its commencement lies Evening Reef. The observations were made on the north end of the north-east Pigeon Island, bearing West by South half a mile from our anchorage, in latitude 32 degrees 27 minutes 21 seconds South and longitude 2 degrees 1 minute 10 seconds West of Swan River, variation 4 degrees 10 minutes westerly. The temperature of Houtman's Abrolhos is rendered equable by the fact that they lie at the limit of the land breezes; during the month we were there the thermometer averaged 71 degrees.
Our protracted stay enabled us to get a tolerable series of tidal observations, which present some singular results. The time of high-water at the full and change was six o'clock when the tide rose 30 inches. It appeared that during the night there was a short flood of six hours with a rise of seven inches, and an ebb of two hours with a fall of only five inches; but that during the day the flow and ebb were nearly equal, the former being eight hours and twenty minutes, the latter eight hours and five minutes, and the rise and fall in each being 25 and 26 inches respectively.
TIDAL OBSERVATIONS.
A difference was also noticed between the day and night tides at Rat Island, where the time of high-water at the full and change of the moon was ten o'clock, and the rise varied from 8 to 32 inches, from the result of twenty-five observations; by which I found, moreover, that the tides ebbed five hours and a half in the night, and six hours and a half during the day, and the water fell 9 inches with the night, and 18 with the day ebb. The difference between the length of the night and the day floods was an hour; the duration of the former being six hours, whilst that of the latter was seven; whilst the difference in the rise was 7 inches, the greatest general height, which was during the night tides, being 20 inches.
We were detained in Recruit Harbour until May 21st, determining the position of the number of small islands and detached reefs to the south-east of Wallaby Islands; but at length, after completing the soundings on the north-east and north side and ascertaining the extent of the reef to the north-west, we proceeded to the isolated patch of land before mentioned as seen from Flag Hill, and which, from its relative position to the remainder of Houtman's Abrolhos, we called North Island.
An anchorage was found in 12 fathoms, three quarters of a mile from a bay on the north-east side, and half a mile from the reef extending to the northward. The island was about a mile across, and nearly circular. It was surrounded by a range of hills, with a flat in the centre, covered with coarse grass, where a great many quails were flushed, affording good sport, but not a single wallaby.
RECORD HILL.
The highest hill on the south-west point, measuring 42 feet, received the name of Record Hill, from our leaving a paper in a bottle, giving an account of our cruise. A contiguous reef stretched out from the west side of the island for the distance of a mile, beyond which was the open sea. This reef extended two miles and a half to the North-North-West and four miles and a half to the southward. Our observations were made on a sandhill 36 feet high, immediately over the bay, which they placed in latitude 32 degrees 18 minutes 5 seconds South longitude 2 degrees 9 minutes West from Swan River.
LEAVE HOUTMAN'S ABROLHOS.
May 23.
From Record Hill we had perceived that the sea was quite clear to the north and west beyond the reef, and being satisfied that we had reached the extremity of Houtman's Abrolhos,* we weighed in the morning, and passed about a mile and a half from the reef to the north of the island in 26 fathoms; and hauling up South-South-West, along the western side of the reefs, gradually deepened the water to 42 fathoms over a rocky ground, Record Hill bearing North 70 degrees East six miles and a half. We then had no bottom with 50 and 60 fathoms until noon, when we had 122 fathoms, sand and coral; Record Hill then bearing North 52 degrees East eleven miles and a half, just barely visible from the poop. It is singular that we should have had bottom at that distance from the group, whereas, when we had not proceeded half so far from the southern portion we had no bottom with 200 fathoms.
(*Footnote. Their extent in latitude therefore nearly corresponded with the old chart; and the apparent confusion in the shape given them, no doubt arose from their extremes only having been seen and then extended towards each other.)
To ascertain if there were any more reefs to the westward, we now steered West-South-West, sounding occasionally with 200 and 220 fathoms unsuccessfully.
After running thirty-two miles without seeing any indication of further dangers, of which, moreover, the long ocean swell rolling in convinced us, we steered to the northward.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
It may be proper to conclude our account of Houtman's Abrolhos with a few general remarks. They form three groups instead of one, as was formerly supposed; Pelsart Group being separated from Easter Group by a channel, the least width of which is four miles, whilst the middle passage between the latter and the Northern Group is six miles wide. The Abrolhos extend in a North-North-West direction forty-eight miles, diminishing in breadth towards the north; the greatest width of Easter and Pelsart Groups being twelve miles in a West-South-West direction. In Easter Group the outer reefs are most distant from the islands, being there four miles from the nearest, which is Rat Island. In the Northern Group the islands are more detached than in the others, and North Island is separated from them by a distance of ten miles.
We have already alluded to the regularity and sameness in the soundings in these groups, and between them and the main, clearly showing that they are not connected with each other, but rest on the outer extremity of a level or bank, stretching out from the main, and having a slight southerly inclination, the depth (29 fathoms) between the southern group and the coast being greater by four fathoms than between the coast and the northern group. On either side of the Abrolhos, at the same distance from land, the depth is more than 100 fathoms. The general nature of the bottom, in the quiet places between the reefs, is a fine grey sandy mud or marl, but in more exposed situations this is not so compact, whilst broken shells are more abundant. This bottom bears a striking resemblance to that within the Great Barrier Reefs.
After leaving the Abrolhos, as I have narrated, our progress to the northward was unusually slow, and between the parallels of 26 degrees 50 minutes South and 25 degrees 40 minutes South we again got into soundings varying from 187 to 81 fathoms, fine grey sand. At the greatest depth the ship was forty miles from the land, and twenty miles at the least, which was off Dirk Hartog's Island, at the south point of Sharks Bay. In passing round the north-west extremity of the continent we delayed, again endeavouring to get sight of Ritchie's Reef; but, on this occasion, as on our passage from the Victoria to Swan River, it was not seen, and as no bottom was obtained with 200 and 240 fathoms in its assigned position on the chart, it must either have a very different one or does not exist.
PROCEED TO THE COAST.
The part of the North-west coast that had not been seen by Captain King, commencing a short distance to the east of Depuch Island, it was resolved that our survey of that part should begin there, and on the 9th of June the Beagle reached an anchorage off a sandy bay on the north-east side of that island. As we drew near our progress was impeded by a fierce south-east breeze during the forenoons, which we found to prevail during our stay, being stronger at the full and change of the moon. Although coming directly from the land they quite made us shiver, reducing the temperature on one occasion to 59 degrees. These winds began about daylight at south, gradually veering and drawing round to the eastward as the day advanced, and subsiding again as rapidly after noon, leaving the evening and night generally calm.
SEARCH FOR WATER.
A search was immediately made for the stream of fresh water reported to have been found by the French, in Freycinet's voyage, on Depuch Island. As our stock was now very much reduced, and as our stay on the coast depended on the supply we could procure here, we were greatly concerned to find that our examination was in vain. Everything appeared parched up; wells were forthwith commenced, and we dug as many as eight, but at the depth of twenty-one feet the water that poured into them was salt. Fortunately Mr. Bynoe found a reservoir of water in the main valley leading up from the north end of the sandy beach, and about a mile from the sea. From this we got about six tons of tolerable water, although the labour of carrying it on the men's shoulders in seven-gallon barecas was very great, the only road lying through the valley, which, as may be inferred from the rounded stones it is strewed with, sometimes conveys a torrent to the sea. Large columnar blocks of the greenstone of which the island is composed, present, as the sun falls on their iron rusty surface, an appearance as if the sides of the valley were lined with red warriors. The section presented to our view, by the deepest well we sank at the mouth of this valley, consisted of a light kind of mould for six feet, then a layer of sand and shells of the same depth, resting on a coarse soft kind of reddish sandstone.
FORESTIER GROUP.
Depuch is the centre of a string of islands which bears the name of Forestier Group, fronting the coast at the distance of from one to three miles. It is much larger than the others, being about eight miles in circumference, and reaching an elevation of 514 feet; whereas the smaller islands, some of which are thickly covered with brushwood and coarse grass, are none of them above 50 feet high. They are of a formation totally different, being of a very coarse gritty yellow sandstone, in many places quite honeycombed, with some low sandhills superimposed.
DEPUCH ISLAND.
Although Depuch Island is one vast pile of reddish-coloured blocks, scattered about in the greatest possible confusion, sometimes resembling basaltic columns, its outline from seaward appears even. In the valleys, and on some of the more level spots near the summit, there are occasionally slight layers of soil, affording nourishment to a coarse grass, a few bushes, and several stunted eucalypti; but on the whole the vegetation of the island is extremely scanty. From the highest point we had a view over the main, extending inland for a great distance. It appeared to be flat, with the exception of some isolated rocky hills, of a formation similar to that of Depuch, from 200 to 500 feet in height, and about six miles from the shore. We could also see at a distance of twenty-eight miles a very remarkable pyramidal hill, surmounted by a tower-like piece of rock, bearing from our position South 30 degrees West. From the white appearance of many large patches of the level country, we inferred that they were covered with a salt efflorescence; and it is probable that a very great portion of it is occasionally flooded, being cut up by a number of creeks, which must overflow at spring tides, especially when they occur simultaneously with the north-west winds that prevail on this coast during the monsoon.
This group of islands is so connected with the main by extensive sandbanks, that at low-water it is possible to walk across to them; and of this facility the natives no doubt avail themselves to procure turtle. It appears indeed to be only on such occasions that they can visit Forestier Group, as we saw no traces of rafts on this portion of the coast. Depuch Island would seem to be their favourite resort; and we found several of their huts still standing. They were constructed of boughs and twigs fixed in the ground, and joined overhead in a circular shape. Over this was thrown a loose matting of twisted grass.
NATIVE DRAWINGS.
The natives are doubtless attracted to the place partly by the reservoirs of water they find among the rocks after rain, partly that they may enjoy the pleasure of delineating the various objects that attract their attention, on the smooth surface of the rocks. This they do by removing the hard red outer coating, and baring to view the natural colour of the greenstone, according to the outline they have traced. Much ability is displayed in many of these representations, the subjects of which could be discovered at a glance. The number of specimens was immense, so that the natives must have been in the habit of amusing themselves in this innocent manner for a long period of time. I could not help reflecting, as I examined with interest the various objects represented*--the human figures, the animals, the birds, the weapons, the domestic implements, the scenes of savage life--on the curious frame of mind that could induce these uncultivated people to repair, perhaps at stated seasons of the year, to this lonely picture gallery, surrounded by the ocean-wave, to admire and add to the productions of their forefathers. No doubt they expended on their works of art as much patience and labour and enthusiasm as ever was exhibited by a Raphael or a Michael Angelo in adorning the walls of St. Peter or the Vatican; and perhaps the admiration and applause of their fellow countrymen imparted as much pleasure to their minds as the patronage of popes and princes, and the laudation of the civilized world, to the great masters of Italy. There is in the human mind an irresistible tendency to indulge in a sort of minor creation--to tread humbly in the footsteps of the Maker--to reproduce the images that revolve within it, and to form, from its own ideas, a mimic representation of the actual world. This is the source of all art and all poetry; of every thing, in fact, which tends to adorn and refine our nature. It is this uncontrollable desire to work on and fashion the rough materials that lie under our hands that gives the first impulse to civilization, and impels us onward in the progress of improvement. And wherever we discern the faintest indication that such a principle is at work, there we may securely hope that development will ultimately take place. Until we find a nation which has never attempted to emerge from the circle of its mere animal wants--which has never exhibited the least inclination to develop the most ordinary arts--which not only rejects clothing, but is absolutely indifferent to ornament--which leaves its weapons uncarved, its skin unpainted, free from tattoo, we must not despair of the general efficacy of civilization. These savages of Australia, as we call them, who have adorned the rocks of Depuch Island with their drawings, have in one thing proved themselves superior to the Egyptian and the Etruscan, whose works have elicited so much admiration and afforded food to so many speculations--namely, there is not in them to be observed the slightest trace of indecency.
(*Footnote. See the accompanying lithographic impression of the copies made by Captain Wickham of the native drawings on Depuch Island.)
NATIVE DRAWINGS.
NATIVE DRAWINGS.
NATIVE DRAWINGS.
Lithographic impression of the copies made by Captain Wickham of the native drawings on Depuch Island. They have already appeared in the Royal Geographical Journal Volume 12. The following list will convey to the reader what the drawings are intended to represent.1. A goose or duck.2. A bird; probably the leipoa.6. A beetle.11. A fish over a quarter-moon; which has been considered to have some reference to fishing by moonlight.61. A native dog.16. A native, armed with spear and wommera, or throwing stick, probably relating his adventures, which is usually done by song, and accompanied with great action and flourishing of weapons, particularly when boasting of his prowess.20. A duck and a gull.34. A corrobory, or native dance.65. A crab.30. A native in a hut, with portion of the matting with which they cover their habitations.67. A kangaroo.71. Appears to be a bird of prey, having seized upon a kangaroo-rat.32. Shark and pilot-fish.
During our stay we did not see any of the natives on the island; but on the main several of them were observed, though they would not allow us to communicate, moving off as soon as any attempt was made to get near them in the boats. On one occasion, when Mr. Fitzmaurice, in a whaleboat, was examining a part of the coast to the eastward of Depuch Island, he entered a creek, which soon, however, became too confined by the mud-banks for them to use the oars.
HOSTILITY OP THE NATIVES.
While in this position a shout attracted his attention, and he perceived a party of natives, armed with spears approaching the boat, with evident hostile designs. They of course naturally looked upon us as intruders; and as the point was not worth contesting, the creek being of no importance, Mr. Fitzmaurice thought it better to withdraw, rather than run the risk of a collision that could have led to no beneficial results.
TOM'S TERROR OF THEM.
The native youth we had brought with us from Swan River did not at all approve of these excursions. He was generally taken, with a view of giving confidence to any of his wild countrymen who might be encountered; but he exhibited the greatest possible repugnance to this service. His terror for the northern men fully equalled that of Miago, from whom doubtless he had received the most terrific accounts. It was only by giving him a gun that he could be at all induced to go. He evidently felt himself more secure with European arms than with his own rude ones; and appeared to have learnt their superiority by experience, for he was a very fair shot. When I first asked him why he did not prefer his spear, his simple reply was, "Can't look out;" meaning that the northern men could not see the contents of a gun coming, whereas if a spear were hurled at them they could avoid it. His bravery was of much the same complexion as that of Miago; and he threatened magnanimously to inflict the most condign punishment on the fellows who opposed Mr. Fitzmaurice's landing. He had a strong impression that these northern people were of gigantic stature; and in the midst of the silent and gaping interest with which he listened to Mr. Fitzmaurice's account of his adventure, the words big fella often escaped from his lips; and he appeared quite satisfied when assured that his opinion was correct.
The agility this native exhibited in spearing fish was astonishing. In shallow water he would actually course the fish till he got them within spearing depth, when, although his prey darted past, he struck it with the most surprising precision. The quiet, splashless manner in which he ran through the water was really singular. When his spear required new pointing, the sole of his foot was turned up and the spear's head pared down upon it with a knife. When the latter was not to be procured the teeth were made use of; and I may here remark that the constant use which some savages make of their teeth may have much to do in producing the projecting jaw. It seems almost evident to common sense that the constant employment of the teeth must have a material effect in causing a change in the facial angle.
ANCHORAGE AT DEPUCH ISLAND.
We found the anchorage at Depuch Island to form a tolerable port, being protected from the north-east by one of the group, distant about three miles, from which a reef extends to the West-North-West, leaving the mouth of the harbour exposed only between North-West by North and West-North-West. Our observations placed the centre of the sandy beach on the north-east side of the island in latitude 20 degrees 37 minutes 47 seconds South and longitude 2 degrees 0 minutes 20 seconds West of Swan River, variation 2 degrees westerly; and the time of high-water, at the full and change, at half past ten, when the tide rose 15 feet, but only 5 during neaps.
NEW BIRD AND KANGAROO.
Although Depuch Island had been visited before, there still remained something quite new to reward the diligent search that was made after objects of natural history: namely, a small kind of kangaroo, a land bird, and a shell, a species of Helix. The bird was shot by Mr. Bynoe; it was a finch,* and beautifully marked with stripes of crimson down the breast, on a black ground with white spots; the throat, and a patch round the stump of the tail, were crimson. It is remarkable that all the beauty and brilliancy of colour in this bird is underneath, the back being of a common earthy brown.
(*Footnote. Named by Mr. Gould from this specimen, Emblema picta.)
The kangaroo I had myself the good fortune to knock over on the summit of the island; it was the only one shot during many an excursion made over that dreary heap of desolation, the metallic sound the rocks yielded to our step giving ample warning of our approach to their quick ears. The colours of this specimen, the prettiest we had seen, were a dark grey, with a large angular patch of white down the side, extending from the top of the shoulders nearly to the hips. Down the centre of the back, ran a streak of black, which was also the colour of the extremity of its slightly bushy tail. The face and belly were likewise darker than other parts of the body, and the feet were black and well cushioned, giving it a firm hold of the rocks over which it bounded with surprising agility, through it never ran very far, always popping into the cavities caused by the loose manner in which the blocks forming the island are thrown together.*
(*Footnote. Mr. Gould has figured an animal very like this I have described, as Petrogale lateralis, or the Stripe-Sided Rock Wallaby, from a specimen he some time afterwards got from Western Australia; but he has not noticed the beautiful kangaroo of Depuch Island.)
The specimen of the species of Helix I have above mentioned was found by Mr. Dring, one of our most successful collectors in that department. In the Appendix are figured some of the new shells discovered during the voyage.
Leaving Depuch Island, we examined the coast to the eastward as far as the Turtle Isles, a distance of eighty-five miles, the first twenty-seven of which trended North 55 degrees East, and the remainder North 67 degrees East curving slightly inwards. As the French had obtained a distant view of this coast, it did not possess to us the interest of being a new portion of the continent.
EFFECTS OF MIRAGE.
Still the effect of the treacherous mirage, which has often deluded the way-worn thirsty traveller with the false appearance of water, raised many parts of the interior that had not before met the eye of an European. These presented a very level outline. The interior was, for a great distance, a vast plain, so low that we could scarcely see it from the ship's masthead over the sandhills, which did not exceed the height of 40 feet. Six or seven miles from the Turtle Isles this extensive level was interrupted by the presence of a group of hills, from 200 to 300 feet in elevation, apparently of the same character as the heights behind Depuch Island. As seen through the medium of mirage, they often had a most curious appearance: high continuous ranges, changing again to lofty islands, danced in the tremulous air. I should remark that when the land was subject to this distortion, it was always during the forenoon, and on those days the winds were invariably light.
APPEARANCE OF THE COAST.
The shore, for nearly fifteen miles from Depuch Island is very low, lined with mangroves, and intersected by creeks, which at high-water, when the tide rises sometimes 18 feet, are of some magnitude, and inundate much of the low land, leaving large portions of it whitened by a salt incrustation. Beyond, as far as the Turtle Isles, the coast is fronted with a ridge of sandhills, scantily covered with vegetation (the highest, as I have already said, rarely exceeding an elevation of 40 feet) forming a barrier between the sea and the low lands behind, which, from the masthead, appeared to be thickly covered with small trees, and slightly raised from three to seven miles from the coast. Several of the natives showed themselves at a distance, and from the numerous fires, it appeared to be a well inhabited part of the continent. Still we saw no appearance of a stream of fresh water; and, though there were several creeks, the only opening of any consequence was forty-three miles from Depuch Island. From its abounding with oysters we named it Oyster Inlet. Across the mouth of it lies an islet, just within the north-eastern end of which there was a sufficient depth for the Beagle. The formation of the island was a reddish porous sandstone. At a native fire-place I found a piece of quartz and a large pearl oyster-shell. The tide rose here 15 feet near full moon.
THE GEOGRAPHE SHOALS.
The only outlying dangers on this extent of coast were the Geographe Shoals, two rocky patches some distance from each other. The outer one was thirteen miles from the main, and bore North 22 degrees East twenty-three miles from Depuch Island.
TURTLE ISLANDS.
The shore fronting the north Turtle Island projects, leaving a space of only ten miles between, of which, on account of the shoals, only a small portion lying near the island is navigable. Nearly opposite the latter is another opening, of some extent at high-water; but from the impediments that offered to our examining it, we named it Breaker Inlet. During spring tides it must carry a large body of water over the very low land it intersects.
The South Turtle Isle is a mere bank of sand and white coral; the northern is about half a mile across, of the same formation precisely as the low isles of Forestier Group. It is fronted on all sides with a coral reef extending off from a mile to a mile and a half, which dries at low-water, leaving an abrupt wall of from two to three feet at the outer edge, with pools between it and the island, in which several luckless turtles, who had deferred leaving until too late, were found. Though we only took what was required for our own consumption, the number that could have been here obtained was enormous.
In the course of four hours thirty green turtles were brought on board, one of which, and not the largest, weighed 385 pounds. A small hawk's bill, the first and only one seen, was also taken. On this part of the coast grows a peculiar small kind of weed, on which they feed; it was first seen near Depuch Island. I have been informed that the turtles at Ascension Island, when fresh caught, have a large ball of a curious kind of weed in their stomach, and that as soon as it is consumed, they become watery and lose their flavour. Though many diligent inquiries have been made after this weed, it appears to be still unknown.
A sandhill on the south-east end of the North Isle our observations placed in latitude 19 degrees 53 minutes 48 seconds South, and longitude 3 degrees 09 minutes 10 seconds East of Swan River; variation 1 degree 0 minutes westerly. The tide ran between the island and the shore nearly two knots an hour; the flood stream came from the north-west; and the rise at springs was 18 feet, the time of high-water being 11 o'clock.
SEARCH FOR WATER.
A fruitless attempt was made to procure water on this island, by digging; and as we were now reduced to a supply for only ten days, it became necessary that we should immediately proceed to Timor in search of some. This was much to be regretted at the present moment, as the coast to the east had never been seen, and therefore possessed the charm of being a new part of the continent. We consoled ourselves for not being able to visit it by the reflection that it would hold out some inducement for us to return to this land of sterility.
On Turtle Island was found a broken jar, probably left by some of the Macassar people, who are occasionally blown in upon this part of the coast.
July 14.
The unusual fogs that had prevailed for three days dispersing, allowed us to leave our anchorage under the south-east side of North Turtle Isle, and soon after dark we occupied another near Bedout Island, having crossed some rocky ledges of seven fathoms on the way. When the Beagle was midway between these islands, they were both visible from the masthead. In the night, and during the early part of next day, it blew strong from south-east, causing a high-topping sea. Time being precious, we could not wait for a quiet day to land on Bedout; its position was therefore determined by observations with the sea horizon, and differs very materially from that given by the French.
We weighed early in the afternoon of the 15th, and passed round the north-west end of Bedout, where there is much uneven ground with ripplings. We carried soundings until abreast of the north end of Rowley Shoals and twenty-five miles from their inner side, in from 45 to 154 fathoms. These shoals, like the Abrolhos, appear to stand on the outer edge of a bank projecting off this portion of the coast, as we did not get bottom after leaving their parallel.
On the 20th, in the afternoon, we passed, having no soundings with 200 fathoms, along the western side of Scott's Reef, at the distance of three miles, and determined its position. It forms a large lagoon, with an opening, not appearing to be a ship passage, midway on its western side; marked by a dry bank just within it, in latitude 14 degrees 3 minutes 30 seconds South and longitude 6 degrees 4 minutes 45 seconds East of Swan River. The eastern extreme of the reef was not seen; the southern limit is in latitude 14 degrees 15 minutes South; and the north-west extreme being in 13 degrees 55 minutes South, and longitude 6 degrees 2 minutes East of Swan River, gives it an extent of twenty miles in a north and south direction.
SCOTT'S REEF.
Captain Owen Stanley, in March, 1840, discovered a shoal about sixteen miles to the North-North-East of Scott's Reef; he considered its extent from east to west to be about five miles; but from the masthead the south end of it could not be seen. It did not appear to have more than two or three feet water on it. The north point, Captain Stanley places in latitude 13 degrees 39 minutes South, longitude 121 degrees 56 minutes East; or 6 degrees 11 minutes East of Swan River.*
(*Footnote. This reef was seen by the Seringapatam merchant ship in 1842.)
We now began to feel a westerly current, which increased to a knot and a half as we got near Rottee; the winds being moderate, between East and East-South-East.
PULO DOUW.
July 23.
The weather was hazy: the high land of Rottee was seen in the forenoon, the highest part of the island, a rather pointed hill, bearing North 60 degrees East. At 1 P.M. we saw Pulo Douw, which we endeavoured to weather, but the current prevented us. It is a remarkable island, with a gap in the centre and a clump of trees, that looks like a sail when first seen, on the north-west end, which terminates in a low sandy point. This is also the case with the south-east extreme, off which a reef extends for about half a mile; indeed, there appeared to be no ship passage between the sandy islets that lie to the east of Pulo Douw and Rottee. We rounded the north-west end of the former at the distance of a mile and a half, passing through some heavy ripplings, apparently an eddy setting to the north-east round the island. Pulo Douw appeared to be thickly inhabited, and was encircled by a reef, except at its North-North-West point, where there is a cliffy projection. Angles were taken for fixing the position of the islets between Pulo Douw and Rottee, which we found to be wrongly placed. The Scotch Bonnet, a remarkable rocky lump, seen over the south-west end of Rottee, and in line with the south side of Pulo Douw, bore South 60 degrees East. During the night we had a fresh wind from East-South-East and sailed through several ripplings, our first entering suddenly upon which caused some anxiety, though the lead gave no bottom with 60 and 70 fathoms. We passed some distance from the western end of Samow Island in the morning; but the high peaks of Timor were not seen till near noon. The eager eyes of the native whom we had brought with us from Swan River were the first to descry them; and he exclaimed in tones of rapturous astonishment, "Land! big fella! all the same cloud!" I shall not easily forget the amazement of this savage, accustomed as he was to behold the level plains of his native land, when he saw, towering in alpine grandeur to the sky, the pinnacled heights of Timor. He seemed scarcely able to conceive, even when assured by the evidence of his own senses, that it was possible for mountains to be so high and ranges so vast as those that now developed themselves before him.
REACH TIMOR.
In crossing the mouth of Coepang Bay towards Samow, in the evening, the appearance was truly grand. A vast heap of vapour was slowly moving across the mountains, disclosing at intervals their jagged summits towering towards the sky, and occasionally allowing the eye to penetrate for a moment into the depths of mysterious valleys that seemed to stretch for unknown distances into the recesses of the great Timoree Range. Some wild flying clouds that rapidly traversed the heavens imparted a curious alternation of light and shadow to the lowlands that presented themselves to our view--chequering the whole with gloomy patches and light spots, and revealing or hiding in rapid succession the extensive woods and the patches of cultivation that lay within the bosom of the Bay. The dazzling white sand beaches, too, strongly marked by the dark blue sea, heightened the beauty of the scene; which to us, who had for some months seen nothing but the monotonous north-west coast of Australia, appeared truly enchanting.
During the first watch we beat up the bay, and at midnight anchored; the barking of dogs, the crowing of cocks, and the tolling of bells assuring us that we were once again in the vicinity of civilization. In the morning we found ourselves off the town of Coepang, when we shifted our berth farther in; the flagstaff of Fort Concordia bearing south a quarter of a mile.
SWAN RIVER NATIVE.
Our Swan River native came up to me after we had anchored, dressed in his best, shoes polished, and buttoned up to the chin in an old uniform jacket. "Look," said he, pointing to some Malay lads alongside in a canoe, "trousers no got 'um." A toss of the head supplied what was wanting to the completeness of this speech, and said as plainly as words could have done, "poor wretches!" I tried in vain to point out their superiority, by saying, "Malay boy, work, have house; Swan River boy, no work, bush walk." I then drew his attention to the country, the delicious fruits and other good things to eat (knowing that the surest road to an Australian's heart is through his mouth) but all was in vain! my simple friend shook his head, saying, "No good, stone, rock big fella, too much, can't walk." Home, after all, is home all the world over, and the dull arid shores of Australia were more beautiful in the eyes of this savage than the romantic scenery of Timor, which excited in him wonder not delight. It was amusing to see how frightened he was on going ashore the first time. With difficulty could he be kept from treading on our heels, always, I suppose, being in the habit, in his own country, of finding strangers to be enemies. He was instantly recognised by the Malays, who had occasionally seen natives of Australia returning with the Macassar proas from the north coast, as a marega,* much to his annoyance.
(*Footnote. I have never been able to learn the meaning of this word. They told us at Coepang it signified man-eater; which explains the native's annoyance; and may serve as a clue to the discovery that the aborigines of the northern part of the continent occasionally eat human bodies as they do in the south.)
LAND AT COEPANG.
Being anxious to make the acquaintance of the Resident, who bore the reputation of being a most intelligent person, a party of us paid him a visit the second day after our arrival. The narrow streets, lined with Chinese shops and pedlars of every description, from the long-tailed Chinaman to the thick, crisp-haired, athletic Timoree, were soon passed. We then entered a rich green valley, with some fine houses on the left: the sight was strange and new to us in every way. What we most enjoyed was the vegetation--a feast for our eyes, after the dull arid shores of North-western Australia: and we gazed with intense pleasure on the rich green spreading leaf of the banana and other tropical fruit-trees, above which towered, the graceful coconut. Is it possible, thought I, that Timor and Australia, so different in the character of their scenery, can be such near neighbours, that these luxuriant valleys, nestling among the roots of these gigantic hills, are only separated by a narrow expanse of sea from those shores over which nature has strewed, with so niggard a hand, a soil capable of bearing the productions characteristic of the latitudes within which they lie?