Chapter 2: 5 (2)

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.)

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?

A meagre-looking apology for a soldier, leaning against a tree, suggested to us that we must be near the Resident's dwelling: we were so. It soon appeared that it was the last of the large houses before mentioned, and that the soldier was the sentinel.

VISIT THE RESIDENT.

We were speedily ushered into the presence of D.T. Vanden Dungen Gronovius. What sort of person, reader, do you picture to yourself with such a name? Great of course; and in truth such was he, not only in height and bulk, but as he soon informed us, in deeds likewise; he talked fast, and smoked faster, and possessed a general knowledge of all the recent discoveries. We learned from him that the Zelee and Astrolabe were laid on their beam ends for twenty-four hours in the hurricane of last November, when the Pelorus was lost at Port Essington. After listening to some strange and amusing stories about Borneo, where the Resident had been Superintendent for twelve years, we took our leave. I was glad to find that Mr. Gronovius entertained views more liberal than Dutchmen generally do. He had, as he told me, written to the Governor-General at Batavia, requesting that Coepang might be made a free port, and emigration allowed. He most kindly offered us horses and guides for riding or shooting.

FORT CONCORDIA.

The observations for latitude, longitude, etc. were made in Fort Concordia,* near the flagstaff. I was surprised to find this fort so much out of repair; the only guns fit to be fired out of were two brass six-pounders, the carriages indeed of which were not trustworthy. On these guns I noticed the same mark as on that we found at Houtman's Abrolhos, namely, two sides of a triangle bisecting two small circles. I never see an old fort without thinking of the anecdote of a party from the Beagle visiting one at Valdivia on the west coast of South America. The guns were very much out of repair, and when the remark was made to the old Spaniard who showed the fort, that they would not bear to be fired out of ONCE, with a shrug of his shoulders he replied that he thought they would bear it TWICE! But to return to Fort Concordia: it stands on a madreporic rocky eminence, about 60 feet in elevation, commanding the straggling town of Coepang, which, certainly, from the anchorage** does not impress the stranger with a favourable opinion of the industry of its inhabitants, though it improves in proportion as you retreat from the beach. The foot of the height on which the fort stands is washed by a small rapid stream that skirts the south side of the town. Its course from the eastward is marked by a deep gorge, on the sides of which a stranger might feast his eyes on the riches of tropical scenery. Here and there above the mass of humbler vegetation, a lofty tapering coconut tree would rear its graceful form, bowing gently in the passing breeze. On every hill was presented the contrast of redundant natural verdure, clothing its sides and summit, and of cultivated fields along the lower slopes. These by irrigation are turned into paddy plantations, the winds blowing over which give rise to those insidious fevers, intermittent, I am told, in their character, which are so prevalent at Coepang, as well as dysentery, from which indeed the crew of the Beagle afterwards suffered.

(*Footnote. Latitude 10 degrees 10 minutes 11 seconds South, and longitude 9 degrees 50 minutes 00 seconds West of Swan River.)

(**Footnote. See the view annexed.)

DUTCH MILITARY FORCE.

The whole force the Dutch have at Coepang is sixty soldiers, half of whom, too, are Javanese. Yet the subjection in which this small force keeps the natives, is beyond belief. A sergeant is the commandant at Rottee, and such power has he over the inhabitants, that he can at any time raise a thousand armed men in the course of a few hours. Many of the largest ponies used at Coepang, are brought from Rottee. Their origin no one could give me any information about; all agree in saying they were found with the island, and the natives have no traditions.

THE RESIDENT'S TALES.

My second visit to the Resident was for the purpose of accepting his offer of a guide, and of making arrangements for a day's shooting. I found him as usual, sitting smoking in a large cool room. We were soon in the interior of Borneo, the scene of his former exploits. Some of these were of so sanguinary a character, that they do him very little credit; and many of his tales partook of the marvellous. Among the Dyaks, natives of the interior, it is a custom, he said, that when a man wishes to marry, he must produce a certain number of human heads. He related that he had once seen a very handsome young woman, to whom a number of heads had been delivered, swimming about in some water, and playing with them. At another time he averred that he saw a woman mix human brains with water and drink it! Mr. Gronovius also informed me that the land on the western sides both of Timor and Borneo was gaining on the sea, particularly at the latter place; and a report prevailed that on some of the elevated parts of the former chama shells had been found. In answer to my inquiries about earthquakes, I was told that, only the last month the island of Ternate in 0 degrees 50 minutes North had been visited by one, which had thrown down all the houses, and that in 1690, the town of Coepang had also been destroyed. From the Resident also, I received accounts of three ports in Rottee, one on the north-west side, another on the south-east, and a third, on the north-east, opening into Rottee Strait.

THE TIMOREES.

Among the fresh information gained from Mr. Gronovius during this visit, was an account of the natives of Timor called Timorees. They are very superstitious, and when a person of consequence dies, a number of karabows (buffaloes) pigs, and ponies are killed and placed over his grave, as an offering to the evil spirit. Some, in case of sickness, imagine, that by eating a whole buffalo, even the horns and hoofs, by degrees, they can appease the anger of the demon to whom they attribute all their misfortunes.

Many of the Timorees have really handsome features, strikingly different from the Malays. Their hair, which is neither woolly nor straight, but crisp, and full of small waves, is worn long behind, and kept together by a curiously formed comb. There is altogether a degree of wildness in their appearance that ill accords with their situation; for nearly all the Timorees in Coepang are slaves sold by the Rajahs of the different districts, the value of a young man being fifty pounds.

A powerful Rajah, commonly called the Emperor of Timor, visited Coepang during our stay there. Unfortunately we all missed seeing him. He was attended by a large and well-armed guard, and appeared to be on very good terms with the merchants of the place, who made him several presents, no doubt through interested motives; probably he supplies them with slaves. His character is notoriously bad; it was only the other day that he had one of his wives cut to pieces, for some very trifling offence.

A SHOOTING EXCURSION.

On taking my leave of the Resident, I fixed the day for our shooting excursion. We were to go to a place called Pritie, on the northern shore of Babao Bay, and distant some fifteen miles from the ship, which rendered it necessary therefore to make an early start.

Daylight on Monday morning accordingly found us on the northern shore of the bay, but we soon ascertained that our guide knew very little about the matter; and what was still worse, there was no getting near the shore, a bank of soft mud fronting it for some distance, at this time of tide, and particularly in the vague direction our guide gave us of Pritie. The day was fast advancing; so we made our way back to a cliffy projection we had passed before light, where, after some difficulty, we got on shore. Whilst the breakfast was cooking, I made a sketch of the bay, and took a round of angles, all the charts and plans I had seen being very erroneous.

Our guide appeared to take our not going to Pritie greatly to heart; but we made the best of our way to some clear spots on the side of the high land seen from the boat. We met a few natives, who all agreed there were plenty of deer close by, which we believed, for we saw numbers of very recent tracks. But the jungle was impenetrable; so, after rambling for an hour or two, at the expense of nearly tearing the clothes off our backs, and emulating the folly of the wise man of Thessaly, we again determined to make for Pritie, or at least to try and find it. The tide too now served, and after a pull of some hours, carefully examining every creek and bight, we spied at length two canoes hauled up among a patch of mangroves. Landing, we soon found some houses, and a person to show us the road to Pritie; for we had still a walk of three miles across a well watered flat piece of country. We were highly pleased with this, to us, novel sight; and our enjoyment was heightened by beholding the tricks and grimaces of some impudent monkeys perched on the tops of the lofty trees, out of shot range, and too nimble to be hit with a ball.

VALE OF PRITIE.

We at last reached our destination, on the eastern side of a beautiful stream. Immediately to the northward some lofty peaks reared their rugged summits in an amphitheatre round the rich and picturesque vale of Pritie, which lay at the feet of their varied slopes, one mass of tropical vegetation. Trees of enormous height shot up by the waterside, and between them, as we approached, the little sharp-roofed houses of the village of Pritie could be seen scattered here and there amidst their gardens.

Our old guide, who had by this time recovered his serenity of mind, led us direct to the Commandant, a mild and very civil old Javanese, to whom orders had been sent by the Resident at Coepang to show us every attention. His room was adorned by a magnificent pair of antlers which, we were rejoiced to hear, had been lately taken from a deer shot within a hundred yards of the house. After a repast of young coconuts, and gula, a kind of honey; it was arranged that a party should be collected to go with us on the morrow to shoot deer and pigs.

Our host now took us to see the village, and then conducted us to the house we were to occupy during our sojourn at Pritie, which was a large homely-built edifice erected for the Resident's use when he visits this neighbourhood. We spent the dusk of the evening in pigeon-shooting, but did not meet with much success; for the birds perched for the most part on the summits of trees so lofty that they were quite out of shot-range. Many of these giants of the forest must have attained the height of at least two hundred feet. They formed a grand element in the landscape, especially when their huge trunks rose by the side of the limpid water of the stream that intersects the vale of Pritie. Between their topmost boughs, to the north, the amphitheatre of hills which I have mentioned lifted up their indistinct forms, round which the shades of night were gathering, towards the heavens, that soon began to glisten with a multitude of faint stars.

EVENING REPAST.

By the time we got within doors, after our unsuccessful stroll, we were quite tired, and well prepared to enjoy our dinner. The dignified air assumed by our guide, evidently for the purpose of showing off, and the ostentatious liberality with which he proffered the goodly viands sent by the commandant, amused us highly. An account of our fare may be acceptable to the gastronomic reader, who will thus be enabled to determine whether he should envy or pity the voyager to the distant shores of Timor. First came tea and coffee; then, in the course of an hour, followed fowls, cooked in all sorts of ways, with a proportion of rice. The good things were brought in by a train of domestics some fifty yards long, headed by a paunchy, elderly man, who greatly reminded us of Caleb Balderston. If there was a word said by any of the lookers-on--for many came to have a gaze at the lions--he was out in a moment, and brought the offender to account. In short, by his officious attention he afforded us much amusement, and greatly contributed to our proper enjoyment of the dinner. Our candles were original ones--a few threads of cotton drawn through a roll of bees' wax.

Dinner being over, we retired to pass as cold a night as we had felt for some time, having only a few coarse mats to cover us; so that long before daylight we were obliged to get up and walk about for the purpose of warming ourselves. The first of the morning we spent again pigeon-shooting; the birds were large and wild, yet we managed to get a few.

THE HILLS IN A MIST.

This excursion gave us an opportunity of beholding the mountains of Timor under a remarkable aspect. From various openings in the woody plain we could perceive their sides, clothed in grey mist, above which sometimes we caught a glimpse of a pinnacle rising through the clear air, and just touched by the rays of the morning sun. Here and there the slopes of the hills were dimly seen through the vapour, which in other places, however, rolled along in thick masses, completely hiding the uplands from view. Nearly every gorge and valley was filled with heavy volumes of fog, whilst in some, a slight steam only rising, allowed the trees to be faintly discovered. There is nothing more grand than the aspect of lofty peaks and crags and precipices imperfectly revealed through a morning mist. It seems as though the darkness of night, unwilling to depart, lingers still fondly around them. Their hollows and recesses are still wrapt in gloom, when all else around is beaming with light. Within the tropics the contrast thus afforded has a startling effect; but the influence of the sun is not long to be resisted; the mist soon begins to disperse; valley after valley opens its depths to the view; the outline of each rocky peak becomes more and more defined against the deep blue sky, and presently the whole scene appears before you clear and bright, with every line sharply drawn, every patch of colour properly discriminated, a splendid panorama of towering hills and waving forests.

Whilst I was gazing at this picture, the report of a fowling piece behind me drew my attention, and on turning I was surprised to see the old commandant out shooting likewise, and with him no less a person than Caleb Balderston, as we had christened his faithful domestic. In their company we returned to Pritie.

MUSTER OF THE PARTY.

Soon after breakfast our party began to muster, each man armed with a long-condemned Tower musket. On one of them I was surprised to recognize the name of a marine who had belonged to the Beagle in 1827. The powder they used was of the coarsest kind, carried in small pieces of bamboo, each containing a charge, and fitted in a case of skin, something like our cartouch boxes. As a substitute for balls they used BOLTS OF STONE, from two to three inches long. Besides a musket, each had a huge knife or chopper, stuck in his belt. I was much struck with the simple contrivance they had for shoes: a piece of the fan palm plaited together and tied under the foot. The number of uses to which this tree is applied is astonishing--for making water-buckets, for thatching houses, filling up the panel-work of doors, and a variety of others I could mention.

It was late before we could muster all our force; but we at length got away, commandant and all. I was much pleased with the respect everyone paid him, especially as he was one of those mild kind persons who require very little. Soon after leaving the village we halted in a shady spot, near a stream of water, some of our party being still missing. This gave me a good opportunity of comparing the features of the Malay and Timoree, for some of both were in attendance. The Malay has a much more open countenance than the Timoree, but is not so handsome, the latter having a more aquiline nose.

THE SHOOTING ARRANGEMENTS.

When they all arrived I counted fifty armed men. There were some whose grey hairs proclaimed their lengthened years; though there was a keenness in their eyes that revealed that the principle of vitality was strong within them yet; in others all the dash and vigour of youth was perceptible; many had a truly wild appearance, with their long bushy hair and ever restless eye. It was a picturesque sight to behold fifty such fine fellows scattered about in small groups in the deep shade of these solitudes.

All the necessary arrangements being made, we once more started. An hour's walk brought us to a rather large plain, where I and my companions were stationed, about a hundred yards asunder, whilst the rest of the party formed a circle, driving all the game in our direction. Unfortunately those on the left commenced hallooing before those on the right, in which latter direction the only three deer in the circle ran from the noise, instead of towards us. Two of them were shot, and by the stone bolts above mentioned. We now went to fresh ground, when, provoking to say, the same thing happened again, not without our suspicions being raised that this was purposely contrived; so that after all we were obliged to leave without a single shot. Each deer, the largest of which, a doe, must have weighed a hundred pounds, was shot STANDING, for the natives have a peculiar cry, which arrests the animal's progress for a moment, while they fire.

THE JAVANESE COMMANDANT.

The deer were all brought up to the commandant, who begged our acceptance of them. We thanked him, and took the two smallest. By the time we reached Pritie they were skinned and hung up, ready to be put into the boats. The persons who had shot them had received their stone bolts again very little injured; the hole they make is enormous. We rewarded these people; but to the commandant we were really at a loss how to express our obligations. At length we thought of giving him some powder and shot, which was a present he seemed right glad to receive. I afterwards learnt the history of this excellent old Javanese, and was surprised and grieved to hear that a person so universally esteemed had been banished from Java and his family for some trifling political offence. His property was sold to purchase his freedom, and the proceeds were entrusted to the captain of a ship, who ran off with the whole, thus at once ruining a most worthy family, and reducing my good friend the commandant to the necessity of remaining in exile. I was glad to hear, on my second visit to Timor, that he was still alive and well, though without any prospect of an alleviation to his condition.

Wishing him farewell, we left Pritie with some regret. By dark we had crossed Babao Bay, and reached the ship at half-past eight. It may be as well to mention that, looking from Coepang, the valley of Pritie is situated immediately under Timor Peak, the highest over the northern shore of Babao Bay. A small hut, on a projecting shingle point, close to the westward, marks the landing place, where several canoes are generally to be seen hauled up. At high tide a boat can get in; but, as we have already said, there is a long mud flat at low-water.

THE TIMOREES.

The Timorees do not bear the character of being very industrious; the small portion of land they cultivate is turned up in the following manner: a slight fence is placed round the part required for the purposes of agriculture and a drove of bullocks is driven furiously backwards and forwards over it; which very much resembles the mode adopted for thrashing corn in some parts of South America.

The Rajahs of the western portion of Timor receive their appointment from the Resident at Coepang; and their installation I am told is rather a grand affair. Nearly all the Timorees speak Malay, a soft pleasant-sounding tongue, apparently easy to be acquired; but there were few of the Coepang people that spoke the native language. Some of the Timor customs are singular: if a woman, for example, dies in childbirth, she is buried on the spot where she breathes her last.

DUTCH SETTLEMENT IN NEW GUINEA.

During our stay at Coepang I met the doctor of the Dutch settlement at Triton Bay, on the west coast of New Guinea. He gave me a very poor account of the inhabitants. The Dutch settlers, he says, can scarcely venture out of the fort; as the natives have bows and arrows, as well as muskets, with which they are excellent marksmen. Their firearms they obtain in exchange for birds of paradise, tortoise-shell and birds-nests, from vessels from the Arru, and other islands in the Eastern Archipelago. When a vessel arrives on the coast they flock down from the interior to trade, which cannot be done without an interpreter. It is even then attended with great risk, owing to the extreme treachery of the natives. Knives, stained blue, and cotton goods are in great request; but, although they of aware of the superiority of Europeans, they will not on any account allow them to live in their country. The inhabitants, however, are better disposed on the shores of Great Bay, a deep indentation on the north-east side of the island, where great quantities of nutmeg grow.

On the 5th the Mangles arrived from Sydney by the outer route through Torres Strait, having lost all her anchors, and been nearly wrecked in a south-east gale near Halfway Island. She was commanded by the same master, Mr. Carr, to whom I have before alluded as having given the first information concerning the survivors of the crew of the Charles Eaton.

ISLAND OF ROTTEE.

The next afternoon we weighed, and the following morning anchored, the water being deep, close in near Tykale Inlet, on the south-west side of Rottee, for observations,* and for the purpose of better determining the position of Pulo Douw, and the other islands in its neighbourhood.

(*Footnote. They placed the south point of the inlet in latitude 10 degrees 46 minutes 18 seconds South and longitude 0 degrees 43 minutes 50 seconds West of Coepang.)

An extensive coral flat fronts this part of Rottee, connecting it with the small islands lying off it.

We got from the natives some shells of a kind of small green mussel of a very peculiar shape. The old men from whom I got them was making a meal from some rare shell-fish. He did not understand the value of money; and, strange to say, not a word of the Malay language. The same was the case with all his companions. At the part of Samow I visited the people all understood it, which is very remarkable, as only a narrow strait separates the islands. In this state of ignorance they may perhaps be purposely kept.