Chapter XVII: The Coral Island of Sikayana (20)

On 28th October we had expected to be in sight of the great horse-shoe-shaped Bampton Reef. But there was no surf discernible from the mast-head, only the change to smooth water, which we at once felt, proving that the reef really existed, and that we were to leeward of it. Its position is so variously laid down on the charts, that while by one chart we must have been upon the very reef itself, we were, according to a second, four miles, and, according to a third, fourteen miles to the eastward of it! The last-mentioned seemed to be the most correct, since at four miles the surf must have been visible, whereas it would be impossible to see it at fourteen miles.

By 30th October we had passed the latitude of Sandy Cape, and could now steer direct for Sydney, the capital of the colony of New South Wales. The same day we also crossed the tropic of Capricorn. The temperature, which had been falling regularly ever since we left the Solomon Islands, in 28 deg. S., was as low as 64 deg.4 Fahr., so that we found it advisable to resume our woollen clothing.

Ten months we had now spent in the tropics, in the hottest seas of the globe, and we now felt, on a beautiful November morning in the southern tropics, as on a clear spring morning at home. On 4th November we had our first peep of the coast of Australia at Smoky Cape, a fresh easterly breeze filling our sails, as we bowled along at 10 knots an hour, constantly nearing the next station of our voyage. On the 5th, at 2 P.M., the not very high land round Port Jackson came in sight, and we had not to alter her course by one spoke, so that our chronometer had given unmistakeable proof of its accuracy. The coast is for the most part rather flat and monotonous, but we soon recognized the entrance by North Cape, which rises sheer out of the water at the harbour mouth, where we also took a pilot on board. The light-house here, 420 feet above sea-level, had been visible from the deck of the frigate 15 miles away! During the whole voyage we had only seen one vessel, an American clipper off the Marianne Archipelago, and were greatly amazed to find not a single sail in the vicinity of the port. At last, just as we got abreast of the entrance, we saw a steamer and some small boats making for the land. At 6 P.M., after a voyage of 82 days, during which we had sailed 5930 miles, the anchor was let go in the magnificent harbour of Port Jackson, off Garden Island, to the N.E. of the city of Sydney. We had reached in safety the fifth quarter of the globe!

FOOTNOTES:

[200] As it is not uninteresting to know the course of exchange at Sikayana existing between the products of European industry and its native products, we subjoin a few of the most important equivalents:

For 5 lbs. tobacco one pig.
" 20 Steel fish-hooks "
" 5 Strings of red corals "
" 5 Strings of green and red glass beads "
" 5 Packets of needles and thread "
" 10 Ells of calico "
" 5 Fish-hooks ten eggs.
" 5 Fish-hooks two hens.
" 10 Fish-hooks 30 pieces of Taro.
" 2 Packets needles and threads 30 pieces of Taro.
" 1 Packet old playing-cards 4 hens.

[201] One Chinese picul = 133-1/2 lbs. English, whereas one Dutch picul = 135-3/5 lbs. English.

[202] Called Trepang by the Malays, _hai-schni_ by the Chinese, and _Biche-de-mar_ by both English and French. Of this _holothuria_ or sea-cucumber (_Holothuria edulis_), there are about 400 tons annually imported into China from the various islands of the Southern Ocean.

[203] During our excursion, there were taken on board the frigate, which cruised to and fro in short tacks off the island, about 200 readings of the temperature, at depths of every 50 fathoms. It was also intended to experiment as to soundings, but the state of the weather prevented this, as there were continual squalls, and the threatening state of the weather did not admit of a boat being launched. However at a distance of half a mile from the reef, no bottom was found with 200 fathoms of line.

[204] It is perhaps a duty to our gallant companions of every grade to vindicate the Expedition once more, and finally, from certain malignant calumnies which, upwards of a year after we had left Australian waters, were circulated in the columns of even respectable newspapers, accusing the crew of the _Novara_ of having been guilty of most scandalous excesses and wanton robbery while at Sikayana. It seems however needless to insist that not the slightest pretext for such infamous aspersions was furnished by any of the party who spent these few hours in Sikayana, of which we have sketched the details in the present chapter. But the fact that they could be circulated without its being possible to contradict them on official authority points to a serious defect in our diplomatic position abroad. True, that no respectable member of the community accredited the idle mischievous report; true that the leading inhabitants, English, American, and German, strenuously combated it on every possible occasion, and in every possible manner. Yet had Austria been a recognized power, instead of a friendly guest, it needs but little acquaintance with the etiquette of public and official life to know that the calumny must have been stifled in its birth, by the prompt action of those specially appointed to protect the fair fame of their country in these distant waters. Not till her flag floats regularly to the breeze in the most distant countries, instead of being that of a casual visitor, will Austria, and through her the entire German nation, receive that respect, and occupy that position among the family of nations, to which her intelligence, her energy, and her important influence upon the progress of civilization alike entitle her.

[205] The quantity of rain that falls in these latitudes is something almost incredible. One single squall from the N.W. was accompanied by a rainfall of _three_ inches, in the course of _five hours_, whereas the _entire rainfall_ for the _year_ in London, for instance, is only 18.07 inches.

[206] The native name is Ulatua.

END OF VOL. II.

JOHN CHILDS AND SON, PRINTERS.

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List of Modifications

Transcriber's Note: Blank pages have been deleted. Captions indicated in the original publication's list of illustrations have been added to the illustrations themselves. Illustrations omitted from the list of illustrations have been added there. To these illustrations, new captions have been added. Illustrations may have been moved. The footnotes have been moved. We have rendered consistent on a per-word-pair basis the hyphenation or spacing of such pairs when repeated in the same grammatical context. We have corrected inconsistencies in the application of accents to the same word when repeated. The publisher's inadvertent omissions of punctuation have been corrected. Some wide tables have been re-formatted to narrower equivalents with some words replaced with commonly known abbreviations and possibly a key. Some ditto marks have been replaced with the words represented. The publisher's corrections listed at the end of Volume III have been applied. Duplicative front matter has been removed. Other changes were made as listed below:

23: the poor people having been over whelmed[overwhelmed]
62: first the island of Meroe, than[then] the two
193: Javanese was their conversion to Brahmaism[Brahmanism]
205: of which is manufactured Manilla[Manila] hemp)
205: the plant in its orginal[original] climate,
206: beautifully situated Hotel Belleuve[Bellevue],
226: such as Gunnug[Gunung] Guntur and Gunung
236: caves.["] (The meaning of the above Javanese words is
236: name of _Njai[Njai]-Ratu-Segor-Kidul_,
270: Radhen[Raden] Saleh cherishes
281: Plans for canalization.--Arrival at Los Banos[Banos].
292: The two hotels lately started [to] levy,
301: was born 24th November, 1778, at Navianos[Navianos],
320: Athough[although] altogether more tobacco
345: the church was considered as descerated[desecrated]
353: owing to the attitude[altitude] of the hills
418: and wicker[-]work numerous skulls of rebels
451: In the dispensary there were, morever[moreover],
508: impart a certain bloom, an artificial fragrancy[fragrance],
529: clearly developes[develops] its tendency,
543: the centre of the _cylone[cyclone]_,
550: Wenn Welle ruht und jedes Luft gefluester[Luftgefluester]
550: Und fromm, fast wie zwei betende Geschwester[Geschwister].
617: with the seeds of the _Bixa ocellana[orellana]_,

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