Adventures in New Guinea James Chalmers
Adventures in New Guinea James Chalmers
Adventures in New Guinea James Chalmers
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29<br />
were still mourn<strong>in</strong>g. There had been no danc<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the settlement s<strong>in</strong>ce<br />
the death, nor would there be any for some days to come.<br />
I th<strong>in</strong>k women are more respected here than they are <strong>in</strong> some other heathen<br />
lands. They seem to keep fast hold of their own possessions. A man<br />
stole an ornament belong<strong>in</strong>g to his wife, and sold it for hoop-iron on<br />
board the _Bertha_. When he went ashore he was met on the beach by his<br />
spouse, who had <strong>in</strong> the meantime missed her tr<strong>in</strong>ket; she assailed him with<br />
tongue, stick, and stone, and demanded the hoop-iron.<br />
The teachers were landed <strong>in</strong> the afternoon, and were well received. The<br />
natives all promised to care for them, and treat them k<strong>in</strong>dly. There are<br />
about two hundred and fifty natives on the island. No _Ellengowan_<br />
appear<strong>in</strong>g, we determ<strong>in</strong>ed to leave this on Wednesday, the 21st, and to<br />
proceed to Moresby Island. Next morn<strong>in</strong>g we left, but, ow<strong>in</strong>g to light<br />
w<strong>in</strong>ds, we did not anchor <strong>in</strong> Hoop-Iron Bay, off Moresby Island, till the<br />
morn<strong>in</strong>g of the 22nd. The anchorage here is <strong>in</strong> an open roadstead. It is<br />
a very f<strong>in</strong>e island--the vegetation from the water's edge right up to the<br />
mounta<strong>in</strong> tops. Plantations are to be seen all round. The people live <strong>in</strong><br />
small detached companies, and are not so pleasant and friendly-look<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
people as are the Teste islanders. This is the great Basilaki, and the<br />
natives are apparently the deadly foes of all the islanders round. Before<br />
we anchored, we were surrounded by catamarans (three small logs lashed<br />
together) and canoes--spears <strong>in</strong> them all.<br />
Mr. McFarlane decided, as soon as we came to the island, that he would<br />
not land his teachers here; and I did not consider it a suitable place as<br />
a head station for <strong>New</strong> Gu<strong>in</strong>ea. We left Moresby Island at six a.m. on the<br />
23rd <strong>in</strong>st., and beat through Fortescue Straits, between Moresby and<br />
Basilisk Islands. The scenery was grand--everyth<strong>in</strong>g looked so fresh and<br />
green, very different from the deathlike appearance of Port Moresby and