NEW GUINEA

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1776, 25 February 1888, Page 2

NEW GUINEA

A Mr Theodore Bevau who baa been oxp'orlng £»ew Guinea lately returned to Queensland and furnished the Tawnsvlllo "'Bulletin" with an account of what he flaw and passed through. Hfa ateam laaaoh appears to h«vo ascended the ohief rivers against strong oarrents. The country m the interior seomed to be open and wooded. During the 1,200 miles stearaad by the lauaoh Mr Beaven was practically r.t the wheel tho whole time, tho lead and the Hue being kept going at Intervale of about tyro minutes the whole time under weigh. Briefly, the results ot the expedition have been to confirm the great accuraoy with which the previous surveys were made by* Mr Beaven • to penetrate farther up the Philip river to the west oE the Alrd river ; and to complete the rough exploration of Intervening (nantry adjoining the innumerable waterways which intersect the great delta. Mr Beavon has with him a map prepared* by Mr Bemmy, the reault of several ' hnndred Bextant and theodolite obtervatiooa, supported by oaroful traverses of the whole route. Seveial photographs were taken, and sm»ll bat Interesting oolleotloos were made. With reference to gold, Mr Bevan says that auriferous indications wero discovered ten miles above the termination of the Victory's trip up the Philip, algj, aa elsewhere stated, high up m the Jubilee river. In bia repott Mr Ueaamy states his opinion that the olimate is uo more dangerous, at regards faver, than is that of North Quoocislaud, the lns»lubriou» situations being confined to the low-lying swampy doltu hind But fow new products were discovered, tho principal being a spicy bark, which Mr Bevan belioveß to bo Cintiamonum Kiamis, or an allied apecios, which he intenfls to submit to Baron Von Mueller. Ifroin the observations of the leader and Mr Hemmy, it appears that tha native popu'ation ot thia portion of jNew Wuinea is confiaed to the delta, where fiah are obtainable nnd where they can grow cocoanuts. Beyond the delta no natives were Been txoept at Tumu, on the Aird Biver system, where they were mot with doriog tha Victory expedition. Very large villages were seen near the coaßt, and at one place between the main rivers, 20 milea up from the coatjt, tha launch was surrounded with canoes, the banks being orowded with thousands of natives. The Mabel's progress waa inter- j cepted by the Btalwart braves orowdinj tho boat which was being towed behind The whistle was blown and riflos fired into the air, but those means only had the effect of momentarily frighteniag them ; but wLen the lunch wds net full speed astorn they were entirely nonplussed. Having thuß.. shook off her assailants, the Mabol went ahead for three miles shaking off tho natives, and returning pact the village at dusk. Sovcal new iut resting characteristics were observed among-t the natives m this part wlrch Mr Bevun will specify m his detailed report Ouoa during the courpe of the expedition, when the launch was aground, and * hen tho sea was mak ng a clean breach over her, several of the crew gave up all hope, but all haads werd kept baling, and eventually steam was got up, arid a pnsiage was cut through the yielding sand, and the vessel Bhot olonr. With reference to future explosion, Mr lievau says that ho bolievos all that steam can do has been done, and be would establish a dep6t at Aird hi.lß, with outlying stations at one or two pa-ifio native village?, where tho dialects might be learnt. No known Papuan tongue ib of any use m this p rtion of New Guinea. Having won the confidence of the natives, he wou'd use their canoes f r reaching the interior far above navigable limits, aa ho has already had experience of what they can do io the way of paddling against , strong ourrents and m making portagoa lot rapids. This could only be done by ope; a ting on a large aoale, over a large area and with a large outlay.