New Guinea.

Manawatu Herald, 29 September 1896, Page 2

New Guinea.

Mr Whitraore MoncktoD, eldest bod of Dr Moockton, of Feilding, who has just returned from New Guinea, haa favoured us the follow* ing information : — " You have asked me for a letter on British New Guinea, and I'm hanged if I know what to write about. Btill I auppose gold, pearls, and the Datives will be of most interest to your readers. About nice months ago a trader (that ia a man who exchanges tomahawks, beads, knives, etc., to the natives for tortoise shell and Bach de-mer) found some gold in a creek on the Wood* laud Island. He reported his find to the Governor, Sir Wm. McGregor, who after satisfying himself that the find was genuine* proclaimed the Island a goldfield. Within six months of the Governor's visit there were 800 men on the field, each man making, up to the date of my departure, from one to 30 ounces of gold per week, the gold selling for £8 5s per ounce on the field. When I left the Island the alluvial gold was very nearly exhausted, yet from the number of magnificent quartz and ironstone specimens there were being found there was no doubt the Island carried some good reefs, but owiug to tHe oountry being very densely wooded they may take some time to find. The north east coast of British New Guinea is attracting a great deal of attention. For the past two years small parties of white men have been endeavouring to penetrate the country, but until two months ago, owing to hostile natives and fever, their efforts merely resulted in failures, the leaders of both expeditions being killed. The last expedition found gold in one small river, and .whea I left there were about 40 men working there, all of them doing well. Europeans are

■abject to fever and ague on the northeast coast of a bad kind, and also a peculiar swelling in the leg about the ankle. The leg swells up and then a villainous look ing uloer forms on tbe ankle bone that may take one month to get rid of. The natives about the Monbara river are cannibals and very warlike, but they are an intelligent race and one has very little difficulty in making friends with them. The Kiriwina or Trobriand Islanders are pearl fishers and very expert swimmers, a native having to dive and bring up possibly many hundreds of oysters before finding one pearl, and they very seldom find a really valuable pearl. I think that the next year will see a very big rush to New Guinea, but my advice to any man thinking of going there is "Don't." The India rubber trade is just in its infancy there as yet, and no doubt in the near future there will be very many men collecting and trading for india rubber. ! Sandle wood in the past has kept gome scores of men going, but it is vary nearly exhausted now near the coast. The one thing that will make British New Guinea is its gold, and there is not the slightest doubt that , the gold is there and in large quantities. One man from Auckland, named McKenzie, took 40 pounds weight of gold out of his claim in three weeks and then the claim was far from exhausted."— Advocate.