THE AUSTRIAN FRIGATE NOVARA.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 284, 10 July 1860, Page 3

THE AUSTRIAN FRIGATE NOVARA.

To the Editor of the Herald. Sir, —Youv paper of the 6th and 13tb of January contains several articles respecting a gross outrage committed by a detachment of armed men from a foreign man-of war, believed to have been the Austrian frigate Novara, upon the unoffending inhabitants of the Stewart Islands, in the South Pacific Ocean. As the report of this outrage has furnished to your paper the material for a rather severe leader, I consider it my duty, as a member of the Novara expedition, and an Austrian, to refute, in my name, and that of my fellow-travellers, this profidious attack upon the honor of our expedition, and our flag, and to request you the favor to give publicity to the following true statement. The Austrian frigate Novara came in sight of Stewart Islands in the afternoon of the 16th of October, 1858 (not twenty-two months ago, as your* " communicated" states) on her way from Shanghae to Sydney. Two small canoes with about six or eight natives came on board, and got soon intimate with our crew. They all spoke broken English, and seemed very anxious that we should come on shore, and visit their island and their King. Next morning, the 17th of October, the naturalist and some officers tried to land in three small boats on one of the islands, with the intention to make some collection of objects of natural history, and to get perhaps some fresh vegetables for our sick on board. The islands, (five in number) are surrounded by coralreefs, forming a lagoon inside, and there is but one place, a very shallow and narrow passage, where in fine weather and at high tide, a small boat may go through into the lagoon. When the natives saw our great difficulty to land they jumped into the water, swam towards, our boat, and tried together with our men to pull it through the passage, but they only succeeded after we all had disembarked and attempted to walk over the coral reefs inside. Only one of our boats passed into the lagoon, while the other tv7o remained outside on account of the shallowness of the passage. We were altogether about twenty men onshore, of which only five (two naturalists and three officers) were provided with guns, for the purpose of shooting some birds or other interesting animals for our collection; all the rest had no arms at all. All the gentlemen who were on shore spoke English, and there was not the slightest difficulty to make themselves understood by the natives. Almost the whole party remained on the small island Faole not Fowny as your report says); the naturalists collecting each in his department, the draughtsman making drawings oi the landscape, and some of the inhabitants who happened to be on the island, which is only occasionally visited by

the natives for the purpose of collecting, cocoa-nuts. Only three of us, the purser, one of our physicians and myself (all uiv armed) visited in a small boat the largest of the islands, called Sikayana or Big Island, where a settlement of about 200 inhabitants (males, females,- and children) exists, and where the king of the tribes resides. We hoped by this visit to see more closely the manners and customs of this primitive people, to make some notes on their language and their traditions, to measure, according to our anthropometrical system, some of the most characteristic individuals, and, finally, to exchange some articles of general use, as for instance — calico, knives, saws, hatchets, ironmongery, needles, thread, biscuits, tobacco, beads, &c, for fresh provisions. We succeeded perfectly, and not only got rid of almost all the numerous articles we had with us in two large cases, in exchange against vegetables, fowls, and pigs, but likewise performed a number of measurements on several typical individuals (amongst whom a beautiful strong fellow by the name of Kaitabu), and one ofthe'natives; called Karosi had even the patience to help us, writing down about 200 words of their language according to Mr. Gallahin's well-known vocabulary. Only a few of the natives seemed to know the value of money, what they asked for the most, were beads, called in their tongue fulani, chewing tobacco, and, to our great surprise—playing cards! Some sailors, who, many years ago, spent several months on the island for the purpose of collecting and preparing trepang or beche-de-mer, lor the Chinese markets, had taught them a game called • Odd fourth,' for which they showed quite a passion. Most of the articles exchanged were carried by the natives themselves in their small canoes on board of our frigate, without any objection. At the time of our visit there was only one white man living on the island, an English sailor, named John Davis, born at Greenwich, and about forty years of age, who stated to have been left at the island of Sikayana against his will, by Captain Boss, of the sphooner New Forest, in April, 1858. He said that he was very sick at that time, and that severe attacks of fever did not permit him to work; this circumstance brought the captain, who was frequently drunk, into a passion, and he landed the sick, helpless, wretched man at this lonely island ! Davis applied for a passage on board our frigate to Sydney. The Commander-in-Chief of our expedition, Commodore Wullerstorf, who, during our visit to the island, remained with the frigate under sail, granted this request with the greatest pleasure, after having had investigated that John Davis had fulfilled all obligations towards the islanders, and they themselves were quite satisfied to see him leave this dreary, solitary spot on the ocean, where years sometimes pass before a vessel may call. Several canoes, crowded with natives, accompanied us on board, and stayed there with us yet a short time, expressing more than once their satisfaction about our visit. You say in your leader of the 13th of January, that you know of no function of the Press more sacred than the protection of the weak,—and I quite agree with you; but there is also no duty of the press more sacred, than truthfulness. The whole report, as far as it regards the frigate Novara, is untrue, or, as the Americans would say, a hoax; perhaps invented by some of the traders, who were angry that we have " spoiled the market," in giving to the natives ten times as much of valuable things as he is accustomed to give to them of trifles. I am, dear sir, DR. KARL SOHERZBR, Member of the Novara Expedition. Trieste, April I lth, 1860. '