Safe and Sound

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 266, 20 March 1911, Page 5

Safe and Sound

THE PAPUAN EXPLORING PARTY. .' A STORY OF PERIL AND PRIVATION. By Cable—Press Association—Copyright. Received 19, 5 p.m. Melbourne, March 18. Mr. Staniforth Smith, in a message to Mr. Batchelor, Federal Minister for External Affairs, states that in the early part of the journey he crossed a high mountain range, and pushed on down, expecting to reach alluvial country drained by the Tnmari and Mamu rivers. On January 24 the party reached what he believed were the upper waters of the Strickland river. They had then walked • 254 miles through an exceedingly rough jungle of scrub, through which they had to cut their way. They found the river impassable, with rapids running through gorges 1200 feet high. It was impossible to cross it, so after proceeding along its banks, they made a raft and started down the river. The rapids became worse, and the RAFT WAS DASHED TO PIECES. . ■ ■ i Some carriers were killed, and the explorers lost their food supplies, tents, and baggage. ' After five days the expedition, which bad been scattered on both sides of the river, were got together. After that, as they had no food, they decided to travel along the river bank until the rapids ceased. They continued to travel, covering 120 miles in 34 days. Frequent stoppages were necessary, as the supplies of sago were very precarious. Then they made rafts, and reached the coast, finding the river was the Kikori, which they had followed for three hum dred miles. Mr. Smith adds that he could not have got through without the splendid co-operation of Bell an<f Pratt. THE EXPLORERS' MISTAKE. FOOD SUPPLIES RUN SHORT. NATIVES SUPPLY THEM WITH '.-■ . FOOD. Received 19, 6.40 p.m. Sydney, March 18. Mr. Smith says he believed the river he was descending was the Strickland, and was much surprised, on arriving at his old camping grounds, to discover that he had been on the Kikori all the time. He found the food depot of the. search party, secured their boat, and travelled to Darn, from where a lugger brought him to Thursday Island. The search parties are unaware of the safety of the explorers. Thursday Island, March 18. Mr. Smith's party suffered extreme hardship and privation, and had extraordinary adventures. They ascended the river Kikori for fifty miles, and then struck north-east into unknown country; They cross three large rivers, and followed one for two hundred and fifty miles up from the coast, encountering many rapids. I The food supplies ran short, their only I sustenance being palm pith. So they I turned back and constructed rafts to" make the downward journey. In shooting the rapids several carriers were drowned. Finally they came to rapids extending for 150 miles, and were forced to abandon the river and make their way through rough country. Natives supplied therri with food, and when they reached the river they again utilised rafts, completing the journey. Excepting for those who perished, Mr. Smith's party are all safe. VALUABLE INFORMATION GATHERED. THE NATIVES NOT UNFRIENDLY. Received 10, 0.40 p.m. Melbourne, March 18. Mr. Staniforth Smith, in a further message to Mr. Batchelor, says the expedition returned to Goaribari on the sth, and thence crossed to Thursday Island. He visited the upper waters of the Strickland river, returning along the north-west of the Kikori, travelling 374 miles on foot, and 150 miles by river in totally unexplored country. They completed the major portion of the exploration of the territory, and most important information was gathered. They found a small coal creek near the lower Kikori, and a large field of excellent coal in the upper Kikori. The western division, instead of being largely low-lying and alluvial, consists for the greater portion of an elevhted plateau, the lowest valley of which is 2000 feet above the sea level. The country is a vast upraised mass of coral. The upper waters and watersheds of the great rivers emptying into the gulf are now fairly defined, completing the knowledge of the river system of the territory. They have now data for estimating the population with some accuracy. The party established friendly relations with the bushmen everywhere, and there was no fighting. They found sago growing inland, at ;vi elevation of 3500 feet. THE LEADER CONGRATULATED. Received 20, 12.25 a.m. Melbourne, March 19. Mr. Batchelor has congratulated Mr. Staniforth Smith on his" return. STORY OF THE EXPEDITION. The expedition was arranged by the Administrator of Papua, Mr. Staniforth Smith, who was accompanied by six Europeans, twelve native police, and fourteen native carriers. They sailed from Port Moresby to the mouth of the Kikori river, and on November 18 began their overland journey for the purpose of visiting a coalfield about a hundred miles from the coast. Having accomplished this undertaking, Mr. Smith decided to extend the scope of the expedition, with a view to estab'ishing friendly relations with the little-known natives of the interior. He proposed to travel through some wild country to the Strick-

land river, and return along the Fly river to the coast. On December 1 Mr. Smith despatched two messengers from the vicbih- of the coalfield to the coast, sen"'". >rd that the Government: steamer was to meet the party at the mouth of the Fly river on January fi. When the messengers left, the expedition had enoiii!')) provisions to last for a month on full rations, and it was understood that efforts would be made to secure supplies of native sago in order to enable the Administrator to extend his field of operations if it seemed desirable to do so. The Government steamer waited at the mouth of the Fly river until January 31 without seeing any sijn of the party, and then returned to Port Moresby. Arrangements were made at once to send out three search parties, as it was considered possible that the explorers might return to the coast by any one of the three .rivers. A VIRGIN JUNGLE. In a letter received by Renter's Agency from an explorer, the country through which the explorers were to travel was thus described:— "It is virgin junele never before 'trodden by the foot of man; to its hidden depths the natives are complete strangers; the pigmies from the lowlands! fear it. The outskirts and more open parts bordering the river are frequented by cassowary (a kind of emu), boat and wallabv, and are the haunt of the greater bird of paradise, whose shrill joyous call enlivens these dark depths. Less than half a mile from the river it is impossible for a man to stand at any snot wjthout being touched on every side by tree stems. "It is the haunt of all creeping things, from the deadly puff adder to the greater, yet comparatively harmless, python. Noxious insects abound, and leeches swarm on the saturated, moist-ridden trees and undergrowth. Everything' decaying; no air seems to circulate there; and what little there is is foetid and stifling. Dismal, dark, dripping! Four weeks' arduous work has resulted in the cutting of 5900 yards of road." Dr. Marshall describes the native woman: "She 'drags up' the children, cuts the firewood, brings in the sago, works the canoes, occasionally proving her skill as a warrior in the family and village quarrels, and always coming off best with her tongus. She is usually content with a strip of dark cloth. When in mourning she dispenses even with this. "Pigmies, averaging 4ft 6in to 4ft Bin in height—wild, shy, and treacherous—wander over the heavy jungle-clad hills and mountains. They dwell in the rudest kind of lean-to huts, made of branches of fan-palms, with no regular villages, but move from district to" district in search of food." MR. SMITH'S EXPLORING METHODS. Some description of staniforth Smith's exploring methods was recently given to a representative of the Sydney Herald by Mr. G. S. Heme, a director bf the Papuan Rubber and Trading Company, who had returned from a visit to the territory a week previously. "Mr. Smith wanted to do everything himself," said Mr, Heme. "He said he did not want too many in the party, as numbers would hamper the expedition's movements. His idea was to trav 1 light, and, after sending Messrs. Murn"- and Flennelly back, he went on with .' r -":=r=. Pratt and Bell, with only fourter T >o'-s eleven of whom were police, carrying riile'i. They could not carry nearly enough luggsge. and they had only one change of clothes, no extra pairs of boots, no tents, only blankets and mosquito nets. 'You fellows don't know how to get through the country,' Mr. Smith used to say. 'l'll show you how to travel through the country.' Most travelling parties take changes of clothes and plenty of provisions, but ', when Messr?. Murray and Hennellv left Mr. Smith he was eating tabloids, so that there is a big chance of his being j starved. On the "other hand, he may only le delayed. The weather in Papua has been about the same as in Sydney dnrinar the pa-t few weeks, rain' incessantly, and ihc country may be ouite impassable." IN A CHAOTIC STATE. Mr. Heme said the affairs of Papua were in a chaotic stale owing to Mr. Sm'lh's absence. "The business of flic com:try is simply upside down," lie said. "Tt is'absolutely impossible for anvone who has not beeii there to realise the state things are in. The position is this: When Mr. Murrav left. Mr. Smith was appointed ActingAdministrator, and be went away without appointing anyone in his place. The council which' does all the business of the country is therefore absolutely powerless to do anything but routine work. There has not been a council meeting for over three months, and everything is in a state of confusion."