Narrative Of The Voyage Of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By The Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During The Years 1846-1850.

1852.

CANOE AND NATIVES OF BRUMER ISLAND, NEW GUINEA. T. Huxley, delt. Hullmandel &amp; Walton, Lithographers. T. &amp; W. Boone, Publishers, London. 1852....

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PREFACE.

It was originally intended that an account of the Surveying Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake should have been undertaken conjointly by the late Captain Owen Stanley and myself, in which case the narrative would have been constructed from the materials afforded by the journals of both, and the necessary remarks upon hydrographical subjects would have been furnished by that officer, whose lamented death in March, 1850, prevented this arrangement from being carried out. Not having had access to Captain

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LIST OF PLATES. VOLUME 1.

CANOE AND NATIVES OF NEW GUINEA. CUTTING THROUGH THE SCRUB AT ROCKINGHAM BAY. T. Huxley, delt. Hullmandel &amp; Walton, Lithographers. T. &amp; W. Boone, Publishers, London. 1852. LIME CALABASH AND SPATULA. INTERVIEW WITH NATIVES OF REDSCAR BAY, LOUISIADE ARCHIPELAGO. STONE-HEADED AXE AND FISHHOOK. PLAN OF PIRON ISLAND CANOE. LARGE CANOE OF THE LOUISIADE. VIEW IN WATERING CREEK, SOUTH-EAST ISLAND, LOUISIADE ARCHIPELAGO. T. Huxley, delt. Hullmandel &amp; Walton, Lithographers. T. &amp

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CHAPTER 1.1.

Objects of the Voyage. Admiralty Instructions. Hydrographer's Instructions. Sail from Plymouth. Arrive at Madeira. Funchal. Visit to Curral. Try for Deep Sea Soundings. Crossing the Line. Arrive at Rio de Janeiro. City of Rio and Neighbourhood. Dredging in Botafogo Bay. Slavery. Religious Processions. Brazilian Character. Cross the South Atlantic. Temperature of the Sea. Oceanic Birds. Pelagic Animals. Arrive at Simon's Bay. Survey the Bay. Caffre War. Observations on the Waves. Arrive at Maurit

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CHAPTER 1.2.

Arrive at Sydney. Bramble is attached to the Expedition. Survey Entrance of Port Jackson and Twofold Bay. Sail upon our First Northern Cruise. Arrive at Moreton Bay. Proceedings there. Natives at Moreton Island. Arrive at Port Curtis. Settlement of North Australia. Excursions made in Neighbourhood. Natural Productions. Call at the Percy Isles. Port Molle and Cape Upstart. Unable to find Fresh Water. Return to Sydney. Recent Occurrences there. Sail for Bass Strait. Visit Port Phillip and Port Dal

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CHAPTER 1.3.

Sail on our Second Northern Cruise. Entrance to the Inner Passage. Arrive at Rockingham Bay. Land Mr. Kennedy's Expedition. Commence the Survey at Dunk Island. Communication with Natives. Barnard Isles. Botanical Sketch. Examine a New River. Frankland Isles. Find the Coconut Palm. Fitzroy Island. The Will-o-the-Wisp and her Story. Trinity Bay. Animals of a Coral Reef. Stay at Lizard Island. Howick, Pelican, and Claremont Isles. Bird Isles. Meet party of Natives in Distress. Cairncross Island. Ar

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CHAPTER 1.4.

Water the Ship. Vessel with Supplies arrives. Natives at Cape York. Description of the Country and its Productions. Port Albany considered as a Depot for Steamers. Sail from Cape York and arrive at Port Essington. Condition of the Place. History of the Settlement. Would be useless as a Colony. Aborigines. Leave Port Essington. Arrive at Sydney. At length, on October 7th, we reached Cape York, and anchored in the northern entrance to Port Albany. At daylight next morning two parties were sent in

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CHAPTER 1.5.

Fate of Kennedy's Expedition. Sail on our Third Northern Cruise. Excursion on Moreton Island. History of Discoveries on the South-East Coast of New Guinea and the Louisiade Archipelago, from 1606 to 1846. Find the Shores of the Louisiade protected by a Barrier Reef. Beautiful appearances of Rossel Island. Pass through an opening in the Reef, and enter Coral Haven. Interview with Natives on Pig Island. Find them treacherously disposed. Their mode of Fishing on the Reefs. Establish a system of Bar

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CHAPTER 1.6.

Leave Coral Haven. Brierly Island. Communication with the Natives. Description of their Huts. Bartering for Yams and Cocoa-nuts. Suspicious conduct of the Natives. They attack the Surveying Boats. Calvados Group. Further communication with the Inhabitants. Stay at Duchateau Islands. Their Productions. Proceedings there. Duperre Islands. Unable to find Anchorage. Pass out to Sea, and proceed to the Westward. Western termination of the Louisiade Archipelago. Reach the Coast of New Guinea. July 2nd

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CHAPTER 1.7.

Brumer Islands. Catamarans and Canoes. Friendly relations with the Natives of New Guinea. Are well received at their Village. Tatooing and Dress of the Women. The Huts described. Large Canoe from the Mainland. Tassai ladies return our visit. The Natives described. Their Weapons, Ornaments, Food, etc. Cul de Sac de l'Orangerie, and Communication with the Natives. Redscar Bay and its Inhabitants. Leave the Coast of New Guinea. Arrive at Cape York. BRUMER ISLANDS. August 17th. We are once more comf

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CHAPTER 1.8.

Rescue a white Woman from Captivity among the Natives. Her History. Bramble and boats complete the Survey of Torres Strait. Wini and the Mulgrave Islanders. Intercourse with the Cape York Natives. Nearly quarrel with them at a night dance. Witness a Native fight. Discover some fine country. Incidents of our stay. Many new Birds found. Remarks on the Climate, etc. of Cape York. On the day after our arrival at Cape York the vessel from Sydney with our supplies anchored beside us, and besides provi

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APPENDIX 2.

ABSTRACTS OF MERIDIAN DISTANCES MEASURED DURING THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. RATTLESNAKE, 1847 TO 1850, BY CAPTAIN OWEN STANLEY, R.N., F.R.S., AND LIEUTENANT C.B. YULE, R.N. The following pages contain abstracts of the meridian distances measured in H.M. Surveying Ship Rattlesnake and her tender the Bramble, in the survey of the Inner Route through Torres Strait, the Louisiade Archipelago, and the South-east Coast of New Guinea, during the years 1847, 1848, 1849 and 1850, under the command of the late C

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APPENDIX 3.

OBSERVATIONS OF THE MEAN MAGNETIC INCLINATION, MADE ON SHORE IN THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. RATTLESNAKE, BY LIEUTENANT J. DAYMAN, R.N. INSTRUMENTS EMPLOYED: ROBINSON'S 6-INCH INCLINOMETER; FOX'S DIPPING APPARATUS. The following tables contain the absolute determinations of the magnetic inclination and declination made in the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake on shore. A very large series made almost daily at sea with Fox's instrument and the Azimuth Compass require several corrections before they are fit fo

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LIST OF PLATES. VOLUME 2.

NATIVES OF REDSCAR BAY, NEW GUINEA. FUNERAL SCREEN, MOUNT ERNEST. INTERIOR OF DARNLEY ISLAND HUT. NEW SHELLS. Tab. 2. Fig. 1. Helix brumeriensis. Fig. 2. Helix franklandiensis. Fig. 3. Helix inconspicua. Fig. 4. Helix iuloides. Fig. 5. Helix divisa. Fig. 6. Helix yulei. Fig. 7. Helix dunkiensis. Fig. 8. Helix louisiadensis. Fig. 9. Balea australis. Fig. 10. Pupina grandis. NEW SHELLS. Tab. 3. Fig. 1. Helix macgillivrayi. Fig. 2. Pupina Thomsoni. Fig. 3. Helicina gouldiana. Fig. 4. Helicina stanl

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CHAPTER 2.1.

Distribution of Aboriginal tribes of Cape York and Torres Strait. Mode of warfare illustrated. Their social condition. Treatment of the women. Prevalence of infanticide. Education of a child. Mode of scarifying the body. Initiation to manhood. Their canoes, weapons, and huts. Dress of the women. Food of the natives. Mode of fishing. Capture of the turtle and dugong described. Yams and mode of culture. Edible roots, fruits, etc. No recognised chieftainship. Laws regarding property in land. Belief

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CHAPTER 2.2.

Sail from Cape York. Mount Ernest described. Find Kalkalega tribe on Sue Island. Friendly reception at Darnley Island, and proceedings there. Bramble Cay and its turtle. Stay at Redscar Bay. Further description of the natives, their canoes, etc. Pass along the South-east coast of New Guinea. Call at Duchateau Islands. Passage to Sydney. Observations on Geology and Ethnology. Origin of the Australians considered. SAIL FROM CAPE YORK. December 3rd. At length we have bade a final adieu to Cape York

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CHAPTER 2.3.

Death of Captain Stanley. Sail for England. Arrive at the Bay of Islands. Kororareka. Falls of the Keri-Keri. Passage across the South Pacific. Oceanic birds. Stay at the Falkland Islands. Settlement of Stanley. Call at Berkeley Sound. Lassoing cattle. Resume our homeward voyage. Call at Horta in the Azores. The caldeira of Fayal. Arrive in England. Soon after our arrival in Sydney we had to lament the loss of our much respected commander, who died suddenly on March 13th, while apparently conval

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ACCOUNT OF MR. E.B. KENNEDY'S EXPEDITION FOR THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAPE YORK PENINSULA, IN TROPICAL AUSTRALIA.

In addition to the brief account which already forms part of the Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, I have thought it would add to the interest of this work and the gratification of its readers, were I to give under a distinct head a detailed history of the exploring expedition conducted by the late Mr. Edmund B. Kennedy, derived from a pamphlet printed in Sydney, and scarcely procurable in this country. It includes the interesting narrative of Mr. W. Carron, the botanist attached to

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APPENDIX 1.COMPARATIVE VOCABULARY OF TWO OF THE LANGUAGES OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF CAPE YORK.

A few words procured at Cape York and Port Lihou are given in the Voyage of the Fly, and most of those which I have been able to identify belong to the language spoken by the Kowrarega tribe, inhabiting the Prince of Wales Islands, and frequently visiting Cape York. For the materials composing the present Kowrarega Vocabulary, I am almost entirely indebted to Mrs. Thomson. Unfortunately, however, her total want of education prevented her from acquiring any idea of the construction of the languag

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APPENDIX 2.COMPARATIVE VOCABULARY OF THREE OF THE LANGUAGES OF THE SOUTH-EAST COAST OF NEW GUINEA AND THE LOUISIADE ARCHIPELAGO.

The materials composing the following Vocabulary are arranged in three columns, according to the localities where they were obtained. 1. Redscar Bay (on the South-East coast of New Guinea, in latitude 9 degrees 17 minutes South and longitude 146 degrees 53 minutes East) and its neighbourhood. 2. Brumer Island (on the South-East coast of New Guinea, in latitude 10 degrees 45 minutes South and longitude 150 degrees 22 minutes East) and its neighbourhood; also Dufaure Island (about 40 miles to the

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APPENDIX 3.REMARKS ON THE VOCABULARIES OF THE VOYAGE OF THE RATTLESNAKE, BY R.G. LATHAM, M.D.

In the way of comparative philology the most important part of the Grammar of the Australian languages is, generally, the Pronoun. That of the Kowrarega language will, therefore, be the first point investigated. In the tongues of the Indo-European class the personal pronouns are pre-eminently constant, i.e., they agree in languages which, in many other points, differ. How thoroughly the sound of m runs through the Gothic, Slavonic, and Iranian tongues as the sign of the pronoun of the first pers

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APPENDIX 4.CATALOGUE OF THE BIRDS OF THE NORTH-EAST COAST OF AUSTRALIA AND TORRES STRAIT.

Lists exhibiting the occurrence of Australian Birds in particular districts are instructive, as showing the range of species over the various parts of an extensive district, and as bearing upon, and to my mind confirming, to a certain extent, the views of those geologists who consider Australia to have formerly appeared as a cluster of three or four islands, subsequently connected since the tertiary epoch so as to form what may now be considered as a continent. With the kind assistance in determ

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APPENDIX 5.ON THE MOLLUSCA COLLECTED BY MR. MACGILLIVRAY DURING THE VOYAGE OF THE RATTLESNAKE, BY PROFESSOR EDWARD FORBES, F.R.S.

1. ON THE BATHYMETRICAL DISTRIBUTION OF MARINE TESTACEA ON THE EASTERN COAST OF AUSTRALIA. As in every instance the exact locality, depth and character of habitat of species of Mollusc taken were carefully noted of at the time of capture, much more valuable information elucidating the distribution of shellfish in the Australian seas has been collected during this expedition than was ever before obtained. Whilst new species are usually sought after by collectors with eagerness, the habits and ran

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