Tragedy

A Memory of a Papuan Tragedy

IN December, we published (e Old 1 Tamata Station and the Murder of John Green” —the story of a long-forgot ten gold-mining tragedy of Eastern Papua. When the Mambare district, after the murder, was hurriedly evacu ated by the miners, three men (Schmitt, Burns and Ryan) were left behind —they were further inland, on an almost inac cessible creek. Here is John Schmitt’s diary—an old document recently re-dis covered in Port Moresby.

IAND my mate, David Davis, left the police camp, Tamata Junction, Mambare River, on September 23, 1896, with six carriers. It took us ten days to get to McLaughlin Creek.

Davis started back on October 4 for more rations. Davis a bit sick. I am all right, but knocked up by the worst track I ever travelled on.

October 18: Have been prospecting two weeks, and got 15 dwt. gold; the creek is a roaring torrent every night. I can’t do anything in it till the wet sea son is over; she is too rock-bound.

October 22: Just got a prospect; will get a little gold if there is any extent of it. Enoch Sayre sick, and going away.

I bought his rations.

October 23: Boys arrived to-day with rations; been away 21 days. Dave sick, down at the police camp.

November 7: Gold cut clean out; got 5h oz. in four days. Dave and the boys arrived to-day with rations; boys been away 15 days.

November 12: Been to bushmen (Neneba); got sweet potatoes and pig; they are very friendly; been away five days; sent four boys down for rations.

December 6: Boys arrived yesterday— been away 22 days; landed here with li bags rice and about 16 lb. bacon. Been getting a little gold lately. Dave been sick again, seven or eight days; all right again now. Sent the boys down again to-day; suppose it will be their last trip, for their time is up on 31st.

December 20: Two boys came back to day; left the other two on the road. I kicked against a sharp stone, and some bone broke inside. I got a piece out about the size of a dice, but it still keeps sore. This happened on the 13th; had a few days of fever. Dave been laid up since the 15th.

December 27: Dave went down to sign the boys off; two have not arrived yet; took three, left one here; am afraid he will die on my hands.

December 28: Boy arrived to-day with half-bag rice; they started with three bags. I told Cabado he would have to stop to look after Peter, the sick boy, but he must have advised him to start on the road, for I did not see either of them again. I expect he will get him along the road a piece, and then leave him to die; he is a cunning rascal. I can’t do anything; my foot is very bad.

January 13: Only three left on the creek—Ryan about one mile up the creek, and Burns one mile down the creek from my camp. Very wet, thun derstorms every day. Beautiful morn ings, but sun very hot.

January 21: Ryan’s boys arrived yes terday with the news that Mr. Green and four police boys and three prisoners got killed at the new police camp on the 14th. The man in charge of Whitten’s store says he is going down the river on 26th. I am afraid I could not be down in time to catch the boat, so we intend to stop here till relief comes. We have

about nine weeks’ rations. Sent the boys down with a letter to that effect.

January 28: Ryan came back to-day with the news that Ned Crow had died on the road going down; also that the boy Peter had died at the crossing of the Chirima. I thought my foot was right, so I went to work two days; but it got bad again.

April 27: Been up at the village (Nen eba) six weeks; sick all the time; made three attempts to get back, but could not manage it. I thought somebody would be up before now; but there is none come yet.

May 2; Two men, Kelly and Nettle, arrived from Port Moresby over the mountains; been over two months on the road. I got a little flour, tea, and sugar from them.

May 14: Burns came back to-day; he was away 15 days trying to Port Moresby. He was in a very bad state when he got here.

June 6; Clunas and Elliott arrived to day from the Lower Mambare. I am going down with the boys to-morrow. I believe there is good gold in this dis trict, but it is very difficult to prospect unless a man is well prepared and got plenty of boys; without them a man can’t do anything. I got a very little gold for the time I was here—l 4 oz. 12 dwt. for my share—but I had no boys since Christmas, and been sick most of the time.

Miss M. L. Devitt, of the staff of the Melanesian Mission office in Sydney, has been appointed assistant-secretary of the Pacific Islands Society in Sydney.

Mr. Eric Ramsden, secretary of the Pacific Islands Society in Sydney, has been elected a member of the Societe d’Etudes Oceaniennes of Tahiti. Mr.

Ramsden, who has been engaged on a biography of James Busby, the first Gov ernment official in New Zealand, has recently published an account of the viti cultural activities of Mr. Busby in pam phlet form. The pamphlet went into its second edition in January.

Mrs. E. Marie Irvine, of Sydney, who was in Tonga last year engaged on a biography of Queen Salote, hopes to have her book published early this year.