Munchausen
pp. 19-21 · Read in the full issue
A New Guinea
By Cecil W. Salier, in “Australian National Review”
1 FANCY it must have happened some how like this: The visitor to the publishing house of Chapman & Hall, London, in about 1874, inquired if the house would publish a book about New Guinea.
Well, that all depended . Oh, he’d travelled there recently? A diary of exploration? H’m! We would admit (cautiously) that was some public interest in New Guinea, but, as for pub lication . Would Mister—l beg your pardon—Captain Lawson leave the MS and they’d have their reader run through it? If he could call back in, say, a week or two, we would let him know more definitely. Good day, Captain.
When the Captain called again, his reception was more cordial.
Yes, they’d read the MS. Their reader had reported, favourably—yes, quite favourably—on it, and they would pub lish it. The emendations they would suggest were very trifling, and they’d suggest that a frontispiece be added —a picture of Mount Hercules drawn by their artist from Captain Lawson’s sketch and notes made on the spot.
And so was issued to the scientific and popular world of 1875—a world then considerably interested in the great island of New Guinea—the story of the “Wanderings in the Interior of New Guinea”, by Captain J. A. Lawson.
According to this “veracious” account, Lawson left Sydney on May 25, 1872, in the “Nautilus”, of 220 tons, Captain Dobbs, master, and on June 22 landed at Houtree, a village of 263 inhabitants, situated in latitude 9° 8’ 18” south, and longitude 143° 17’ 8” east, on the south coast of New Guinea. We note, in pass ing, the accuracy of the scientific observer in these particulars, an accur acy observable in many of the later statements; but which, paradoxical as it mav seem, was to be Lawson’s undoing.
On July 10, Lawson started on his journey into the unknown interior, his purpose being to traverse the island from south to north. He took with him three servants and two native guides, who spoke not only English but also French, Dutch, Portuguese, and several Malayan dialects; but his equipment seems to have been scarcely proportionate to the mag nitude of the undertaking. The explorer contented himself with a small quantity of tea and coffee, some pickles and pre serves, medicines, half a bottle of brandy, a set of instruments for observations, 24 lb. of ship’s biscuit, a good supply of ammunition, and a few other articles; also arms for each man in the party.
But what Lawson lacked in equipment he apparently made up in courage and physique, as will appear presently.
In the course of the next few weeks, Lawson crossed the Papuan Ghauts— coastal mountains some 12,000 feet high —and descended to the interior plain, noting the wonders of the country in passing; daisies as large as sunflowers, beetles 5i inches long, 3 inches broad, with horns 2 inches long, and butterflies with wings 12 inches across.
From the village of Burtemmy Tara, whose inhabitants spoke Dutch, he pro ceeded, discovering Lake Alexandrina, 60 to 80 miles long, a volcano (unnamed) 3,117 feet high, and Mount Vulcan, 16,743 feet.
On September 13, from a distance of 30 miles, he caught his first sight of the giant mountain, Mount Hercules, tower
ing some 30,000 feet above the plain, or over 32,000 feet above sea-level; and. arriving at its foot, Lawson decided to ascend it.
At 4 a.m, on September 16, with one companion, and provided with water, arms, blankets and a staff each, the intrepid explorers set out, and by 9 o’clock had ascended 14,000 feet with “no serious difficulty”. Passing the snow-line at about 15,000 feet (whereafter the water in their bottles became a mass of ice) they pushed on, though the blood flowed from their noses and ears; and at 1 o’clock reached a height of 25,314 feet, with the temperature 22 degrees below freezing point. Then they turned back and arrived in camp again at 7 p.m.— “thoroughly beat’'’, says Lawson. We
may easily believe it. One night’s rest secured his restoration, This exploit is probably the highest of the highlights of Lawson’s narrative, although there were other extraordinary adventures, such as the party’s being pelted with nuts by monkeys from the wallah trees; their meeting the terrible yaghi or trap-door spider, 13 inches across; and Lawson’s being tossed 30 feet by a buffalo which fell upon him with “crushing weight”. From the latter misadventure he happily recovered after a day’s rest and the application of some leeches.
The expedition persisted until October 29, when, in a fight with natives, two of the expedition were killed; and though they were then only about 30 miles from
the north-east coast, the survivors turned Lawson reached Houtree again on February 8, 1873, embarked on a Chinese junk (one of the several which were used to trade to that port) sailed to Banda, where he suffered from dysentery for two months, and then to Singapore, Calcutta, and Europe.
OTHELLO’S tales to the attentive Desdemona evidently (to use a mod ern phrase) “had nothing on” the gallant Lawson; and in the then state of public ignorance of, but widespread interest in, New Guinea, it is not remark able that a publisher should be willing to print so attractive, plain and unvar nished a tale, and one so apparently authoritative, related by the chief par ticipant in the remarkable adventures.
But the sceptic, like the poor, is always and uncomfortably with us. One of the species remarked: “Here is a man who, in five short months, all but crosses a mighty island, full of ‘antres vast and deserts idle', and is fortunate enough to find the tallest tree, the highest grass, the biggest apes, the largest daisies and swallows, by far the most gigantic moun tain in the world, and one of the finest waterfalls”; and, “Few travellers have escaped as he did out of the very jaws of the moolah, a beast the existence of which many zoologists have doubted —and still doubt.”
The London “Athenaeum” pointed out that Mount Hercules could not be in New Guinea at all, but hundreds of miles out at sea. Captain J. Moresby, RN, who had recently been engaged in hydro graphic work in that very quarter of the globe, scheduled numerous “difficulties” in the narrative of the explorer which required explanation or parallel proof.
For instance, the position of the village of Houtree, given by Lawson with such exactitude, is, said Moresby, “in the sea, about one mile from the west end of Bristow Island and six miles from the low wooded coast of New Guinea, touch ing a locality marked in the Admiralty charts, ‘shallow flats’, and ‘heavy rollers’.”
Curiously, Lawson seems not to have noticed the great Fly River and its tribu taries, which would certainly have been across his line of march northward from the coast.
Alas, also, the harbour authorities of Sydney must have been negligent, in that they failed to record the 220-ton vessel “Nautilus”, and her departure from Sydney. Perhaps Captain Dobbs acted here, as Lawson reports he did later at Houtree, when he “slipped slyly out of the bay on the night of July 5 and went off without paying for the cargo which had been entrusted to him by the Houtreans, an action,” said Law son, feelingly, “of the meanest sort.”
Under the barrage of criticism the book was withdrawn.
As an authentic narrative of explora tion, “Wanderings in New Guinea” can not be ranked high; but as a work of fiction it is rather good, and as an essay in the art of leg-pulling it is really a fine performance. I have wondered what, if anything, the Captain got out of it. Was his audacity (as virtue proverbially is) its own, and only, reward?
Mr. and Mrs. H. E. Standen, who have conducted the very isolated Bamu River Mission, in Western Papua, for several years, arrived in Sydney in June, after having obeyed orders to evacuate. Mr.
Standen has joined a specialist section of the RAAF. Mrs. Standen sought a v wqr job connected with nursing; but, up to date, has been set aside owing to her tendency to develop bouts of malaria.