George Forbes - Adventures in Southern Seas

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ADVENTURES IN SOUTHERN SEAS

A Tale of the Sixteenth Century

by

GEORGE FORBES

First published August 1920 by George
G. Harrap & Co. Ltd. 39-41 Parker
Street, Kingsway, London, W.C.2
Reprinted July 1924
Printed in Great Britain by Neill & Co. Ltd., Edinburgh

INTRODUCTORY

In the year 1801 was found by the chief coxswain of the "Naturalist" (a
ship commanded by Captain Hamelin on a voyage of discovery performed by
order of the Emperor Napoleon I), at Shark's Bay, on the coast of West
Australia, a pewter plate about six inches in diameter, bearing a
roughly engraved Dutch inscription, of which the following is a
translation:

"1616

"On the 25th of October arrived here the ship 'Endraght',
of Amsterdam; first supercargo Gilles Miebas Van Luck;
Captain Dirk Hartog, of Amsterdam. She set sail again
on the 27th of the same month. Bantum was second
supercargo; Janstins first pilot.

"Peter Ecoores Van Bu, in the year 1616."

No connected account of the voyages of Dirk Hartog is extant, but the
report of the discovery of this pewter plate suggested the task of
compiling a narrative from the records kept by Dutch navigators, in
which Dirk Hartog is frequently referred to, and which is probably as
correct a history of Hartog's voyages as can be obtained. The
aborigines of New Holland, as Australia was then called, judging by the
description given of them by Van Bu, the author of the writing on the
pewter plate, appear to have been a more formidable race of savages
than those subsequently met with by Captain Cook on his landing at
Botany Bay, and the dimensions of the tribe among whom Van Bu was held
captive were certainly larger than those of the migratory tribes of
Australian blacks in more modern times. The "sea spider" described by
Van Bu in his second adventure was probably the octopus, which attains
to great size in the Pacific. The "hopping animals" are doubtless the
kangaroos, with which Australians are now familiar.

Captain Dampier, in 1699, first mentions the water serpents referred to
by Van Bu. "In passing," he says, "we saw three water serpents swimming
about in the sea, of a yellow colour, spotted with dark brown spots.
Next day we saw two water serpents, different in shape from such as we
had formerly seen; one very long and as big as a man's leg in girth,
having a red head, which I have never seen any before or since."

From an examination of the Dutch records, it would appear that a ship
named the "Arms of Amsterdam" drove past the south coast of New Guinea
in the year 1623. This is, perhaps, the voyage described by Van Bu to
the Island of Gems. The gigantic mass of ice seen by Van Bu in the South
is particularly interesting, since it may have been the first sight of
the ice barrier from which glaciers in the Antarctic regions break off
into the sea.

The north portion of New Guinea was for the first time rightly explored
in the year 1678, by order of the Dutch East India Company, and found
almost everywhere to be enriched with very fine rivers, lakes, and
bays. About the north-western parts the natives were discovered to be
lean, and of middle size, jet-black, not unlike the Malabars, but the
hair of the head shorter and somewhat less curly than the Kafirs'. "In
the black of their eyes," says a report given of this voyage, "gleams a
certain tint of red, by which may, in some measure, be observed that
blood-thirsty nature of theirs which has at different times caused so
much grief from the loss of several of our young men, whom they have
surprised, murdered, carried into the woods, and there devoured. They
go entirely naked, without the least shame, except their rajahs or
petty kings, who are richly dressed. The heathens of Nova Guinea
believe there is some divinity in serpents, for which reason they
represent them upon their vessels."

The "Golden Sea-horse" is mentioned as one of the Dutch ships said to
have taken part in the discovery of Australia between the years 1616
and 1624. Other vessels noted are the "Endraght", "Zeewolf", "Arms of
Amsterdam", "Pera", and "Arnheim". All these vessels lay claim to
having touched at the 'Great Southern Continent' as well as at the
islands of the South Seas.

The 'Place of the Painted Hands', the objective of the third voyage of
Van Bu with Dirk Hartog to New Holland, is referred to by the late Mr
Lawrence Hargrave, who made a very interesting study of picture-writings
discovered in Australia, in a collection of pamphlets entitled "Lope de
Vega", now in the possession of the Mitchell Library at Sydney. "There
are picture-writings," he says, "which have remained for hundreds of
years without any archaeologist discovering their meaning. They are
not as ancient as those on the monuments of the Egyptians, but they are
equally interesting. If they are read in the light of a message to
posterity, they may yet reveal something of surprising interest. By whom
were they chiselled? What is their meaning? The more recent discoveries
show an oval encircling a cross--the symbol of Spanish conquest. On an
ironstone rock-face on the Shoalhaven River are many 'hands.' These have
been there to the memory of the oldest inhabitant. No aboriginal will go
near them. Gold is still washed in this river, and possibly these
hands, or fingers, refer to the days worked here washing gold, or to the
number of 'quills' of gold obtained. You will understand these 'hands'
are not carved, but painted with some pigment that has withstood the
weather for some hundreds of years."

The Malays locate the Male and Female Islands visited by Van Bu, an
account of which appears in many ancient manuscripts from the twelfth
to the sixteenth century, as being the islands of Engarno, to the south
of Sumatra. Marco Polo speaks of them in his voyage round the world,
undertaken in 1271, and both Spanish and Dutch explorers refer to them
in the accounts of their travels of more recent date.

In "The Discovery of Australia" (a critical documentary and historic
investigation concerning the priority of discovery in Australasia by
Europeans before the arrival of Lieutenant James Cook in the Endeavour
in the year 1770), by George Collingridge, may be found accounts of
Spanish and Portuguese attempts at settlement upon the Great Southern
Continent--'Terra Australis'.

Staten Land was the name first given to New Zealand in honour of the
States of Holland, and the monstrous birds seen there were probably the
now extinct moa. The Cannibal Islands are doubtless Fiji. The data and
references to chronicles in this work are genuine, and the result of a
careful study of rare and (in some cases) unique books and manuscripts
in the Mitchell Wing of the Public Library at Sydney, said to be the
most comprehensive collection known of accounts of discoveries in South
Seas.

G. F.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I. I FALL INTO CAPTIVITY
II. THE BLACK CANNIBALS OF NEW HOLLAND
III. THE ONLY WHITE MAN IN NEW HOLLAND
IV. THE SEA SPIDER
V. THE VOYAGE CONTINUED
VI. THE FIGHT ON THE SANDS
VII. THE SPIRIT OF DISCORD
VIII. PEARL ISLAND
IX. MUTINY
X. I EMBARK ON A SECOND VOYAGE
XI. A SECOND VOYAGE WITH HARTOG TO THE SOUTH
XII. THE SEA SERPENT
XIII. THE FLOATING ISLAND
XIV. AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE
XV. THE SEAWEED SEA
XVI. THE ISLAND OF GEMS
XVII. QUEEN MELANNIE
XVIII. A QUEEN'S FAVOURITE
XIX. I BECOME CHIEF COOK
XX. THE SNAKE GOD
XXI. A PLAN OF ESCAPE
XXII. THE NIGHT OF THE SACRIFICE
XXIII. AT THE MERCY OF THE SEA
XXIV. HOW MY SECOND VOYAGE ENDED
XXV. I ARRIVE AT AMSTERDAM
XXVI. HAPPILY MARRIED
XXVII. ONCE MORE TO THE SOUTH
XXVIII. THE MOLUCCA ISLANDS
XXIX. THE VOYAGE CONTINUED
XXX. A SPANISH SETTLEMENT
XXXI. THE PLACE OF THE PAINTED HANDS
XXXII. MAROONED
XXXIII. CAPTAIN MONTBAR
XXXIV. WE AGAIN EXPLORE THE CAVES
XXXV. I AM KIDNAPPED
XXXVI. THE MALE AND FEMALE ISLANDS
XXXVII. A TASK IS SET ME
XXXVIII. THE SLAYING OF THE GREAT CROCODILE
XXXIX. I BECOME A VICTIM OF DOMESTIC INFELICITY
XL. THE YELLOW PARCHMENT
XLI. THE RUBY MOUNTAINS
XLII. THE VALLEY OF SERPENTS
XLIII. WE AGAIN LEAVE NEW HOLLAND
XLIV. THE ISLANDS OF ARMENIO
XLV. SUMATRA
XLVI. MAHOMET ACHMET
XLVII. KING TRINKITAT
XLVIII. STATEN LAND
XLIX. THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS
L. AGAIN AT THE MOLUCCAS
LI. GETTING BACK OUR OWN
LII. CONCLUSION

ADVENTURES IN SOUTHERN SEAS

CHAPTER I

I FALL INTO CAPTIVITY

Let those who read this narrative doubt not its veracity. There be much
in Nature that we wot not of, and many strange countries to explore.
The monsters who roamed the earth in ancient times, as their fossil
bones attest, are still to be seen in those regions hitherto unvisited
by white men, and in the fathomless depths of uncharted seas leviathans
find a home.

Peter Ecoores Van Bu was born upon the island of Urk, in the Zuider
Zee, in the year 1596, and was brought up a fisher-lad until the coming
to the island of a priest, to whom my parents, ambitious for my
advancement, entrusted my education in the arts of reading and writing,
accomplishments in little vogue at this time. Hence it comes that I am
able to set down here a record of perils and adventures by sea and land
which may prove entertaining reading to those who have never travelled
beyond the limits of their own countries.

My parents, who had stinted themselves to provide my education, placed
me when I was eighteen years old in a merchant's office at Amsterdam,
where I became acquainted with Dirk Hartog, a famous navigator, who, a
year later, invited me to become his secretary and engraver of charts
on board the ship "Endraght", being then commissioned for a voyage of
discovery to the South, and having obtained a reluctant consent from my
master, De Decker, the merchant, to Hartog's proposal I gladly
abandoned the office desk for the sea.

The discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492 had given rise
to a theory that a vast continent known as Terra Australis existed in
the South, and Portuguese and Spanish ships had made report from time
to time of this southern land. It was to confirm or dispel this belief
that the voyage of Dirk Hartog was made.

For many months after leaving Amsterdam we sailed south, touching at
some islands to obtain vegetable food and replenish our water-casks.
Worn out with hardship, our crew more than once showed signs of mutiny.
Sometimes for weeks together we lay becalmed in the tropics, when the
air hung like a pall of vapour from the sky, and the pitch boiled and
blistered in the seams of the deck-planks. In other seasons we were
driven by storm and stress. But at length, in spite of every obstacle,
an unbroken coast stretched before us far as the eye could reach. For
three days we sailed past verdure-covered hills, white, sandy beaches,
and bluff headlands, until Hartog felt assured the Great South
Continent was at last in very truth before him.

The day upon which Hartog determined to land was bright and fine; the
place a sandy beach upon which the waves broke in frothy spume. We were
all keen to be ashore after so long a spell of the sea, and I reckoned
myself in luck to be chosen as one of the boat's crew to land the
captain.

"Let Peter come," said Hartog when the boat was alongside. "I would
have him engrave a plate to be set in some safe place, so that it may
be known that I, Dirk Hartog, landed here, to any who may come after
me."

When we had come to the shore Hartog, taking the boat's crew with him,
set off inland, leaving me to my work. The plate was soon finished,
when I fastened it to a rock out of reach of the waves.

It bore the following inscription:

"1616

"On the 25th of October arrived here the ship 'Endraght,' of
Amsterdam; first supercargo Gilles Miebas Van Luck; Captain Dirk
Hartog, of Amsterdam. She set sail again on the 27th of the same
month. Bantum was second supercargo; Janstins first pilot.

"Peter Ecoores Van Bu, in the year 1616."

I engraved the date upon which the ship was to sail according to
directions given me by the captain, though whether the "Endraght" did
sail at that time I cannot say, by reason of an adventure which befell
me.

When I had finished my work I began to think in what manner I might
employ myself until my companions returned, and, perceiving a grove of
trees not far distant from where I stood, I determined to rest a while
in the shade. As I penetrated these silent forests I beheld sights
wholly novel. Parrots and paroquets flew among the trees, as also large
white birds with sulphur crests, the like of which I had never seen
before. Presently I came to a stream which took its course through a
valley, and, kneeling, I was about to quench my thirst when I felt a
hand upon my shoulder. Springing to my feet, I was confronted by a band
of savages, many of whom held their spears its though about to strike.
They were all quite naked, their bodies marked with white streaks. I
tried to make them understand I came as a friend, and endeavoured to
retrace my steps to the open, where I hoped my shipmates might see me
and effect a rescue, but I now perceived that whichever way I turned my
path was barred by these wild men. The savages now began to jabber to
each other in a jargon which I could not comprehend, and presently two
of them laid hold of me, one by each arm, and in spite of my protests
and such resistance as I made, forced me through the scrub inland. Some
of the tribe followed, others went on ahead, flitting like shadows
among the trees, the journey being performed at a rate which made it
hard for me to keep pace with them.

All day we continued to penetrate the bush toward the interior of the
country, and just before dark we came to a native village, where we
found the tribe assembled at their camp fires. There must have been
several hundred blacks in this camp, and many gathered round to look at
me, although they did not appear to regard me with as much curiosity as
might have been expected, from which I conjectured that white men were
not unknown to them.

After a meal of fish and wild duck, together with a pasty kind of bread
made from the bulrush root, which I found palatable, I was permitted to
lie down in one of their gunyahs upon a bed of freshly-picked leaves,
where, in spite of my anxieties, I soon fell asleep.

Toward morning I awoke to a full conviction of my sorry plight. The
camp was in darkness, save for the glow of the fires and the light of
the stars, which shine with a wonderful brilliancy in these southern
skies. The cry of some night bird came from the bush beyond the camp.
All else was still, but a crouching form at the entrance to the gunyah
warned me I was a prisoner. There was no need, however, to set a guard
upon me, for without a guide I knew I could never reach the coast, so
that even if I succeeded in making my escape from the savages, I must
perish miserably in the bush.

My thoughts now turned to home and friends whom it seemed unlikely I
would ever meet again. Dirk Hartog and the crew of the "Endraght",
though rough as became the hardy lives they led, had always shown a
kindly disposition toward me. They would miss me, and speak of me
perhaps, until, in the changing events of their adventurous career, I
would be forgotten. My parents also would mourn me as dead. But there
was one at Urk who would miss me more than friends or parents; Anna
Holstein, to whom I had plighted my troth, and to whom I looked to be
wed on my return. Anna was above me in station as the world goes. Her
father was the Governor of Urk, who would not willingly give his
daughter in marriage to a poor lad such its I. But who in love is wise?
Who reckons worldly wealth when love, the spirit and spring of the
universe, awakens in the soul? Like birds who call their mates with
love-learned songs, Anna and I loved each other, so that nothing bid,
death could part us. I had promised Anna I would return rich from my
voyage as others had done, when her father might be the more inclined
to look with favour upon my suit. Well--here was the and of my
promises, and my hopes--death, or, still worse, life among a savage and
barbarous people.

CHAPTER II

THE BLACK CANNIBALS OF NEW HOLLAND

On the morning after my capture by the black cannibals of New Holland,
at daybreak, I was driven, out of the gunyah in which I had passed the
night, to be looked at by the tribe, who had now collected in great
numbers, and who encircled me with a ring of hazel eyes. Their
complexion was black, their hair woolly, and many of them were quite
naked, as though they lived in a state of brute nature. There did not
appear to be anyone in recognized authority among them, for they all
talked their outlandish jargon at the same time, and, presently, they
began to search me for such small articles of personal property as I
possessed. My engraving tools and a sailor's sewing kit, given me by
Anna, were taken from me, but to my great good fortune they did not rob
me of my dagger-knife, or my flint and steel which lay concealed in the
inner pocket of my leathern belt, nor of a lock of Anna's hair which I
carried in a silken bag round my neck; and in the possession of which I
found much comfort in my present predicament. My clothes did not
interest my captors, and I was thankful not to be deprived of them.

I was now startled to observe that some of the natives carried at their
girdles a human skull, but I subsequently learned that these trophies
were not, as I had at first supposed, the result of a massacre, but
were the drinking-cups of these people, who appeared to be the most
debased in the scale of humanity I had ever encountered.

During the morning, although I could see that a watch was kept upon me,
I was allowed my liberty, and, in spite of my wretched plight, I became
interested in observing the natives at their daily occupations, one of
which consisted in the capture of wild-fowl from a lagoon close to the
camp by the ingenious method of floating upon their quarry submerged up
to their necks in water, their heads covered by a mass of weeds and
bulrushes. When among the birds they suddenly drew some of them under
the surface without appearing to disturb the others.

And now a loud noise made by the beating of spears and waddies
attracted my attention, when I came to the conclusion some tribal
ceremony was in progress, and shortly afterward a number of youths were
led in procession through the camp. These young men presented a strong
and muscular appearance. Their naked bodies bore evidence of ill-usage;
purple weals and open sores upon their backs and shoulders appeared to
have been inflicted by the severe and long-continued stroke of the
lash.

After a dirge-like song had been sung, a number of the elder warriors
stepped forward, and with a piece of quartz formed a deep incision in
the nape or the neck of each youth, cutting broad gashes from shoulder
to hip, all the while repeating rapidly the following curious
incantation:

"Kangar-marra--marra,
Kano-marra-marra,
Pilbirri-marra-marra."

A bunch of green leaves was then fastened round each middle and above
this a girdle of human hair. They then blackened with charcoal, and
their wounds plastered with clay in order to form the hands of gristle
which they regard as an ornament upon their flesh. During this
performance the lads showed no sign of pain, although their sufferings
must have been very severe. Further ceremonies then took place, in
which the women played a part too degrading to be here set down.

That night a feast was held, with dancing, in honour of the morning's
ceremonies. The night was warm and the moon shone with a wonderful
brilliancy, casting deep shadows upon the earth. In the distance rose a
pillar of sparks and fire, which marked the place where the performers
were preparing for the corroboree, a name given to their dancing by
these savages, and presently 200 men and 60 boys in nudity came from
among the forest trees. Each dancer was provided with a bunch of leaves
fastened above the knee, which, as they stamped in unison, made a loud
switching noise. These natives were painted from shoulder to hip, with
five or six stripes rising from the breast, their faces streaked with
white perpendicular lines, making it appear as the dancing of dead
men's bones. For some time the dancers continued to stamp to and fro,
and then, assembling at a fire that burned close by, they
simultaneously sat down. Other dancers then took their places, dressed
in fur cloaks, and wearing white and yellow feathers in their hair,
their black visages rendered hideous by fish-bones stuck through the
cartilage of the nose above their thick lips. These singular beings
stamped their way backward and forward, giving vent to yells of
excitement, and causing their bodies to tremble and twitch in the most
surprising manner. The last act of this strange drama represented the
warriors sitting cross-legged round the fire, when suddenly they
simultaneously stretched out their right arms as if pointing to some
distant object, at the same time displaying their teeth and rolling
their eyes, and then, springing to their feet, they uttered a shout
that echoed for miles over the surrounding country.

And now the preparations for a feast began. A number of women and young
girls brought baskets of fish, roasted birds, and prepared bulrush
root, whilst some very large eggs, such as I had never seen the like
before, with green shells were stacked upon the grass. Strange-looking
animals also, together with snakes and lizards, were stewed in clay
vessels, while the savages gathered round in gloating anticipation of
this repulsive food. When all was prepared one of the women gave a
peculiar cry, when there came from among the trees the young men who
had that morning undergone the baptism of initiation, each carrying
upon his shoulder a bundle wrapped in reeds and bulrushes. Arrived in
front of one who now acted as chief, much laid down his burden,
exposing the contents--the body of a native child!--half roasted and
drawn--the "long pig" of the cannibals!

Overcome by what I had seen, I sought my gunyah, where I passed the
night a prey to the most dismal forebodings. Next morning I became ill,
with violent pains and headache, which incapacitated me for some days,
during which time a lubra named Moira sat beside me, apparently anxious
to do what lay in her power to ease my sufferings.

Helped by the words I had learnt in my former intercourse with savages
at the islands we had visited in the early part of the voyage, I was
soon able to make myself understood to Moira, and to understand what
she said when I confided to her my desire to escape to the sea coast At
first she would only shake her head, but I became so insistent that at
length she consented to help me. A tribal ceremony was very shortly to
be celebrated, so Moira informed me, when the night would be favourable
for the success of our project, since the tribe would then be assembled
at the camp fires. On that night, moreover, there was no moon until
late, and we trusted to be able to slip away in the darkness
unobserved.

I had always been impatient of my captivity, but now that escape was in
sight I could scarcely control my desire to be rid of these savages. I
counted the days, dreading lest some change in the manner of my
captivity might prevent the carrying out of the plan we had formed; but
all went well until the time came when Moira whispered to me our chance
had come.

The tribe were assembled at the camp fire, engaged in one of their many
rites to propitiate the evil spirits whom alone they worship. Beyond
the glow, darkness complete and compelling hung like a pall. The stars
were hid by a curtain of clouds.

"Come," I whispered to Moira, and reckless of consequences, we fled
into the pitch black of the scrub.

CHAPTER III

THE ONLY WHITE MAN IN NEW HOLLAND

After leaving the blacks' camp I made my way through the forest, guided
by Moira, who could see in the dark. I was fearful lest we might be
pursued, in which case I resolved I would not be taken alive. Moira,
however, did not believe that we would be followed. Her people, she
told me, were afraid to enter the forest at night, when evil spirits
were supposed to be abroad, and indeed her own terror was so great that
I realized her devotion to me in having braved, for my sake, the
superstition in which she had been reared.

Moira was right in thinking we would not be followed, for no attempt
was made to follow us. But now a fresh anxiety arose. There were shapes
among the trees which were visible to Moira, though I could not see
them, which caused her such terror that I was obliged almost to carry
her, and I sometimes thought by the chill of her body that she had died
in my arms. With the dawn, however, the shapes disappeared, and Moira's
fears were dispelled.

Daylight found us several miles on our way to the coast, which we made,
as I reckoned, about noon, to the north of where I had first landed.
The cliffs here were high and rocky, the waves breaking at the foot in
fountains of spray. The sky was dull and overcast, which betokened a
storm. A number of white birds with yellow crests, such as I had seen
on my first landing, flew inland, and several fur-coated animals, with
heads resembling deer, and powerful tails, hopped across the stubble to
the shelter of the trees. The prospect was a dreary one, and a feeling
of melancholy oppressed me, which I found it hard to dispel.

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