The First Discovery of Australia and New Guinea Part 11

To the westward, and in sight of this volcano, was an island not very high, and pleasant in appearance. There are few anchoring places, and those very close to the sh.o.r.e; it was very full of black people.

Here we caught two in some canoes, whom we clothed and gave presents to, and the next day we put them ash.o.r.e. In return for this they shot a flight of arrows at a Spaniard, though in truth it was not in the same port, but about a musket shot further on. They are, however, a people that never miss an opportunity of doing mischief.

In sight of this island and around it are many islands, very high and large, and to the southward one so large* that we stood for it, naming the island where our man was wounded, _Santa, Maria_.

[* This "one so large." is _Espiritu Santo_; Torres, evidently, did not share Queiroz's belief, but took it for what it was, an island. See for corroboration what he says further on, 8 paragraphs below.]

Sailing thence to the southward towards the large island we discovered a very large bay, well peopled, and very fertile in yams and fruits, pigs and fowls.

They are all black people and naked. They fought with bows, darts and clubs. They did not choose to have peace with us, though we frequently spoke to them and made presents; and they never, with their good will, let us set foot on sh.o.r.e.

This bay is very refres.h.i.+ng, and in it fall many and large rivers. It is in 15 45' S., lat.i.tude and in circuit it is twenty-five leagues. We named it the bay of _San Felipe_ and _Santiago_, and the land _del Espiritu Santo_.

There we remained fifty days; we took possession in the Name of Your Majesty.

From within this bay, and from the most sheltered part of it, the _Capitana_ departed at one hour past midnight, without any notice given to us, and without making any signal. This happened the 11th of June, and although the next morning we went out to seek for them, and made all proper efforts, it was not possible for us to find them, for they did not sail on the proper course, nor with good intention.

So I was obliged to return to the bay, to see if by chance they had returned thither. And on the same account we remained in this bay fifteen days, at the end of which we took Your Majesty's orders,* and held a consultation with the officers of the _Brigantine_.

[* The orders included instructions to sail as far as the 21st parallel; also to _rendezvous_ at _Graciosa_ bay, which order Torres appears to have disobeyed.]

It was determined that we should fulfil them, although contrary to the inclination of many, I may say of the greater part; but my condition was different from that of Captain Pedro Fernandez de Queiroz.*

[* Torres insinuates here that Queiroz was overruled by his crew.]

TORRES LEAVES SANTO.

At length we sailed from this bay, in conformity to the order, although with intention to sail round this island,* but the season and strong currents would not allow of this, although I ran along a great part of it. In what I saw there are very large mountains. It has many ports, though soma of them are small. All of it is well watered with rivers.

[* Again, Torres states that Espiritu Santo is an Island, see 8 paragraphs previous.]

We had at this time nothing but bread and water. It was the depth of winter, and I had sea, wind, and ill will of my crew against me. All this did not prevent me from reaching the lat.i.tude mentioned (21 S.), which I pa.s.sed by one degree, and would have gone further if the weather had permitted,* for the s.h.i.+p was good. It was proper to act in this manner, for these are not voyages performed every day, nor could Your Majesty otherwise be properly informed.

[* When Torres says, he "would have gone further," etc., he evidently thought he was not far from the Australian Continent; a few days' sail, three at the most, would have brought him to Cape Capricorne, on the coast of Queensland, a little to the south of the "Lost Bay" that was marked on some of the maps of the period.]

Going in the said lat.i.tude on a S.W. course, we had no signs of land that way.

From hence I stood back to the N.W. till 11 30' S. lat.i.tude; there we fell in with the beginning of New Guinea, the coast of which runs W. by N. and E. by S.

I could not weather the E. point, so I coasted along to the westward on the south side.

I may here interrupt Torres' description in order to point out the various discoveries which he made along the southern sh.o.r.es of New Guinea during the course of his voyage to Manila in which he pa.s.sed through the straits that bear his name.

The recovery of some ancient ma.n.u.script charts and other doc.u.ments throws considerable light on this perilous and interesting voyage.*

[* The charts in question were pillaged from the Spanish archives during the wars of Napoleon I., and taken to Paris. There, buried away and uncatalogued, they were found, some years ago, by a friend of mine, who caused them to be returned to their original owners and acquainted me with their existence, thus enabling me to get copies of them which were first published to the English speaking world in my work on "The Discovery of Australia," in the year 1894.]

There lies at the eastern extremity of New Guinea a group of beautiful islands supposed to have been first sighted in the year 1873 by the leader of an English expedition, bent on discovery. Captain John Moresby, of H.M.S. _Basilisk_, the leader in question, in the account of his discoveries in New Guinea, published in 1876, says:

"I trust that the work done by H.M.S. _Basilisk_, in waters. .h.i.therto untracted, on sh.o.r.es. .h.i.therto untrodden, and among races. .h.i.therto unknown by Europeans will be held to call for some account."

Now, by comparing the Spanish map given here, with Moresby's it will be seen how Moresby's work, on this point of the coast, had been forestalled by Torres.

The features and place-names in the Spanish chart will reveal some of the most important of Torres' discoveries at the south-east end of New Guinea, where the Spanish navigator made his first stay in order to refresh the crews of the _Almiranta_ and _Brigantine_.

From a description on this chart we learn that during five days and nights the Spaniards stood in sight of those tantalizing verdant sh.o.r.es, unable to effect a landing, threading their way through perilous reefs and over dangerous shoals.

Then, at last, they rounded, no doubt, the cape which Torres called _Cabo de tres hermanas_, or Cape of the Three Sisters, pa.s.sed the next point marked (A) on the map, near the east point of the compa.s.s, and came to anchor in a little bay which was called _Puerto de San Francisco_.

It is situated near the south-east entrance to Rocky Pa.s.s, between Basilisk and Hayter Islands, and formed, in all probability, during their sojourn in these parts, the centre of their various excursions to the islands and bays around.

Its name, San Francisco, gives us the date of Torres' landing (14th of July, 1606), for it was customary in those days to name discoveries after the saints of the calendar; but the feast of St. Bonaventure occurs also on July the 14th, so that name was likewise made use of, and given to the whole territory discovered.

Contrary to Torres', Moresby's approach, in the year 1873, was from the N.E. where the mainland of New Guinea was supposed to extend beyond Hayter, Basilisk and Moresby's Islands.

The English captain had already cut off Moresby's Island, left his good s.h.i.+p _Basilisk_ at anchor in the strait thus discovered (Fortescue Strait), and--the numerous reefs rendering navigation impossible for his s.h.i.+p--taken to his boats, the galley and cutter.

Moresby and party then rounded the northern sh.o.r.es of what they thought might prove to be the "beginning of New Guinea," when, suddenly, a bay seemed to open towards the south.

Moresby entered it, and, by the merest chance, hit upon the identical narrow pa.s.sage which Torres, 267 years previously, had discovered from the south side and named _Boca de la Batalla_, Mouth of the Battle; having, no doubt, had an encounter there with the natives.

Moresby called that mouth Rocky Pa.s.s, and grew enthusiastic at the discovery, and at having "separated another island from New Guinea."

He was anxious to find if Rocky Pa.s.s would afford a pa.s.sage for his s.h.i.+p, and spent the remainder of the day in examining it; but a rocky ledge, which ran across, barred it to the s.h.i.+p, and made it dangerous even for boats at the strength of the tide.

Moresby's experiences help to show the difficulties that the Spaniards had to deal with, and also that Torres must have been compelled to leave his two s.h.i.+ps at anchor somewhere to the south of the _Baya de San Milian_; San Francis...o...b..y, for instance; and use the only rowing boat he had for his excursions.

In this he explored the bay formed by the horse-shoe-shape of Basilisk Island, named it the _Baya de San Milian_ (modern Jenkins Bay), and penetrated to the largest bay to be found among all the islands he had discovered in this region--that is Milne Bay. He says: "We went a long way out from _Cabo Fresco_ [modern Challis Head of Moresby's chart], which is as far as we could go towards the east in a boat."

Other nautical remarks which I translate from the old Spanish text of the chart are: "Towards the E. [N.E.] we did not see the end of the land, but we could judge from the various small islands that the channels were wide; towards the west there are no channels, only land and continuous lofty ridges, '_Tierra alta y cerrada_' (evidently the Mount Owen Stanly ranges in the distance). We steered in that direction, but had to give up further progress after a while owing to the inadequacy of our boat."

These and other notes on the Spanish chart correspond exactly with what Moresby says of Milne Bay; and the dimensions given to that bay by de Prado, the cartographer of the expedition (40 leagues in circ.u.mference), may be considered as a fairly correct estimate.

On the 18th of July, Torres and his party having concluded their running survey of Basilisk Island, landed and took possession in the name of the king of Spain, naming as I have said, the whole territory the TIERRA DE SAN BUENAVENTURA.

A careful examination which I have made of a much distorted copy of a general map of New Guinea, made by Torres' cartographer, shows that Torres' _Tierra de san Buenaventura_ (Basilisk Island), is one of several islands off the south-eastern extremity of New Guinea; and, by coupling this fact with what Torres says of his inability to navigate the bay (Milne Bay), and proceed east of Cabo Fresco (Challis Head), although he noticed wide channels in that direction, we may infer that the reefs and coral patches (not contrary winds as generally believed) compelled him to seek the southwest pa.s.sage to Manila.*

[* Torres evidently did not discover the pa.s.sage, discovered by Moresby and named by him China Strait, otherwise he might have been able to take the northern course.]

This becomes still more evident when we consider that Moresby also was unable to take his s.h.i.+p through to the northern sh.o.r.es.

From these regions Torres sailed to Orangerie Bay of modern charts, which he discovered on the 10th of August, 1606, and named in consequence, THE GREAT BAY OF ST. LAWRENCE.*

[* On the same day, one hundred years before, the Portuguese had discovered Madagascar, which they called the Island of St. Lawrence.]

Here, another lengthy stay was made and an extensive survey, comprising the laying out of a towns.h.i.+p, as may be seen by the accompanying map.

Then the little squadron went right up into the Gulf of Papua and down again as far as 11 S. lat.i.tude.