Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By the Late Captain Owe - Volume 1, John MacGillivray [read dune txt] 📗

Rockingham Bay, but in a very striking degree in those to the northward, there is so great a similarity in the vegetation, that an illustration of the botany may be taken from one of the Barnard Isles, Number 3-exhibiting what may be termed an Indo-Australian Flora.

The upper margin of the coral beach is overrun with Ipomoea maritima, a large purple-flowered Bossiaea, and some other leguminous plants, of which the handsomest is Canvallia baueriana, a runner with large rose-coloured flowers. To these succeeds a row of bushes of Scaevola koenigii, and Tournefortia argentea, with an occasional Guettarda speciosa, or Morinda citrifolia, backed by thickets of Paritium tiliaceum, and other shrubs supporting large Convolvulaceae, vine-like species of Cissus; Guilandina bonduc, a prickly Caesalpinia, Deeringia coelosioides, and a variety of other climbers. Penetrating this shrubby border, one finds himself in what in New South Wales would be called a brush or scrub, and in India a jungle, extending over the greater part of the island. Overhead are trees of moderate size, whose general character is constituted by a nearly straight stem, seldom branching except near the top, and furnished with glossy dark-green leaves. Interspersed with them there are many which attain an enormous size, as in the case of a Hernanda, a Castanospermum, two fabaceous trees, and others of which neither flowers nor fruit were observed. Two palms, Seaforthia elegans, and Livistona inermis, also occur here. By far the most remarkable vegetable productions are the larger kinds of climbers. The principal of these, with a leafless and almost branchless cable-like stem, sometimes two or three hundred yards in length, rises over the summits of the tallest trees, and connects one with another in its powerful folds, occasionally descending to the ground. Another climber, Lestibudesia arborescens, rises by its slender stems to the tops of the trees, hiding them in its cascade-like masses and graceful festoons of exuberant foliage. Besides several other exogenous woody climbers, of which a very remarkable one is a Bauhinia, with a compressed stem spirally twisted round its axis-the most interesting is Calamus australis, rising in a clump, then arching along the ground and from tree to tree in a similar manner to Flagellaria indica, here also abundant. Among the other plants of these brushes, are the curious Dracontium polyphyllum, with large simple and pinnatifid leaves, creeping like ivy up the trunks and lower branches of the trees-parasitical Loranthaceae, with long dependent tufts of rush-like leaves-enormous masses of Acrosticum alcicorne and A. grande, with an occasional Hoya carnosa, Dendrobium, or other epiphyte. When the soil is rich Caladium macrorhizon grows gregariously in shady places, and Hellenia coerulea on their margins-and among stones and sometimes on trees, tufts of Grammitis australis spread out their large and handsome undivided fronds.

VICTORIA RIFLE-BIRD.

Two species of rat occur here-one is the large bandicoot of India, Mus giganteus, doubtless introduced by some wrecked vessel, the other is the pretty little Mus indicus, found on all the islands of the north-east coast and Torres Strait. Among the birds, we found numbers of the Megapodius, always a welcome addition to our bill of fare; but our greatest prize was a new and splendid rifle-bird, which Mr. Gould has since described from my specimens and named Ptiloris victoriae, as a mark of respect and gratitude for the patronage bestowed upon his great work on the Birds of Australia, in the forthcoming supplement to which it will be figured along with some other novelties of the Voyage of the Rattlesnake.

Before taking leave of the natural history of the Barnard Group, I must not omit a pretty butterfly inhabiting the densest parts of the brush; it is the Hamadryas zoilus of the Voyage of the Astrolabe, erroneously supposed in that work to be a native of New Zealand.

EXAMINE A NEW RIVER.

One day I crossed over to the mainland in a boat sent for the purpose of examining a small river seen there to open upon a long sandy beach. We found a depth of four feet on the bar at low-water, so had no difficulty in entering-at a quarter of a mile from the mouth the water was quite fresh. We ascended about two miles and a half, when it became necessary to return on account of the shoalness of the stream, the boat* having grounded repeatedly. A party of about twenty natives made their appearance as soon as we entered the river, and after making ineffectual and repeated attempts to induce us to land, two or three of their number followed us along the bank, while the others made a straight course so as to cut off the windings and meet us at our turning place. The current here ran one and a half knots, but the quantity of water was trifling and the channel throughout very narrow, at times sweeping under the bank, so as not to allow room for the oars. At first the river was fringed with mangroves, afterwards with dense brush. The natives followed us down until we anchored for dinner in one of the reaches, when they all left on hearing the report of my gun while shooting on shore. They were painted with red and white, two of them being smeared all over with the former colour, mixed up with some greasy substance. They seemed peaceably disposed, as we saw no arms among them, and they approached close enough to take biscuit from our hands.

(*Footnote. Our first cutter, very serviceable on such occasions from her light draught; with fourteen men, arms, provisions, and stove for cooking, etc. she drew only a foot of water.)

NATIVE VILLAGE.

Near the mouth we again landed for half an hour, and found a cluster of three or four dome-shaped huts, large and roomy, of neat construction, covered with sheets of melaleuca bark, and having one, sometimes two entrances. Some fishing nets, similar to those used at Moreton Bay, were seen. The men retired into the bush when we landed, nor would they come out to me when I advanced alone towards them, in order to look at the huts. We anchored for the night under Number 1 of the Barnard Isles. Megapodii were here very plentiful, and about daylight very noisy, running about in all directions, repeating their loud call of chro-co-chro-co. Some of the bushes presented a fine show of the scarlet flowers of Disemma coccinea, a kind of passion-flower, before only found at Endeavour River by Sir Joseph Banks, during Cook's first voyage. In the morning we returned to the ship.

On June 12th, while passing a small opening in the land, a little to the northward of Double Point, the Asp was observed on shore with a signal for assistance, which was immediately sent, when she was got off without damage. At this place, as Lieutenant Simpson informed me, a boomerang was obtained from the natives; we had not before observed this singular weapon upon the north-east coast, and its use is quite unknown on the north coast from Cape York to Port Essington. This one too was painted green, a colour which I never heard of elsewhere among the Australians, whose pigments are black, white, yellow, and red.

Near this place, while tacking close in shore, a native dog was seen by Lieutenant Simpson, in chase of a small kangaroo, which, on being close pressed, plunged into the water and swam out to sea, when it was picked up by the boat, leaving its pursuer standing on a rock gazing wistfully at its intended prey, until a musket ball, which went very near its mark, sent it off at a trot. The kangaroo lived on board for a few days, and proved to constitute quite a new kind, closely allied to Halmaturus thetidis.

FRANKLAND ISLES.

We anchored in the evening off the northern extreme of Frankland Isle, Number 4 about three quarters of a mile off shore. At night a party was sent on shore to look for turtles, but, after remaining there for three hours, having walked several times round the island, they returned without having seen the slightest trace of these animals.

The Frankland Group consists of four islands, two of which are very small, and each of the other two (1 and 4) about a mile in length. To these may or may not be added another high and much larger detached island situated about five miles to the North-West, about midway between the remainder of the group and the mainland. Number 4 is formed of two wooded rocky eminences at its extremes, connected by level ground, consisting of dead coral and sand, thickly covered with trees at one part, and scattered bushes at another. The low woody portion of this island is strewed with flat blocks of the same kind of recent coral conglomerate that occurs in situ on the beach, also with quantities of pumice twelve feet above high-water mark of spring tides. There is little underwood, the trees overhead forming a shady grove. Herbaceous plants are few in number-of the others I shall only mention a wild nutmeg, Myristica cimicifera, not, however, of any commercial importance.

SHELL-COLLECTING.

The Torres Strait rat was exceedingly plentiful here, in hollow trees and logs, also about the roots of the pandanus trees and under blocks of coral. Our dogs caught many, as they do not show so much agility as is usual in the genus. The principal bird is the megapodius-a gecko, and another small lizard are abundant-of landshells we found a new Scarabus and a small brown Helix, in great abundance under blocks of coral, and on the trunks and branches of trees, a pretty Cyclostoma (C. vitreum) formerly found by the French in New Caledonia, also a new and pretty Helix, remarkable for its angular sinuated mouth and conical spire-this last has been named H. macgillivrayi by Professor E. Forbes. The reef furnished many radiata and crustacea, and as usual the shell collectors-consisting of about one-half the ship's company, reaped a rich harvest of cowries, cones, and spider shells, amounting to several hundredweight. One day I was much amused when, on hailing one of our men whom I observed perched up among the top branches of a tree, and asking whether it was a nest that he had found, the answer returned was: "Oh no, Sir, its these geotrochuses that I am after."

THE COCONUT PALM.

The southernmost island of the group differs from Number 4 in being higher and more rocky. Many of the trees here were very large, straight, and branching only near the top. It appeared to me that they would be highly useful as timber, and so regretted being unable to procure specimens, on account of their great height. With the exception of a low sandy portion, overgrown with shrubs and small trees, the remainder of the island is quite free from underwood. Two small clumps of coconut-trees, loaded with fruit, were found on the eastern side of the island, within reach of the spray, in a place where they might have originated from a floating nut or two thrown upon the beach. This is the only instance in which I have seen this useful plant growing wild in any part of Australia, or the islands strictly belonging to it. We succeeded in shooting down a number, and I know no more grateful beverage than the milk of a young coconut, especially under the influence of tropical noonday heat, on an island where there was not a drop of fresh water to be found. As usual the megapodius was plentiful, and one of our party killed six in a few hours. I also shot a fine large crested pigeon, of a species hitherto considered peculiar to the settled parts of New South Wales, and to which the singularly inappropriate specific name of antarcticus is applied; it thus ranges 380 miles within