126 Mr. Marspen’s Notice respecting the Natives of New Guinea. 
officers, not liking their appearance, thought it prudent to return to the 
ship without landing. 
« 2d, Sent the boats on shore under charge of the first and fourth 
officers, with some presents, to endeavour to make friends with the natives. 
At one p.m. the long-boat and jolly-boat returned to the ship, and informed 
me that the natives had run away with five of the Lascars and taken them 
into the woods. Immediately sent the jolly-boat to the assistance of the 
cutter, which had not returned, and soon after observed a firing on shore. At 
seven p.m. the cutter returned and informed me that the jolly-boat had been 
cut off; that Mr. Sayer the chief officer, Mr. Niven the fourth officer, and 
a Mr. Holmes, with six of the boat’s crew, were killed on shore by the 
natives, and that the cutter had a very narrow escape of having been cut 
off also, being chased by many boats; but on three shots being fired at 
them from the ship, they returned to the land.” 
About two years after this unfortunate occurrence (no memorandum of 
the precise time having been preserved), an opportunity presented itself of 
acquiring some knowledge of the subsequent transactions on shore, by an 
examination of three persons who were among the number of those made 
prisoners on the occasion, and who had fortunately been enabled to obtain 
their release. One of these was an Englishman, a carpenter’s mate of the 
ship; the other two were Lascars, of which class five in the whole were 
saved. From the former no satisfactory information could be procured, 
as it seemed to be his object to raise the importance of his adventures by 
giving them a romantic air. Paying, therefore, little further attention to 
him, I proceeded to question the black sailors in the Malayan language, of 
which they had acquired a competent knowledge, either in some previous 
voyage, or during their latter residence with the people to whom they owed 
their deliverance.* These were plain men, but not deficient in intelligence, 
who shewed no disposition to disguise or exaggerate the truth, and gave 
clear answers, distinguishing what they had themselves seen, from what 
they had been told. The following is briefly the substance of their 
relation :— 
* Tt appears from the journals ‘of Dampier, Forrest, and others, that the inhabitants of the 
islands on the western side cf New Guinea, and even of one so near to the coast as Palo 
Sabuda, are of the race commonly termed Malays. At an island of this description it was 
that M. Sonnerat had intercourse with some Papiiah people, and not on the main. 
