MOUNTAIN RANGES 23 



control of the country, which was till that time nominally 

 governed by the Sultan of Tidor (Ternate), there was 

 no sign of Dutch rule in New Guinea. Now there are 

 Government stations with small bodies of native soldiers 

 at Manokware, an island in Dorei Bay, and at Fak-fak 

 on the shore of MacCluer Gulf ; more recently a third 

 post has been established at Merauke on the South 

 coast near the boundary of British New Guinea, with 

 the object of subjugating the fierce Tugere tribe of 

 that region. 



The most important physical feature of New Guinea 

 is the great system of mountain ranges, which run from 

 West to East and form the back-bone of the island. 

 The Arfak Peninsula in the N.W. is made entirely by 

 mountains which reach an altitude of more than gooo 

 feet. In the great central mass of the island the 

 mountains begin near the S.W. coast with the Charles 

 Louis Mountains, which vary in height from 4000 to 

 9000 feet. Following these to the East they are found 

 to be continuous with the Snowy Mountains (now called 

 the Nassau Range, the objective of this expedition) 

 which culminate in the glacier-covered tops of Mount 

 Idenberg (15,379 feet), and Mount Carstensz (15,964 feet), 

 and to the East of these is the snow-capped Mount 

 Wilhelmina (15,420 feet), and Mount Juhana (about 

 14,764 feet). 



Leaving Dutch New Guinea and proceeding further 

 to the East we come to the Victor Emmanuel and the 

 Sir Arthur Gordon Ranges, which lie near the boundary 

 of German and British New Guinea. Still further East 

 is the Bismarck Range, often snow covered, and extending 



