690 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



but more backward than their brothers of the mainland ; for 

 instance, they have inferior wimmeras and spears without barbs, 

 and, having no canoes, make their limited voyages astride of floating 

 logs. The Papuan invasion has, therefore, not yet reached 

 Mornington Island. 



The position of the " Revier " named the COEN by JAN 

 CARSTENSZOON, of the " Pera" in 1623 has been misunderstood 

 ever since 1802. A marginal note in Carstenszoon's diary states 

 that the river is in 13 7' (S.) latitude. FLINDERS, in the" Investi- 

 gator" (1802), marked an inlet in 12 I3'S. lat. as "probably 

 Coen R. of the old charts." In the " eighties " or " nineties," 

 during the HON. JOHN DOUGLAS'S administration, this inlet was 

 named the " PENNEFATHER OR COEN RIVER." About 1878, GOLD 

 was found at the " Coen " DIGGINGS, on the eastern side of the 

 Peninsula, by prospectors who imagined their river to be that 

 marked on the map of the time as the Coen River. The river 

 (which should be called the " SOUTH COEN ") eventually proved 

 to be a BRANCH OF THE ARCHER and neither Flinders's Coen nor 

 the genuine and original Coen of Carstenszoon. 



Carstenszoon's diary was unknown to Flinders, but it is the 

 sole authoritative document concerning the position assigned by 

 him to the Coen, and it must therefore be studied with care. In 

 my view, undoubtedly the true reading of the diary is that late in 

 the evening the anchor of the " Pera " was dropped near the shore. 

 Early in the morning but probably not before daylight a boat 

 party landed and, having observed footprints of men and dogs 

 going north, followed them till they came to a river where there 

 were ESCULENT HERBS. They fell to, with a will, gathered a load 

 of the anti-scorbutic treasure and made their way back. Just 

 as they reached the boat they were AMBUSHED BY NATIVES, who 

 were beaten back with the loss of one man shot and one taken 

 prisoner. When the boat finally brought the explorers alongside 

 the " Pera" the midday observation had just been taken. The 

 anchorage was in 13 f S. latitude. (SEE MAP D.) 



All the doings of the shore party took place between dawn 

 and noon. Some allowance of time must be made for 

 breakfast. Following the tracks of the men and dogs was a slow 

 process (" This delayed us a considerable time," says Carstenszoon). 

 The gathering of herbs at the " Coen Revier " no doubt also took 

 some time, and the return journey to the boat with the load was 

 probably also slow. Then the fighting and rowing out to the 

 ship must have taken time and the party were alongside at midday. 



Altogether, if the party walked 8 miles (4 north and 4 

 back) they did well. Accordingly I thought that the Coen might 

 be 4 miles north, and placed the " revier " in 13 4' S. lat. It 

 was evident that no river falling into the sea in that position could 



