CHAP. XX NEW GUINEA AND ITS INHABITANTS 41? 



short of 1,500 miles, a distance as great as the whole width 

 of Australia from Adelaide to Port Darwin, or of Europe 

 from London to Constantinople. Its greatest width is 

 410 miles ; and, omitting the great peninsulas which form 

 its two extremities, the central mass is about 700 miles 

 long, with an average width of 320 miles, a country about 

 the size of the Austrian Empire, and, with the exception 

 of the course of one large river, an absolute blank upon our 

 maps. 



This almost total ignorance is the more remarkable, when 

 we consider how long the count r}^ has been known, and 

 how frequently its shores have been visited. It was dis- 

 covered in 1511, even earlier than Australia; and from that 

 time Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, French, and English 

 vessels have continually passed along its coasts. Most of 

 our early navigators — Forrest, Dampier, and Cook — visited 

 New Guinea, and have given us some account of its inhab- 

 itants ; while, more recently, many exploring and surveying 

 ships — the Coquille and Astrolabe, under French ; the 

 Rattlesnake, Fly, and Basilisk, under English ; the Triton 

 and Etna under Dutch commanders, have added to our 

 store of information. Among private naturalists and 

 explorers, the present writer was the first to reside some 

 months in New Guinea in 1858 ; since which time Dr. 

 Miklucho Maclay, a Russian ; Dr. Beccari and Signor 

 D'Albertis, Italians ; Dr. A. B. Meyer, a German ; Mr. 

 Octavius C. Stone, and several English missionaries, have 

 all made important explorations and added much to our 

 knowledge of the natural productions of the island and of 

 the tribes residing on or near its coasts. 



From these various sources we have obtained a tolerable 

 knowledge of the outside margin of the country, but never 

 extending more than twenty miles inland, except in the 

 case of the Fly river, which Signor D'Albertis ascended 

 for nearly 500 miles, reaching a point somewhat beyond 

 the centre of the island. The north-western and south- 

 western peninsulas of New Guinea are the best known 

 portions, and both seem to be mountainous throughout. 

 In the north. Mount Arftxk, a little beyond Dorey Harbour, 

 is from 8,000 to 10,000 feet high, while in the south-east 



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