172 Pearls. 



At New Guinea some chiefs came on board, and 

 were entertained by the mate, whilst Mr. Chippindall 

 pulled ashore some five miles off. Here his dingy 

 was surrounded by hundreds of canoes with armed 

 savages, but everything passed off well, probably 

 owing to the fact that their own chiefs were on 

 board, and might be looked upon as hostages. 



On the loth of April another diver died. On 

 the fallowing day very rich ground was found, and 

 some enormous shells were raised. On the 12th of 

 April the third man died, and Mr. Chippindall, 

 judging from previous experience that more deaths 

 would occur, determined to immediately send the 

 men back to their homes. He therefore sailed that 

 day. By the end of a fortnight the total number 

 of deaths amounted to nine, and while in Port 

 Darwin harbour, in four days five more died. 

 Every effort was made to rouse the men and dis- 

 tract their attention, but it was useless ; the ship 

 was like a charnel house. Meanwhile the seven 

 Sooloo men were looking on, and ridiculing the 

 Solorese as cowards. 



During the vessel's absence from Port Darwin, 

 large numbers of boats had arrived from Torres 

 Straits with diving dresses, and the harbour pre- 

 sented a most lively appearance. They did very well 



