I^ew Guinea. 37 



of Benin, on tlie west coast of Africa, the land suddenly trending 

 to the northward for more than two degrees of latitude, and 

 forming a deep giilf to the southward. Along this whole extent 

 of coast for 140 miles, the land is described by Mr. Jukes as 

 follows : — "It was low, flat, muddy, covered with jungle and im- 

 penetrable forests, and intersected in every direction by a multi- 

 tude of fresh water arms and channels, uniting one with the 

 other, and forming a complete network of fresh water canals of 

 all sizes and depths, from a mere muddy ditch to a width of five 

 miles, and a depth of twenty to thirty feet. This coast was 

 fronted by immense mud banks, stretching from ten to twenty 

 miles out to sea, having at low water a general depth of about 

 twelve feet, and a few deeper places, and some sand banks much 

 shallower or quite dry. These mud flats gradually deepened 

 towards their outer edge to three and four fathoms, and then 

 more rapidly to sis, ten, fifteen, and twenty fathoms. 



Now this is precisely the formation of the delta of a great 

 river, and the only difficulty in the present case, is the supposing 

 a river larger enough to produce such a delta, to exist on an 

 island like New Guinea. 



From what we know of the rest of the islaud, however, the 

 existence of such a river becomes highly probable. A range of 

 high mountainous land runs along all the north coast, from 

 Dampier's Strait to G-eelesink Bay. High land also comes out 

 upon the south-west coast, about Triton Bay, where the Dutch 

 once formed a settlement near the 137th meridian. The hollow 

 between these two ranges would run towards the south-east, in 

 which direction, of course, their drainage would be deflected. 

 We have already seen reason to believe that the country is a hot 

 one ; and the moisture, which does not fall as rain from the south- 

 east tradewinds as it passes over the flat land, is no doubt 

 caught, and precipitated in abundance on the south-east sides of 

 the mountains, and is thus sent down on to the flat, in the shape 

 of rivers. Whether these ever join into one stream, or whether 

 a number of them all run for the south-east, and thus unite only 

 in forming the delta of which we traversed the outer ledge, is, of 

 course, left open to conjecture. If they ever unite in one stream, 

 it will probably be found to be a very noble one for the size of 

 the island, winding, perhaps, through rich flats of tropical forests. 

 Whatever be the characters of the interior waters, however, they 

 must aftord access for small crafts into the very heart of the coun- 

 try. Unlike the rivers of Australia, the estuaries of which are 

 always salt, and the rivers mostly trickling shallow streams, 

 running over rocks or sands, the rivers of New Gruinea are so 

 full, and abounding with fresh water, as to influence the sea for 

 miles outside their mouths, and effect the salt water even from 



