CHAPTER III 
CHANGES AND STRANGE SCENES 
WuiteE I lay at Merauke on board the Van Doorn, 
the steamship Moresby was signalled. On this I 
obtained a passage to Port Moresby, the seat of 
government in British New Guinea, so I accordingly 
bade farewell to Captain De Jong of the Van Doorn, 
and in due course we weighed anchor for Thursday 
Island, at which the steamer was to touch on her 
voyage. The Moresby could not approach Merauke 
nearer than twelve miles, so we went out to her on 
a small petrol launch. There happened to be a 
tremendous swell on at the time, and when we came 
alongside the Moresby we found that the deck of the 
launch was often ten feet from the companion, and 
we had to watch our opportunity to get on board. 
It was quite half-an-hour before we succeeded. 
We found our steamer by no means attractive. 
She was most unsavoury on account of the cattle 
_ earried for the ship’s use. The cabins were below 
and very hot, for the vessel had been built for a cool 
climate, and was not at all suited for tropical trade. 
She was an ordinary cargo boat, and could not usually 
steam faster than eight knots an hour. 
A run of twenty-four hours’ duration brought us 
to Thursday Island, one of the great centres of the 
pearl fishery, where many nationalities congregate for 
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