CHAPTER II 
DISAPPOINTMENTS IN DUTCH NEW GUINEA 
As we approached the shores of Dutch New Guinea, 
we first descried low-lying tracts of marshy land. To 
the water's edge came tall trees loaded with orchids 
of the most brilliant hues and of many varieties, 
notably the Dendrobium. ‘The mangrove swamps, else- 
where so common in New Guinea, were here entirely 
absent. Under the trees, close even to the water's 
brink, could be seen a dense tangled undergrowth. 
There was no beach, only muddy shores. At low tide 
the water recedes, probably for a quarter of a mile, 
leaving hard mud flats capable of sustaining men bare- 
foot. During the winter monsoon a heavy surf would 
break on these flats, but we arrived in fine weather, 
and the water was perfectly calm. 
Of course, the Neas could not go inshore, but 
had to stand off to a distance of at least ten miles, 
and we had to land by the boat. A prominent feature 
of the landscape was a great spreading tree, which the 
Dutch sailors had taken as their chief bearing for find- 
ing the mouth of the Merauke River. Had the hostile 
natives only known how the access to their jealously 
guarded territory depended upon that one landmark, 
it would certainly not have been allowed to stand 
long. ‘These characteristic shores fringe the mouth of 
the Merauke River, which empties itself through a 
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