NEW GUINKA AND THE PAPUANS 
423 
wide mass of mountain and ravine, which is described as 
bristling with peaks and pinnacle-like rocks, and contain¬ 
ing hundreds of inaccessible crags and precipices. The 
most important secondary heights are Mount Albert 
Edward (12,550 feet), Mount Scratchley (12,250 feet), 
Winter Height (11,882 feet), Mount Douglas (11,796 
feet), and Mount Knutsford (11,157 feet). The whole 
of this range was explored and Mount Owen Stanley 
(13,121 feet) ascended by Sir William Macgregor in 
1889. This portion of the country is drained by the 
Yanapa Eiver, across which suspension-bridges of rattan 
and bamboo, beautifully constructed and of considerable 
length, are built by the natives. The remaining im¬ 
portant peaks of the Owen Stanley range are Mounts 
Obree (10,246 feet), Brown (7947 feet), Clarence (6330 
feet), Suckling (11,226 feet), Dayman (9167 feet), and 
Simpson (9972 feet). 
About 25 miles south of the Yanapa Eiver, which 
discharges its waters into Eedscar Bay, is Port Moresby, 
the capital and seat of Government, and the head¬ 
quarters of the London Missionary Society. It has been 
established since 1873, but is still a very small settle¬ 
ment, containing few European houses except those of 
the Mission, the Government offices, the jail, printing- 
office, etc. It is fairly healthy, but the land around is 
treeless and barren. The rains fall from January to 
March, but the rest of the year is very dry. From May 
to October the south-east winds blow strong and regu¬ 
larly, and during this period the Owen Stanley range is 
generally obscured by cloud. East of Port Moresby, and 
between the Goldie and Kemp-Welch rivers, lies a 
broken mountainous country unconnected with the main 
range, and apparently of volcanic formation. From here 
almost to the end of the island the interior is practically 
