Page:Picturesque New Guinea.djvu/227

 Mairi Pass and Catamaran Bay; and, far away in the distance, the waters of Milne Bay. Beneath our feet lay Bertha Lagoon, the Cloudy Mountains rising from its edge, and the hills of Farm Peak, Moudiri, and Debadeba, the country of the Cannibals, sharply outlined by the setting sun, stretched away to our left. To the southward we could plainly see the narrow neck of land, part of Stacey Island, which forms what is marked on the chart South Cape. It is in fact much narrower than indicated on the map, being in one place not more than a mile in width from beach to beach. The immediate foreground to the north consisted of the densely wooded slope we had just ascended, which hid our vessel and the mouth of the Lagoon from view. On our way back we bagged half a dozen different kinds of birds, but a beautiful black scrub pheasant we lost in the jungle, where even the sharp eyes of our native boys were at fault. We returned to the ship at 6 p.m., and early next morning I went ashore to attempt some photographs, as our departure was fixed for 11 a.m., and I was unwilling to leave this lovely locality without some views. Fortunately the wind had moderated, and I was able to get some very characteristic pictures, both of scenery and houses, with native groups. The people were most obliging, and did everything in their power to please us. There is little or no timber on Stacey Island available for building purposes, but at Bertha Lagoon all along its Eastern shores and close to the water's edge, we found quantities of red and white mangrove, and huge Malava trees, the latter not unlike the walnut-tree in shape and foliage. The country seemed thickly populated, and up the rugged slopes of the Cloudy Mountains we saw many columns of smoke, indicating the presence of man. We visited some half dozen villages, rowing across the lagoon several times, and the day being warm drank sufficient cocoa-nut milk to float a ship. The huts, generally speaking, had an appearance of age, a sign in itself of peace prevailing among the various tribes. We got back to the ship at 10.30, and breakfasted before getting under way.

It appears that we have a rendezvous at Dinner Island with several men-of-war, to inquire into and possibly punish the murder of Captain(?) Fryer, at Hoop Iron Bay, Moresby Island. Leaving the Straits by the