Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 14.djvu/763

 irregular and much extended in a north-northwest and south-southeast direction, so that its greatest length is little short of 1,500 miles, a distance as great as the whole width of Australia from Adelaide to Port Darwin, or of Europe from London to Constantinople. Its greatest width is 410 miles; and, omitting the great peninsulas which form its two extremities, the central mass is about 700 miles long, with an average width of 320 miles, a country about the size of the Austrian Empire, and, with the exception of the course of one large river, an absolute blank upon our maps.

This almost total ignorance is the more remarkable when we consider how long the country has been known, and how frequently its shores have been visited. It was discovered in 1511, even earlier than Australia; and from that time Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, French, and English vessels have continually passed along its coasts. Most of our early navigators—Forrest, Dampier, and Cook—visited New Guinea, and have given us some account of its inhabitants; while, more recently, many exploring and surveying ships—the Coquille and Astrolabe, under French; the Rattlesnake, Fly, and Basilisk, under English; the Triton and Etna, under Dutch commanders—have added to our store of information. Among private naturalists and explorers, the present writer was the first to reside some months in New Guinea in 1858; since which time Dr. Miklucho Maclay, a Russian; Dr. Beccari and Signor d'Albertis, Italians; Dr. A. B. Meyer, a German; Mr. Octavius C. Stone, and several English missionaries—have all made important explorations and added much to our knowledge of the natural productions of the island and of the tribes residing on or near its coasts.

From these various sources we have obtained a tolerable knowledge of the outside margin of the country, but never extending more than twenty miles inland, except in the case of the Fly River, which Signor d'Albertis ascended for nearly 500 miles, reaching a point somewhat beyond the center of the island. The northwestern and southwestern peninsulas of New Guinea are the best-known portions, and both seem to be mountainous throughout. In the north, Mount Arfak, a little beyond Dorey Harbor, is from 8,000 to 10,000 feet high, while in the southeast the Owen Stanley Range has several peaks which reach elevations of from 10,000 to 13,000 feet. The Charles Louis Mountains, commencing near the south coast, east of Triton Bay, appear to run far in a southeasterly direction, and their summits are believed to be snowclad, and are probably at least 18,000 feet high. If they continue eastward in the same general direction they would pass about 100 miles to the north of D'Albertis's farthest point on the Fly River, and perhaps form a great curve till they merge in the Owen Stanley Range in the southeast. This, however, is mere conjecture, for throughout the whole course of the Fly River the land was low, and only on one occasion were high mountains seen to the northwest. Combining this with the