British New Guine

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. EXPLORATIONS IN THE D'ENTRECASTEAUX GROUP. Exploring every place with curious eyes.?Virgil. On October 24,1887, Sir William MacGregor reached the east end of Nbrmanby, an island comprising an area of about 400 square miles, irregularly shaped, and composed of a high, rugged mountain range,...
More Description

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. EXPLORATIONS IN THE D'ENTRECASTEAUX GROUP. Exploring every place with curious eyes.?Virgil. On October 24,1887, Sir William MacGregor reached the east end of Nbrmanby, an island comprising an area of about 400 square miles, irregularly shaped, and composed of a high, rugged mountain range, with deep fissures excavated by water agency. This general conformation, which assumes an abrupt and precipitous character at the north-west end, rising in more regular and gentle gradients in the south-east part, culminates in bold, ntgged serrations of from 3000 to 3 500 feet above sea-level. These are at places encroached upon by deep, broad valleys, which almost divide the range into separate sections. Longitudinally, Normanby extends for about forty-five miles from N.W. to S.E., and about twelve to fifteen miles at its greatest breadth. Possessing no barrier-reef and but few traces of shore-reef, it is surrounded by deep water, which dashes in long heavy billows against its shore, affording the natives no facilities for fishing pursuits, and few safe anchorages to the weary mariner who may seek shelter on its unprotected shores. An examination of its coast showed the so-called Harris Island to be that part of the mainland of Normanby Island consisting of a long low alluvial flat, which had apparently been overlooked by previous observers, and consequently incorrectly delineated on the Admiralty charts. Excepting a large mountain near its centre, which is denuded of timber, the whole island is densely clothed with timber forests and luxuriant vegetation. For planting purposes the natives clear patches in the forest, where cultivation is carried out on a very extensive scale.The soil, which is very fertile, is a dark-brown mould, resting on beds of clay. Geologically, ...