RETURN OF THE AUCKLAND ISLANDS EXPEDITION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume III, Issue 637, 27 November 1865, Page 5

RETURN OF THE AUCKLAND ISLANDS EXPEDITION.

THE ISLANDS FOUN'D TO RF. COMPLETELY UXISHABITED. From the 4 Southland Times." Orn readers' are RTrnre cf the prompt and decided action taken bv the General Government, in despatching tho steamer Snu?hland on n vo.vape to tho Auckland Islands, to determine whether anr shipwrecked nonplc remain there. The *nbMned narrative nf events, from the pen of our special correspondent. Mr (r. T RicVtnrd*on. mar be taken as a faithful transcript of experience* trained on tho rnyasc ''lie ereatct praise is riue to Captain Greifr for the ahle manner In trliloh he manaced the steamer throughout the trip. The task was a most difficult one. In the face of of nn ordinary nature—for the first time to navtsrate a comparatively unknown craft—Captain Greift proved himself a thorough and trustworthy seaman ; and we trust that tho Government will cordially appreciate the important services rendered by him In this expedition.

The Southland, p.s..left tnvorcarglll Jetty at OS"> a.m., on the 14th Octob r. in charge of Captain Grrig, for tho Auckland Islands. In addition to 'the ordinary complement of offlcflrs and men. Messrs. linker and Richardson accompanied the expedition j Dr. Monckton an surgeon. With 'he exception of a sliort stay at the lower pool, to ship & whßlohoat, we steamed steadily onward; crossed Ih<" bar at noon, and soon discovered that among other good qualities the Southland lias a decided predilection for clean decks. Anchored at Port Adventure at n -31 p.m. of the same day. and did not leave until tho evening of tho 18th. The Interval was occupied In securing the paddle-bixes and side-houses, which were of such a gingerbread construction as to have run a oonslder&ble risk of going to sea on their otra account. During our short run aoross the Straits sighted the Snares shortly after daylight on the 10th, and passed them about 9 a.m. After losing sliht of them wo saw nothing beyond the ordinary accompaniment of sea fowl and porpoises, until i p.m. of the 20th, when th« weather clearing, we sighted the Auckland Islands, dls'ant about twenty miles, and nt once stood in for them, but were unable to make port before dark, and bo lay-too for the night, our third at sea. At fur o'oloolc next morning (the Jut), we we commenced steamine in, soon passed Enderby Island, and opened Port Ross, whioh we entered, and proceeded to the upper end of the inlet (Ls.urle Cove), in whloh weanohored. It Is about eight miles from the entranoe of the cove, which is beautifully sheltered, being entirely landlooked; the surrounding hills rislnsi to a hoight of 1.000 feet. Approaching from tho north the 1 lands have a picturesque and basaltic appearance, and are mostly covered with trees of a low and diminutive growth, with » thick under-scrub, from high-water mark, some distance up the slopes of the hills. The summits of the ranges are grassed, and the whole of the interor of the main la-d appears to be open country—the scrub In no case extending morn than half a mile from the shore. We soon dUrovered that we had been f rcstalled in our errand by the Victoria steamer. They had only loft three days before our arrival, as the following copy of a letter will show. This was found by us In n sealed b»t'le at the foot of » tree, on which they had carved a notlco of their visit, and ran as follows " lI.M C.S. Victoria, Oct. 17,1685.

" Tho above ship arrived in this harbour on the 13th Oct., ISrtn having searched every bay from Adam's Island to the Sandy Bay on Enderby's Island for traces of shipwreokod people She will leave here to-morrow to oontlnun the search round the western shores of tills island to Curnley's Ilarbonr. and from thenco proceed to Campbell's Island. Antipodes Island, and Bounty Wand. , , , . "On Enderby's Island hare boon landed some goats and rabbits for the purposo of increasing their number, to relieve shimvreckcd people. Soino goats have also been iatidod hero, and vegetables and treos planted near the marked tree for the same service. This humane service has boon performed by order of the Government!, of Victoria, Now South Wales, and Queensland. . . . ■ It is requested anr visitors to these shores will givo overy aid in their power to socuro this benovolont object, and not allow the animals and plants to he exterminated or des'royed " W. 11. Inouman, Commander. The knowledge of the Victoria's visit had the effect of considorably damping the enthusiasm caused by the discovery of recent tracks and flres. of which it proved a complete explanation. Their search appears to havo been carried far enough to dotermlno that no ono »t present exists in the vicinity of Port Ross: but from tho absence of any traces of them it 18 doubtful if the Victoria - !: partv have discovered certain evidences of ths whilom prasenoe of castaways, which we met with down the harbous. as Tor Instanoe. Item 1. Oa the west aide of the harbour, about four miles from tho entrance, a ihlpx' boat no name, well above Mgnwuter mark ks»l uppermost, as If it had been used for shelter, but so damaged as to be otherwise useless. Also oa the same side about half a mile nearer, two oars. Itom 2. The frame of a boat, made of small Ptickl woven together, and lashed with ntrlps of seal okins, found lying Just Inside of Ocean Point, tho east hoad of the harbour; on traces of tho covering being visible. Item 3. Atbatchod hut about nine reet square, on Ocean Toint. Evidently built by men who had no axe and who subsisted on limpits. to which fact a largo pile of shells bore testimony From this hut a track led to a commanding eminence overlooking the sea. on which we stumbled across. Item 4 A pole (.'fallen down, 1 with a large huncb of white grass attached to one end, andw iloh had ev dently been intended for use as a signal The supposition that others than tho crow of the Grafton have been wrecked here, Is r -ndered a certainty bv these traccs; but they als point to tho fact that at least twelve months must have elapsed since their residence on this end of the island. Further, as evidences of a wreok cenemlly remain for years after the aocident It Is ei remelv nrobabla that such may be dlsooverodln our further explore, tlons, and if so, it Is to bo hoped that som thing may yet rema'n'to determine the identity of the vessel. Wo exliumed the remains of the man found by Captt.ln Croim, at the old settlement: placed the bones (for nothing else >vas left) in a coffin, and buried it lu tho cemetery, where several graves tttll are visible, one with a very good headstone, and bearing tho following inscription

I.T. Died, ''.2nd November, 1850, "fft'd Three Month?.

It wns Dr. Monckton's opinion that the man whose remain* were found must have died more than a year ago ; also that the man had novcr been accustomed to hard labour. His clothes would lead to tho conclusion that he was not an rrdinary seaman, his being a good hrown check cloth, cut away and braided; his pilot coat- of superior cloth, and his other olothiug good Ho was probably master or mate of a vessel, tho M sou'-wester'' and oilskin suit pointing to a seafaring life, and his rank, as assumed from his dres®, at once overthrowing the idea t at he had been put on shore from whaler. Captain Mnsgrave'6 description 13 defective in many points both as regards tho man and tho island. His hair, a little of which remained, is of a medium brown, cheekbones not high, nor cb in pointed. He has the appcarance of having been a well-formed man with a slight prominent nose. "We discovered nothing new about him save a wooded spoon in one of his pockets and an immense pilo of liimplot shtrtbmnder a portlou of the fallen house, showing hat ho must have oxistedthtt# for a very long time, Captain Mvufrarf 1

tion that he was a Catholic from the simple fact of his wearing ft *mall heart, with something "sacred" sewn therein, la Possibly erroneous i fc being much more probably a lore token than "a mark of Ttom->n Catho'lc superstition." Over bis grave 1* plaoed a board with this Inscription "Erected bv the crew of the p.r. Southland, over the re"main* of a m *■» who had apparently died of star"vnMnn. apd wa* hurled by the crew of the flying "Scud. Sept 3,1865." Ort. M. IMS. Captain Crete nUo left a noHre of onr an 4 a letter a Wtle 1 * jitatine its object and our havlnr left there. By our exr>lnratlons we tmdually heeame awar© the extent of the original settlement. Por miles around T Aurie Cove traces of the axe are to be met with, remains of huts, old *nrden*. old roada, now nearly obliterated by a new rrowth. and other sirma of the amount of labour onoa ex« pended on this row -wHdemesa. Having failed to discover any other traces than those mentioned, In the vicinity of Port Ttoss, we started down the East Coast on the mornine of the 28th. and after steaminr round a large bay a short dlstanoe to the southward, we continued our course alonpr the shore and in the afternoon entered a long inW. a* the head of which we anchored. The day was very unfavourable far an examination of the coast. It being •* n«metu<o drijr'e. and the next, during which we remained tn

" TjAfig Tnlet ** to Us *hores. was little better: In fnct, the pleasure of seeine the Auckland Island o-i a fine day '*a< eot to come. We here saw nothine bnt tra ks of the Victoria's party and the pig* on shore, and a few seal In the water. There «re wimo nirs on the hIU« aronnd Laurie Core, hnt this appears tn be their heid-q«arters: the Mali* are alao more nume-otis as we proceed fu-ther south. We shot a pig here *nd kitled nor second »eal. hat the ejceltement attendant on the of the Ait wan wanting. Their habits are extra* odinary, they seem as much at home on shore an fit km, climbing up places In the bush so steep that It would be imposslble to follow save on the hands and knees, and then their manner of assent when frightened—tumbling, rolling, wrtgg« ling, with a reckless disregard of consequences, over stonea, logs, cliffs,—anything to reach the water, ts much more comical to witness than agreeable to Imitate and when there. It la difficult to credit their powers of swimming—instanta* neonily with the disappearance of the tall in one spot, 1« the appearance of the head In another—yards diitant—and aa they seem never to ttr« of the feat It Is a simple* cutter, by watching one for a minute or two. to come to the oonoltulon that he la • ho t In himself, as you can scarcely believe that the many htadt and tails you see oonrcltnte the one personal property of ono ual. On the ftth w« resumed onr voyage, and were dodalng In and out of Innumerable bwaM bays and fnleu nil day. And though we iteamed olom In short did not land, and <W»m the vewel saw nothln?: In the evening we steamed up Carnley Harbnr and the Southland wax *oon snu rly moored in the 'ltt l e baa'n waited ** Camp Cove." We «nent aevernl dnvsin examinln? the shore* of thi extenllV'* harbor, and while d'-in? so elept two night* in Mob* cr.tve'n hou-e. a verv comfortable port of plaee ahmt 12 feet hv l« feet with a lirge smne chimney. Then lv objectionable feature wa the stiehtness of the rafters wh'ch bent so much to a c*le we experienced the secon ' n'ght, that some of the n **-vnurt ones of the party before turning In. formed a complete network of rope lietwes" the wall plates to cntch thereof if >t fell: this, together with severa* oars at difTerent angle# also sunp'Ttlmr the roof cava a mther strance appearance to the Inaido as revealed by the firelight. We fonud a quantity of smoke' ahaga and pieces of se »l inside the house, find n variety of little articl rt s, evinc'n* the expenditure •fa considerable «m--unt of patience and ingenuity in their oonstrnotion. There la p. con««i erable clearing around the house. anold forre. charcoal pit*. tannery kc . and Jnat in front, nearly dry at 'nw water, lies to Grafton, apparently but lltle Injured, despite lier lone *tay amone th • rocks aee «hore \t the house we discovered »he Victoria had ncrain been before us. found nobody, md "e f t n notice of her riait. which a now supplemented by a notice of onrs, Intimating the land:nft of the eoat- we brought on Musgrave'e Peninsula, and fowls at Camp Cove. Mnserave's narty appear t«» have had no Garden whatever, an ' to have cut very few tracks in the bush : Indeed Ca tain userave was never accustomed to New 'ealand bush when he CBiled the \nckland Mind scrub impenetrable, it being far better travel'lne than anything we nave in Southland t but a considerable allowance has to be made tbroughoutthii journ «I for the state of mind of the writer.

There Is very little bush at this «nd of the Wand, and that little of a much more open character than around Laurie Cove; but though thef* Ib a large area of op n country on Auckland and Adam's Islands. It la of a very Indifferent de<» scrlption. being prinolbally cove *d with alpine flora, ootton "lant. mosses, and llobens, and all to the hill to™ wet ground. If Its position were scoi some of it might bo u«*d for pastoral p-irposa*. but on the Auokland lelandf, ner*r. On Monday tho fith. we steamed with the Sonthland up to the head of the north arm of Carnley*B harhour. and then up the weit arm as far as the west pissiKO, which place* we had tn'en unable to reach In a boat owine to continual westerly jrales On th® extreme point of Adam's Island (which forms the *ou'h side of Carnley's Harbor), "t the we t posaa?e we found a number of aea-Uons on shoro, and killed several of them; Captain Greig intends taking one to InvoroargUL They average about <? fcot In length by 5% feet In girtli—the old on b having a very formidable appearanoe—and there is little doubt they would seriously injuro any one if they got the chance; but except down hill thev oannotrun as fast as a man, and fortunately so, since they often give chase In a determined manner, thus rendering the clubbing of them rather an exciting affair. We found no traces whatever of wreck or wrecked other than the Grafton anywhere round the harhour, whch we left for good, early on the 7th, by the east entrance, and steamed round Adam's Island; passed the west entrance of Carnley's Harbour about 1 p.m. on our way up the West Coast. With the exception of "Disappointment Island and a largo bay behind it, -the vv Vst Coast present* an almost unbroken line of precWitous cliffs. rWng abruptly to a helcht of several hundred feet Unfortunately the t<»ps of the mountain* were nnvolnpe l in clonrfa the whole day, and the lower land w a »ft en obscured, so that we could n-t determine the p'ritJon of those of the East nlets which nearly cross the Island by I reference to any known hills. Having now seen all th.it Uto | s»p seen of this group, it la o'winm that no one at prasent | pxlsrs thereon : or. with the exoaptinn of Mu«grave*s party, hare existed on anv nf tho-e islands for some time past, for where tho supposed smoke was seen «»n the enst slrpe of the Kast Co *ot ra«sre. was ju*t*b east of Margrave's house, and not morn than five miles distant, and if ma-le as a siirnal by sh'pwre kel person" to the Ftylnc Scud. they, seeing her tnakine for Carnlevs Harbour, wou d undoubtedly hav- crossed over to meet her. and further, we oould tin t no traces whatever of them, while from the nature of the country being necu'lury adnpted for tracking, we were enabled to a*certa n the limits of Muserave's and of t h e Victorian's explorations Had it been considered necessary there is ittle -'oubtbut we mlorht have followed tho traces found In the vicinity of Port Ross, and determined what beenme of the unfortunate# who made them, whether they perished on the island, or were taken off by a vessel: th* latter being most probable. And now for a short general description of the Islands. Tho trronp consi>ts of consider ible numb rs of Inlands. Auckland Island being the largest and Adam's I-dand tho next l" 6i26, the other« being hardlv worth notice. There are only two trnod harbours - P.»rt w'om. at the extreme north of Auckland T>land. partly formed by Enderby Island. Ootan Inland, and and Carnley' Harbour, at the extreme south, formed by Auokland Island on the north, and Adam's Island on tho louth. These tnrbour* are very extensile, and are compounded of a n'<mber of smaller one«—many of them affording 'ood shelter and anchorage—tho bottom iu all instances being mud and -hells. Nowhere tionnd the islands did we set sand, thefewbeacbet which exist on the Eas Coa<t inlets and in the harbour are compo ed of (travel and shingle, with, In a few instance*, • sllshtiprinklinsr of very fine agates. The zoological structure of the group Is well deserving attention, nearly the whole may be termed of volc&nlo origin. The old formation of granite, sohmlst, and lime-stone have in many instances, b en highly metamorphosed by trap and sl nite. On the top of the hlls, In many places, basaltic columns rise t a height of some hundreds of feet, and along a considerable portion of the hill sides are croups of baaaltld rocks; while. In the ravines below may be s*on the usual •letritus of such structural formations. Ou the east side of Oamley Harbour are to be seen two distinct Btreims of lava, about twenty yards apart, and a hundred yards wide each, nverlying everything, and running down into the deep water of the b iy. We found pummicn-sione on the Island; also agates, lmbe «ded in tra». and. In another plaoe. In new red sandstone. Small quantities of >tee- sand are to be see.i in a few spots, among the rocks, below hUh-water mark. Wc discovered no trruj© of gold on the island. The soil is principally of apeat7 nature, and appears to be admiralty adapted to the growth of . ferns, which surpass in stee any to be found in S uthlond (excepting, of conrse, the tree tern). Some three or four new ••nes are to be found here, hut their presence isbalanoedby the absence of at leasr a dozen of the Southland ones. The pi evall nc fern, carnetlnn hUh and low ground alike to a depth of some eighteen inches, la the " Hounds toncue." There are several specimens of the vegetable world but 111 tie known elsewhere growing to a great size, two sort* in particular one a sort of ice pi tnt with a fluted leaf, the other with leaves like a pumpkin, thole tves of both measuring from 30 x 22 inches to *24 x 26 inohea; the stakls in length being about equal to the breadth of the leaves. The presence of many small sorts of sea fowl, burrowing m the sides of the banks around the coast partly account for ttiis exc s4ve growth, the »-ol in plfC • being half guano. There a e scarcely any land birds at all; and those tho S arrow hawk, the Toi, Robin and Lark common to Southland—but only to be fern at long distances, being few and far etween. By Ave o'clock on the evening of the 7th, we had passed Ende. by Island, and were fairly off t«» sea; at 6 p.m. next day we were abreast of the onarea and at daylight on tho 9th we siehted the S. W. of Stewart's Island. At 3 p.m. we were ■ ver the bar steaming tip to the Jetty, haviDe experienced beautiful calm -weather the whale way. and well for us thero being no one one ou board who would care for & sccond trip in the much vanated Southland except the weather could be ituara teed, it Heine only owing to the extreme caution mod by JCapuin Greig that »h» has returned m «h« went.