The First Discovery of Australia and New Guinea | Page 6

of New Guinea; he
then sailed to the north-east, as in his previous voyage, and discovered
some islands which he called Los Pintados, from the natives being
painted or tattooed.
The people were fierce and warlike, and from a canoe boldly attacked
the ships with showers of stones thrown from slings.
To the north-east of Los Pintados several low inhabited islands or atolls

were discovered, and named Los Buenos Jardines, "The Good
Gardens."
Saavedra cast anchor here, and the natives came to the shore, waving a
flag of peace; they were light-complexioned and tattooed. The females
were beautiful, with agreeable features and long black hair; they wore
dresses of fine matting. When the Spaniards landed, they were met by
men and women in procession, with tambourines and festal songs.
These islands abounded in cocoanuts and other vegetable productions.
From the Good Gardens Islands they set out again towards New Spain.
On the 9th of October, 1529, Saavedra died; and the next in command,
vainly attempting to make headway in an easterly direction, returned
once more to the Spice Islands.
The remnant of Saavedra's expedition reached Spain, by way of the
Cape of Good Hope and Lisbon, seven years later, in 1536.
According to Galvano, the Portuguese historian, Saavedra's discoveries
in 1529 were more extensive than in 1528. He says the Spaniards
coasted along the country of the Papuas for five hundred leagues, and
found the coast clean and of good anchorage.
The year that witnessed the return from the Spice Islands of the
survivors of Saavedra's expedition, 1536, witnessed also the sailing of
another fleet sent out from New Spain by Fernand Cortez to discover in
the same waters.
It consisted of two ships commanded by Grijalva and Alvarado.
The account of this voyage of discovery is very vague, and the various
writers on the subject do not entirely agree. This is due, perhaps, to the
fact that Alvarado abandoned the enterprise from the start, and went to
the conquest of Quito, in Peru, leaving the sole command to Grijalva.
It appears certain, however, that Grijalva visited many islands on the
north coast of New Guinea, and one, in particular, called Isla de los

Crespos, Island of the Frizzly Heads, at the entrance of Geelvinck Bay,
near which a mutiny occurred, and Grijalva was murdered by his
revolted crew.
His ship was wrecked, and the expedition came to an end, a few of the
survivors reaching the Spice Islands in 1539.
Most of the names given during the course of the exploration are
difficult to locate.
Besides the various place-names mentioned by Galvano, Ostrich Point,
the Struis Hoek of later Dutch charts, is, perhaps, a reminiscence of this
untimely voyage.
A casoar, or cassowary, would, of course, be called an ostrich, and here
we have for the first time in history a picturesque description of that
Australasian bird.
Galvano's translator says: "There is heere a bird as bigge as a crane,
and bigger; he flieth not, nor hath any wings wherewith to flee; he
runneth on the ground like a deere. Of their small feathers they do
make haire for their idols."
CHAPTER III.
THE SPICE ISLANDS, IN RIBERO'S MAP.
I must now say a few words about the official map of the world,
alluded to on page 16. It is by Ribero, and will be found on pages 28
and 29. The date of this map is 1529.
The portion reproduced shows the Spice Islands, and a glance at this
part of the world brings vividly to our minds the intense desire of each
contending party to possess a region that yielded the wealth that is here
described.
The map is Spanish, and Spain has allotted to herself the lion's share,
planting her flag in the midst of "Spice and everything nice" (see

Spanish hemisphere), and relegating the Portuguese flag to the Straits
of Sunda (see Portuguese hemisphere). For thousands of miles around,
ships--the seas are dotted with specimens similar to the two included
within our small area--fleets of them, converge towards, or sail away
from these spice-bearing islands. Every quaint old craft, whether light
caravel or crazy galleon, is underwritten with the legend, Vengo de
Maluco, I come from the Moluccas, or, Vay a Maluco, I go to the
Moluccas, as though that region were the only one on the face of the
globe worthy of consideration. And all that "Province of Maluco" bears
inscriptions denoting the particular product for which each island is
celebrated.
These are:-- Timor, for Sandal-wood; Java, for Benzoin;* Borneo and
Celebes, for Camphor; Amboyna, for Mace and Nutmegs; and last, not
least, Gilolo, for Cloves.
[* Benzoin, a fragrant gum-resin obtained from Styrax Benzoin, used in
pharmacy, and as incense.]
Let us now consider some other features of this map. The overlapping
of territorial boundaries to