Everything was made as snug as possible, but we prepared ourselves to spend an anxious and restless night.
The wind still held sway. How our little craft did "job" about! There was no sleep for any of us that night. The whole of our attention was concentrated on the boat, as the slightest carelessness or neglect, in such a sea, on our part, would almost certainly have fatal consequences.
As the first streaks of dawn lined the horizon our position was made known to us.
To our great surprise, there, right in front of us, not 200 yards away, stood the island, with the coral reef merely a few boats' lengths ahead. We realized that we had had a narrow escape. Where should we have been had we "stood on" for a few seconds longer the previous night? Dashed to pieces amongst the coral rocks, and food for the sharks. In less than two minutes we had slackened the sheets and away we tore, our lee gunwale under water most of the time, beating our way to "Egum" (Little Woodlarks), 10 miles to the eastward, which we were glad to reach at 5 o'clock that evening.
Directly the sails were furled and everything made fast, we were honoured by a succession of visitors, both men and women. It is very unusual for the latter to come spontaneously on board. The chief's wife welcomed us to the island, and stated that a dish of yams was being prepared for our delectation. We sent on shore a billy-can and some tea, thus saving us the trouble of boiling it on board. We felt rather tired with our tempestuous voyage, and were glad of a rest.
Our most distinguished visitor was "Tokaiakus," the Dwarf.
Not having met him before, I was introduced with due ceremony. In all my travels I had never beheld such a curiosity. Let me endeavour to describe him. Imagine a man 3 feet 6 inches in height, of a chocolate colour, 35 years of age, having a Herculean chest, with arms the length of a child's. An immense head covered with a shock of hair falling on his neck in ringlets, a flat nose, and a mouth stretching from ear to ear. Add to all a light summer suit consisting of a palm leaf round his loins, and the picture is complete. He was, without exception, the most monstrous specimen of Papuan humanity in the whole of New Guinea. As both he and I understood the language spoken on the southeast coast, we soon became on friendly terms.
The chief of "Egum" was absent, having gone on a cruise to the "Trobriand Islands," and was not expected back for a month. The houses on "Egum" were different from those we had been accustomed to. Instead of being built on blocks they were level with the ground. The anchorage here is quite sheltered, being close in to a small reef.
The difficulty is in reaching it; once there you are in still water and can remain at anchor without fear of dragging. In navigating these parts you have to trust mainly to your eyesight as it is practically unsurveyed. A chart would only lead to confusion and maybe into peril.
"Egum" is connected with another small island by a coral reef on which the surf breaks with some violence. This reef lies to the E.N.E.