22nd May.
The forge was in full employ during the day, and great progress made with
the shoeing and preparations for our departure. Accompanied by Mr. Brown,
I rode out to-day to reconnoitre, and seek for a pass through the hills
that encompassed our camp; the only practical outlet we found to be
through some very rocky ravines to the south-west, where at about five
miles we found--what I had for some time suspected to be the case--that
the whole of the isthmus upon which we had landed was cut off from the
mainland by an extensive salt-water marsh, commencing at the bottom of
Nickol Bay and running parallel to the general line of coast, at least as
far as Enderby Island. Skirting the northern edge of the marsh for
several miles to the westward, we found it gradually getting wider and
deeper; we accordingly returned to the narrowest part, and rode into it
for about half a mile, the water being very shallow, and the bottom
sufficiently firm to carry us, although with considerable labour to the
horses. Finding it was getting late, we determined to try and return to
the camp round by the head of Nickol Bay, and succeeded in climbing over
the rocks and boulders that encumber this portion of the coast, until we
were within a quarter of a mile of the camp, when the tide came in upon
us so quickly that, after having been repeatedly thrown down by the surf,
we were compelled to leave the horses jammed up in the rocks just above
high-water mark, and proceeded on foot to the camp.
23rd May.
At 3.0 a.m., the tide having fallen sufficiently, Messrs. Brown and
Harding were enabled to bring in the horses left imprisoned last night.
During the day, all the arrangements for our departure were completed,
and in the afternoon Mr. Hearson was removed to the Dolphin, having been
kept on shore since the accident, to be constantly under my own
attendance; he was now rapidly recovering, although much reduced. Wrote
instructions for the guidance of Captain Dixon and Mr. Walcott during the
absence of the expedition, the latter gentleman being left in charge of
the stores, and to make such observations as the means at his disposal
should admit of.
24th May.
Landed at daylight, intending to make a start, as it was the Queen's
birthday; but owing to some of the horses having rambled, we did not
succeed in getting them all in and saddled up before 2.0 p.m., when three
or four of the horses that had not been accustomed to carrying packs
commenced playing up and scattering their loads in all directions,
straining and otherwise injuring several of the pack-saddles, which
detained us until so late in the day that I deemed it best to return to
camp, and as the forge had not been removed to the ship, to shorten some
of the saddle-irons, to render them less liable to injury, which was
otherwise a great improvement.
25th May.
The re-adjustments having been satisfactorily accomplished, we made a
fair start this morning by 9.0 a.m., and arrived on the edge of the marsh
by 11.30, where, having first taken a survey of the several channels from
the summit of a high granite hill, we entered the waste of mud at a point
where it did not appear to be more than two miles wide; an hour's
struggle carried us fairly through on to terra firma, only one horse
having to be assisted by the removal of his load. After resting an hour
and a half for dinner, we resumed our route in a south direction, across
an extensive low grassy plain of red clayey loam, passing over a few
rocky ridges at sunset, and at 6 p.m. encamped on a dry creek twenty
yards wide, water being found in some clay-pans in the adjoining plain.
Camp 2.