That great reaction which was soon to co_Journals of Expeditions of Discovery into Central Australia and Overland from Adelaide to King George's Sound in the Years 1840-1: Sent By the Colonists of South Australia, with the Sanction and Support of the Government: Including an Account of the Manners and Customs of the Aborigines and the State of Their Relations with Europeans

Colonies generally, to annihilate all mercantile credit, and render real

property comparatively valueless, had already commenced in South

Australia; failures, and rumours of failures, were of daily occurrence in

Adelaide, and even the little settlement of Port Lincoln had not escaped

the troubles of the times. I learnt with regret that it was rapidly

falling into decay, and its population diminishing. Many had already

deserted it, and amongst them I was surprised to hear of the departure of

Captain Porter and others, who were once the most enthusiastic admirers

and the staunchest supporters of this embryo town. That which however

affected me more particularly was the fear, that from the low and

impoverished state to which the place was now reduced, I should not be

able to obtain the supplies I required for my party, and should probably

have to delay until I could send over to Adelaide for what I wanted, even

supposing I was lucky enough to find a vessel to go across for me. In

walking round Mr. Dutton's farm I found he was ploughing up some land in

the valley for wheat, which appeared to be an excellent soil, and the

garden he had already commenced was looking promising. At night I

obtained the altitude of a Aquilae, by which I placed Mr. Driver's

station in 34 degrees 21 minutes 20 seconds S. lat., or about 22 miles of

lat. north of Kirton Point.

October 2.--Before leaving the station I purchased from Mr. Dutton a

little Timor pony for 25 pounds for one of the native boys to ride, to

replace in some measure the services of the animal I had been obliged to

have shot up to the north. The only objection to my new purchase was that

it was a little mare and already forward in foal. At Port Lincoln,

however, I was not likely to meet with any horses for sale, and did not

therefore deem it prudent to lose the only opportunity that might occur

of getting an animal of some kind. After quitting Mr. Dutton's, I

followed a dray road leading towards Port Lincoln. For the most part we

passed through green valleys with rich soil and luxuriant pasturage, but

occasionally intersected by poor sandy or gravelly soil of a saline

nature; the water was abundant from recent heavy rains, and some of the

pools fresh; others, however, were very brackish. The hills adjoining the

valley were grassy, and lightly wooded on their slopes facing the valley;

towards the summits they became scrubby, and beyond, the scrub almost

invariably made its appearance. Altogether we passed this day through a

considerable tract of country, containing much land that is well adapted

for sheep or cattle, and with a fair proportion suitable for agriculture.

It is by far the best portion of the available country in the Port

Lincoln peninsula, and I could not help regretting it should be so

limited in extent. I had now travelled all the three sides of the

triangle, and had obtained extensive views from various heights along

each of these lines of route; I had crossed from Port Lincoln to Streaky

Bay, from Streaky Bay to the head of Spencer's Gulf, and from the head of

Spencer's Gulf down to Port Lincoln again. In the course of these

journeys, I had spared no toil nor exertion, to make my examination as

complete and as useful as possible, though my labours were not rewarded

by commensurate success. The great mass of the peninsula is barren, arid,

and worthless; and although Port Lincoln possesses a beautiful, secure,

and capacious harbour, with a convenient and pretty site for a town, and

immediately contiguous to which there exists some extent of fine and

fertile soil, with several good grassy patches of country beyond; yet it

can never become a large or important place, in consequence of its

complete isolation, except by water, from every other, and the limited

nature of its own resources.

For one or two large stock-holders, who wish to secure good grazing

ground, and be apart from others, it might answer well, but even they

would ordinarily labour under difficulties and disadvantages which would

make their situation not at all desirable. The uncertainty and expense of

procuring their supplies--of obtaining labour, and of finding a market

for their surplus stock [Note 12 at end of para.], and the almost total

impossibility of their being able to effect sales in the event of their

wishing to leave, would perhaps more than counterbalance the advantages of

having the country to themselves. Purchased in the days of wild and

foolish speculation, and when a rage existed for buying land and laying

out townships, no place has been more misrepresented or misunderstood than

Port Lincoln. Many gross and glaring misstatements have been put forth of

its character and capabilities, by those who were actuated by interested

motives, and many unintentional misrepresentations have been made and

perpetuated by others, whose judgment or information has led them into

error, so that the public generally, and especially the English public,

have had no means of discriminating between the widely conflicting

accounts that have been given. Amongst the persons from whom this small

settlement has suffered disparagement there are none, perhaps, more

blameable than those who have put forth statements which ascribe to it

advantages and qualities that it does not possess; for just in proportion

as the expectation of intending settlers have been raised by exaggeration

or untruths has been their disappointment and disgust, when the facts

themselves have stared them in the face.

[Note 12: Pastoral settlers have left Port Lincoln in consequence of these

disadvantages--but it is possible that a comparatively large population

may locate there, hereafter, should mineral resources be found out.

Such discoveries are said to have been made, but Iam not aware upon whose

authority the report has become current.]

The day of hallucination has now passed away, but out of the reaction

which has succeeded it, has arisen a disposition to deprive Port Lincoln

of even the merits to which it really has a legitimate claim, and which

would have been far more highly appreciated, if the previous

misstatements and consequent disappointments had not induced a feeling of

suspicion and distrust not easily effaced.

Our stage to-day was twenty-five miles, over a pretty good road, which

brought us towards evening under the range contiguous to the township. In

one of the valleys leading from these hills on their west side we found a

small spring of good water, and as the grass around us was very abundant

and of the most luxuriant growth, I at once decided upon making this our

resting place, until I had completed my arrangements for procuring

supplies, and was again ready to move onwards.

October 3.--Leaving our horses to enjoy the good quarters we had selected

for them, and a respite from their labours, Mr. Scott and I walked across

the range into Port Lincoln, not a little surprising the good people

there, who had not heard of our coming, and who imagined us to be many

hundreds of miles away to the north. Calling upon Dr. Harvey, the only

Government officer then at the settlement, I learnt with regret that it

was quite impossible for me to procure the supplies I required in the

town, whilst there were no vessels in the port, except foreign whalers,

who were neither likely to have, nor be willing to part with the things I

should require. What to do under such circumstances was rather a

difficult question, and my principal hope was that some small coasting

vessel might arrive in the course of a few days, or if not, I might try

to hire a whale boat from one of the whaling vessels, and send her on to

Adelaide. Dr. Harvey had a small open boat of four or five tons, but he

did not seem willing to let her go; and unless I could communicate with

Adelaide, flour was the only article I could procure, and that not from

the stores in the town, but from a small stock belonging to the

Government, which had been sent over to meet any emergency that might

arise in so isolated a place. This was placed under the charge of Dr.

Harvey, who, on behalf of the Government, kindly offered to let me have

what I required, on condition that I would replace the same quantity, by

the first opportunity.

Having made arrangements for a supply of fresh meat and a few vegetables

during my stay, I walked out to examine the settlement. I found many neat

cottages and other improvements since I had been here in 1839; and there

were also a few gardens commenced, some of which were in a state of

cultivation and appeared to be doing well. The population, however, had

decreased, and many of the cottages were now unoccupied. Those who

remained were principally persons who had lost everything, and who could

not well get away, or who, on the other hand, had invested their property

in the place, and could not leave it except at the sacrifice of almost

everything they possessed. No one seemed to be doing well but the

inn-keeper, and he owed his success chiefly to the custom or traffic of

the foreign whalers who occasionally resorted here for refreshments. The

stockholders, living a few miles from town, who ought to have succeeded

the best, were getting dissatisfied at the many disadvantages which they

laboured under, and the smallness of the community around them, and every

thing wore a gloomy aspect.

October 4.--After breakfast, accompanied by Mr. Scott, I went to Port

Lincoln to attend divine service; prayers were read by Dr. Harvey. The

congregation was small but respectable, and apparently devout. After

church, we accompanied Dr. Harvey home to dinner, and met the Captain and

Surgeon of one of the French whalers in port; both of whom appeared

intelligent, and superior to the class usually met with in such

employments. After dinner we all walked down to the lagoon, west of Port

Lincoln, where the land is of a rich black alluvial character, and well

adapted for cultivation. Returning by our tents, Dr. Harvey and the

Frenchmen took tea with us, and then returned to the settlement. In the

course of our walk this afternoon, Dr. Harvey offered to put a temporary

hatch over his boat, and send her to Adelaide for me for ten pounds,

which offer I at once accepted, and Mr. Scott volunteered to go in her as

supercargo.

October 5.--To-day I employed myself in writing letters, whilst the dray

went to Port Lincoln for supplies. The few things I could get there were

very dear, meat 1s. per pound, potatoes 9d. per pound, salt butter 2s.

6d., a small bag, with a few old cabbage stumps, five or six shillings,

and other things in proportion.

October 6.--Went to town, accompanied by Mr. Scott to inspect the

preparations of the little cutter he was to go to Adelaide in;--ordered

all our horses to be shod, and several spare sets of shoes to be made to

take up to the party at Streaky Bay. On our return we were accompanied by

Mr. Smith, who kindly went with Mr. Scott to the station of a Mr. Brown,

[Note 13: Since murdered by the natives.] about ten miles away, to select

sheep to take with us on our journey. Mr. Scott purchased twelve at

2 pounds each, and brought them to the station; they were not very large,

but were in fine condition.

Chapter IX.

BOY SPEARED BY THE NATIVES--ANOMALOUS STATE OF OUR RELATIONS WITH THE

ABORIGINES--MR. SCOTT SAILS FOR ADELAIDE--DOG BOUGHT--MR. SCOTT'S

RETURN--CUTTER WATERWITCH SENT TO CO-OPERATE--SEND HER TO STREAKY

BAY--LEAVE PORT LINCOLN WITH THE DRAY--LEVEL SANDY COUNTRY CLOTHED WITH

BRUSH AND SHRUBS--SALT LAKES--MOUNT HOPE--LAKE HAMILTON--STONY

COUNTRY--LOSE A DOG--BETTER COUNTRY--WEDGE-HILL--LAKE NEWLAND--A BOAT

HARBOUR--MOUNT HALL--REJOIN PARTY AT STREAKY BAY--SINGULAR

SPRING--CHARACTER OF COUNTRY--BEDS OF OYSTERS.

October 6.--In the course of the afternoon I learnt that a little boy

about twelve years old, a son of Mr. Hawson's, had been speared on the

previous day by the natives, at a station about a mile and a half from my

tent. The poor little fellow had, it seems, been left alone at the

station, and the natives had come to the hut and speared him. The wounds

were of that fatal character, being from barbed spears which had remained

in the flesh, that no hopes could be entertained of his surviving their

removal. The following account of the occurrence is extracted from a

report, on the subject, to the Government by Dr. Harvey, the Colonial

Surgeon at Port Lincoln, who attended the boy in his last sufferings.

"The poor boy has borne this heavy affliction with the greatest

fortitude, assuring us "that he is not afraid to die." He says that on

Monday (5th), he was left in the station hut whilst his brother came into

town, and that about ten or eleven natives surrounded his hut, and wished

for something to eat. He gave them bread and rice--all he had, and as

they endeavoured to force themselves into his hut, he went out and

fastened the door, standing on the outside with his gun by his side and a

sword in his hand, which he held for the purpose of fighting them. He did

not make any signs of using them. One of the children gave him a spear to

throw, and while in the act of throwing it, he received the two spears in

his chest--he did not fall. He took up his gun and shot one of the

natives, who fell, but got up again and ran away; they all fled, but

returned and shewed signs of throwing another spear, when he lifted the

gun a second time, upon which they all made off.

"He remained with the two spears, seven feet long, sticking in his

breast; he tried to cut and saw them without effect; he also tried to

walk home, but could not; he then sat upon the ground and put the ends of

the spears in the fire to try to burn them off, and in this position he

was found at ten o'clock at night, upon the return of his brother Edward

(having been speared eleven hours.) He immediately sawed the ends of the

spears off, and placed him on horseback, and brought him into town, when

I saw him.

"Mr. Smith (with the police force) has gone in search of the natives, one

of whom can be identified as having thrown a spear at the boy, he having

a piece of red flannel tied round his beard.

"This circumstance has thrown the settlement into great distress. The

German missionary, Rev. Mr. Schurman, has gone with Mr. Smith. I am told

that the natives have been fired at from some of the stations. I hope

this is not the case. The Rev. Mr. Schurman says that Mr. Edward Hawson

told him he shot after some a short time ago to frighten them, after they

had stolen something from the same hut where they speared his brother.

This is denied by the family, but I will ascertain the truth upon the

return of the party, Mr. E. Hawson having accompanied them."

The natives immediately disappeared from the vicinity of the settlement,

and were not heard of again for a long time. Such is the account of this

melancholy affair as given to Dr. Harvey by the boy, who, I believe, also

made depositions before a magistrate to the same effect. Supposing this

account to be true, and that the natives had not received any previous

provocation either from him or from any other settlers in the

neighbourhood, this would appear to be one of the most wanton, cold

blooded, and treacherous murders upon record, and a murder seemingly as

unprovoked as it was without object. Had the case been one in which the

European had been seen for the first time by the aboriginal inhabitants

of the country, it would have been neither surprising nor at variance

with what more civilised nations would probably have done under

circumstances of a similar nature. Could we imagine an extraordinary

looking being, whose presence and attributes were alike unknown to us,

and of a nature to excite our apprehensions, suddenly appearing in any

part of our own country, what would be the reception he would meet with

among ourselves, and especially if by locating himself in any particular

part of the country he prevented us from approaching those haunts to

which we had been accustomed from our infancy to resort, and which we

looked upon as sacred to ourselves? It is not asserting too much to say

that in such a case the country would be raised in a hue and cry, and the

intruder would meet with the fate that has sometimes befallen the

traveller or the colonist when trespassing upon the dominions of the

savage.

In the present lamentable instance, however, the natives could not have

acted under the influence of an impulse like this. Here the Europeans had

been long located in the neighbourhood, they were known to, and had been

frequently visited by the Aborigines, and the intercourse between them

had in some instances at least been of a friendly character. What then

could have been the inducement to commit so cold and ruthless an act? or

what was the object to be attained by it? Without pausing to seek for

answers to these questions which, in the present case, it must be

difficult, if not impossible, to solve, it may be worth while to take a

view of the conduct of the Aborigines of Australia, generally, towards

the invaders and usurpers of their rights, setting aside altogether any

acts of violence or injury which they may have committed under the

influence of terror, naturally excited by the first presence of strangers

among them, and which arise from an impulse that is only shared by them

in common with mankind generally. I shall be borne out, I think, by facts

when I state that the Aborigines of this country have seldom been guilty

of wanton or unprovoked outrages, or committed acts of rapine or

bloodshed, without some strongly exciting cause, or under the influence

of feelings that would have weighed in the same degree with Europeans in

similar circumstances. The mere fact of such incentives not being clearly

apparent to us, or of our being unable to account for the sanguinary

feelings of natives in particular cases, by no means argues that

incentives do not exist, or that their feelings may not have been justly

excited.

If we find the Aborigines of Australia ordinarily acting under the

influence of no worse motives or passions than usually actuate man in a

civilised state, we ought in fairness to suppose that sufficient

provocative for retaliation has been given in those few instances of

revenge, which, our imperfect knowledge of the circumstances attending

them does not enable us satisfactorily to account for. In considering

this question honestly, we must take into account many points that we too

often lose sight of altogether when discussing the conduct of the

natives, and more especially when we are doing so under the excitement

and irritation arising from recent hostilities. We should remember:--

First, That our being in their country at all is, so far as their ideas

of right and wrong are concerned, altogether an act of intrusion and

aggression.

Secondly, That for a very long time they cannot comprehend our motives

for coming amongst them, or our object in remaining, and may very

naturally imagine that it can only be for the purpose of dispossessing

them.

Thirdly, That our presence and settlement, in any particular locality,

do, in point of fact, actually dispossess the aboriginal inhabitants.

[Note 14: Vide, Notes on the Aborigines, chap. I.]

Fourthly, That the localities selected by Europeans, as best adapted for

the purposes of cultivation, or of grazing, are those that would usually

be equally valued above others, by the natives themselves, as places of

resort, or districts in which they could most easily procure their food.

This would especially be the case in those parts of the country where

water was scarce, as the European always locates himself close to this

grand necessary of life. The injustice, therefore, of the white man's

intrusion upon the territory of the aboriginal inhabitant, is aggravated

greatly by his always occupying the best and most valuable portion of it.

Fifthly, That as we ourselves have laws, customs, or prejudices, to which

we attach considerable importance, and the infringement of which we

consider either criminal or offensive, so have the natives theirs,

equally, perhaps, dear to them, but which, from our ignorance or

heedlessness, we may be continually violating, and can we wonder that

they should sometimes exact the penalty of infraction? do not we do the

same? or is ignorance a more valid excuse for civilized man than the

savage?

Sixthly, What are the relations usually subsisting between the Aborigines

and settlers, locating in the more distant, and less populous parts of

the country: those who have placed themselves upon the outskirts of

civilization, and who, as they are in some measure beyond the protection

of the laws, are also free from their restraints? A settler going to

occupy a new station, removes, perhaps, beyond all other Europeans,

taking with him his flocks, and his herds, and his men, and locates

himself wherever he finds water, and a country adapted for his purposes.

At the first, possibly, he may see none of the inhabitants of the country

that he has thus unceremoniously taken possession of; naturally alarmed

at the inexplicable appearance, and daring intrusion of strangers, they

keep aloof, hoping, perhaps, but vainly, that the intruders may soon

retire. Days, weeks, or months pass away, and they see them still

remaining. Compelled at last, it may be by enemies without, by the want

of water in the remoter districts, by the desire to procure certain kinds

of food, which are peculiar to certain localities, and at particular

seasons of the year, or perhaps by a wish to revisit their country and

their homes, they return once more, cautiously and fearfully approaching

what is their own--the spot perhaps where they were born, the patrimony

that has descended to them through many generations;--and what is the

reception that is given them upon their own lands? often they are met by

repulsion, and sometimes by violence, and are compelled to retire again

to strange aud unsuitable localities. Passing over the fearful scenes of

horror and bloodshed, that have but too frequently been perpetrated in

all the Australian colonies upon the natives in the remoter districts, by

the most desperate and abandoned of our countrymen; and overlooking,

also, the recklessness that too generally pervades the shepherds and

stock-keepers of the interior, with regard to the coloured races, a

recklessness that leads them to think as little of firing at a black, as

at a bird, and which makes the number they have killed, or the atrocities

that have attended the deeds, a matter for a tale, a jest or boast at

their pothouse revelries; overlooking these, let us suppose that the

settler is actuated by no bad intentions, and that he is sincerely

anxious to avoid any collision with the natives, or not to do them any

injury, yet under these even comparatively favourable circumstances, what

frequently is the result? The settler finds himself almost alone in the

wilds, with but few men around him, and these, principally occupied in

attending to stock, are dispersed over a considerable extent of country;

he finds himself cut off from assistance, or resources of any kind,

whilst he has heard fearful accounts of the ferocity, or the treachery of

the savage; he therefore comes to the conclusion, that it will be less

trouble, and annoyance, and risk, to keep the natives away from his

station altogether; and as soon as they make their appearance, they are

roughly waved away from their own possessions: should they hesitate, or

appear unwilling to depart, threats are made use of, weapons perhaps

produced, and a show, at least, is made of an offensive character, even

if no stronger measures be resorted to. What must be the natural

impression produced upon the mind of the natives by treatment like this?

Can it engender feelings otherwise than of a hostile and vindictive kind;

or can we wonder that he should take the first opportunity of venting

those feelings upon his aggressor?

But let us go even a little further, and suppose the case of a settler,

who, actuated by no selfish motives, and blinded by no fears, does not

discourage or repel the natives upon their first approach; suppose that

he treats them with kindness and consideration (and there are happily

many such settlers in Australia), what recompense can he make them for

the injury he has done, by dispossessing them of their lands, by

occupying their waters, and by depriving them of their supply of food? He

neither does nor can replace the loss. They are sometimes allowed, it is

true, to frequent again the localities they once called their own, but

these are now shorn of the attractions which they formerly

possessed--they are no longer of any value to them--and where are they to

procure the food that the wild animals once supplied them with so

abundantly? In the place of the kangaroo, the emu, and the wallabie, they

now see only the flocks and herds of the strangers, and nothing is left

to them but the prospect of dreary banishment, or a life of misery and

privation. Can it then be a matter of wonder, that under such

circumstances as these, and whilst those who dispossessed them, are

revelling in plenty near them, they should sometimes be tempted to

appropriate a portion of the superabundance they see around them, and rob

those who had first robbed them? The only wonder is, that such acts of

reprisal are so seldom committed. Where is the European nation, that thus

situated, and finding themselves, as is often the case with the natives,

numerically and physically stronger than their oppressors, would be

guilty of so little retaliation, of so few excesses? The eye of

compassion, or of philanthropy, will easily discover the anomalous and

unfavourable position of the Aborigines of our colonies, when brought

into contact with the European settlers. They are strangers in their own

land, and possess no longer the usual means of procuring their daily

subsistence; hungry, and famished, they wander about begging among the

scattered stations, where they are treated with a familiarity by the men

living at them, which makes them become familiar in turn, until, at last,

getting impatient and troublesome, they are roughly repulsed, and

feelings of resentment and revenge are kindled. This, I am persuaded, is

the cause and origin of many of the affrays with the natives, which are

apparently inexplicable to us. Nor ought we to wonder, that a slight

insult, or a trifling injury, should sometimes hurry them to an act

apparently not warranted by the provocation. Who can tell how long their

feelings had been rankling in their bosoms; how long, or how much they

had borne; a single drop will make the cup run over, when filled up to

the brim; a single spark will ignite the mine, that, by its explosion,

will scatter destruction around it; and may not one foolish indiscretion,

one thoughtless act of contumely or wrong, arouse to vengeance the

passions that have long been burning, though concealed? With the same

dispositions and tempers as ourselves, they are subject to the same

impulses and infirmities. Little accustomed to restrain their feelings,

it is natural, that when goaded beyond endurance, the effect should be

violent, and fatal to those who roused them;--the smothered fire but

bursts out the stronger from having been pent up; and the rankling

passions are but fanned into wilder fury, from having been repressed.

Seventhly, There are also other considerations to be taken into the

account, when we form our opinion of the character and conduct of the

natives, to which we do not frequently allow their due weight and

importance, but which will fully account for aggressions having been

committed by natives upon unoffending individuals, and even sometimes

upon those who have treated them kindly. First, that the native considers

it a virtue to revenge an injury. Secondly, if he cannot revenge it upon

the actual individual who injured him, he thinks that the offence is

equally expiated if he can do so upon any other of the same race; he does

not look upon it as the offence of an individual, but as an act of war on

the part of the nation, and he takes the first opportunity of making a

reprisal upon any one of the enemy who may happen to fall in his way; no

matter whether that person injured him or not, or whether he knew of the

offence having been committed, or the war declared. And is not the custom

of civilized powers very similar to this? Admitting that civilization,

and refinement, have modified the horrors of such a system, the principle

is still the same. This is the principle that invariably guides the

native in his relations with other native tribes around him, and it is

generally the same that he acts upon in his intercourse with us. Shall we

then arrogate to ourselves the sole power of acting unjustly, or of

judging of what is expedient? And are we to make no allowance for the

standard of right by which the native is guided in the system of policy

he may adopt? Weighing candidly, then, the points to which reference has

been made, can we wonder, that in the outskirts of the colony, where the

intercourse between the native and the European has been but limited, and

where that intercourse has, perhaps, only generated a mutual distrust;

where the objects, the intentions, or the motives of the white man, can

neither be known nor understood, and where the natural inference from his

acts cannot be favourable, can we wonder, that under such circumstances,

and acting from the impression of some wrong, real or imagined, or goaded

on by hunger, which the white man's presence prevents him from appeasing,

the native should sometimes be tempted to acts of violence or robbery? He

is only doing what his habits and ideas have taught him to think

commendable. He is doing what men in a more civilized state would have

done under the same circumstances, what they daily do under the sanction

of the law of nations--a law that provides not for the safety,

privileges, and protection of the Aborigines, and owners of the soil, but

which merely lays down rules for the direction of the privileged robber

in the distribution of the booty of any newly discovered country. With

reference to the particular case in question, the murder of Master

Hawson, it appears from Dr. Harvey's report (already quoted), that in

addition to any incentives, such as I have described, as likely to arise

in the minds of the natives, there had been the still greater provocation

of their having been fired at, but a short time previously, from the same

station, and by the murdered boy's brother. We may well pause, therefore,

ere we hastily condemn, or unjustly punish, in cases where the

circumstances connected with their occurrence, can only be brought before

us in a partial and imperfect manner.

The 7th was spent in preparing my despatches for Adelaide. On the 8th I

sent in a dray to Port Lincoln, with Mr. Scott's luggage, and those

things that were to be sent to Adelaide, comprising all the specimens of

geology and botany we had collected, a rough chart of our route, and the

despatches and letters which I had written. The boat was not ready at the

time appointed, and Mr. Scott returned to the tents. In the evening,

however, he again went to the settlement, and about ten, P.M., he, and

the man who was to manage the boat, went on board to sail for Adelaide. I

had been taken very ill during the day, and was unable to accompany him

to the place of embarkation. The following is a copy of my despatch to

the Governor, and to the Chairman of the Northern Expedition Committee,

embodying my reasons for going to the westward.

"Port Lincoln, October, 1840.

"Sir,--Having fallen back upon Port Lincoln for supplies, an opportunity

has occurred to me of writing a brief and hurried report of our

proceedings. I have, therefore, the honour to acquaint you, for the

information of His Excellency, the Governor, and the colonists interested

in the Northern Expedition, with the result of my examination of the

country north of Spencer's Gulf, and of the further steps I contemplate

taking to endeavour to carry out the wishes of the Committee, and

accomplish the object for which the expedition was fitted out.

"Upon leaving our depot, near Mount Arden, the low, arid, and sandy

nature of the country between the hills and Lake Torrens, compelled us to

follow close under the continuation of Flinders range. Here our progress

was necessarily very slow, from the rugged nature of the country, the

scarcity of water, and the great difficulty both of finding and obtaining

access to it. As we advanced, the hills inclined considerably to the

eastward, gradually becoming less elevated, until, in latitude 29 degrees

20 minutes S., they ceased altogether, and we found ourselves in a very

low and level country, consisting of large stony plains, varied

occasionally by sand; and the whole having evidently been subject to

recent and extensive inundation. These plains are destitute of water,

grass, and timber, and have only a few salsolaceous plants growing upon

them; whilst their surface, whether stony or sandy, is quite smooth and

even, as if washed so by the action of the water. Throughout this level

tract of country were interspersed, in various directions, many small

flat-topped elevations, varying in height from 50 to 300 feet, and almost

invariably exhibiting precipitous banks. These elevations are composed

almost wholly of a chalky substance, coated over on the upper surface by

stones, or a sandy soil, and present the appearance of having formed a

table land that has been washed to pieces by the violent action of water,

and of which these fragments now only remain. Upon forcing a way through

this dreary region, in three different directions, I found that the whole

of the low country round the termination of Flinders range, was

completely surrounded by Lake Torrens, which, commencing not far from the

head of Spencer's Gulf, takes a circuitous course of fully 400 miles, of

an apparent breadth of from twenty to thirty miles, following the sweep

of Flinders range, and almost encircling it in the form of a horse shoe.

"The greater part of the vast area contained in the bed of this immense

lake, is certainly dry on the surface, and consists of a mixture of sand

and mud, of so soft and yielding a character, as to render perfectly

ineffective all attempts either to cross it, or reach the edge of the

water, which appears to exist at a distance of some miles from the outer

margin. On one occasion only was I able to taste of its waters; in a

small arm of the lake near the most north-westerly part of it, which I

visited, and here the water was as salt as the sea. The lake on its

eastern and southern sides, is bounded by a high sandy ridge, with

salsolae and some brushwood growing upon it, but without any other

vegetation. The other shores presented, as far as I could judge, a very

similar appearance; and when I ascended several of the heights in

Flinders range--from which the views were very extensive, and the

opposite shores of the lake seemed to be distinctly visible--no rise or

hill of any kind could ever be perceived, either to the west, the north,

on the east; the whole region around appeared to be one vast, low, and

dreary waste. One very high and prominent summit in this range, I have

named Mount Serle; it is situated in 30 degrees 30 minutes south

latitude, and about 139 degrees 10 minutes east longitude, and is the

first point from which I obtained a view of Lake Torrens to the eastward

of Flinders range, and discovered that I was hemmed in on every side by a

barrier it was impossible to pass. I had now no alternative left me, but

to conduct my party back to Mount Arden, and then decide what steps I

should adopt to carry out the objects of the expedition. It was evident,

that to avoid Lake Torrens, and the low desert by which it is surrounded,

I must go very far either to the east or to the west before again

attempting to penetrate to the north.

"My party had already been upwards of three months absent from Adelaide,

and our provisions were too much reduced to admit of our renewing the

expedition in either direction, without first obtaining additional

supplies. The two following were therefore the only plans which appeared

feasible to me, or likely to promote the intentions of the colonists, and

effect the examination of the northern interior:--

"First--To move my party to the southward, to endeavour to procure

supplies from the nearest stations north of Adelaide, and then, by

crossing to the Darling, to trace that river up until I found high land

leading to the north-west.

"Secondly--To cross over to Streaky Bay, send from thence to Port Lincoln

for supplies, and then follow the line of coast to the westward, until I

met with a tract of country practicable to the north. To the first of

these plans were many objections; amongst the principal ones, were, the

very unfavourable accounts given both by Captain Sturt, and Major

Mitchell, of the country to the west of the Darling River--the fact of

Captain Sturt's having found the waters of that river salt during a

continued ride of many days--the numerous tribes of natives likely to be

met with, and the very small party I should have with me; lastly, the

course of the river itself, which trending so much to the eastward, would

take us from, rather than towards the centre of this Continent. On the

other hand, by crossing to the westward, I should have to encounter a

country which I knew to be all but destitute of water, and to consist,

for a very great distance, of barren sandy ridges and low lands, covered

by an almost impenetrable scrub, at a season, too, when but little rain

could be expected, and the heat would, in all probability, be intense;

still, of the two, the latter appeared to me the least objectionable, as

we should at least be going towards the point we wished to reach, and

through a country as yet quite unknown.

"After mature and anxious consideration, therefore, I decided upon

adopting it, hoping that my decision may meet with the approbation of the

Committee.

"Previous to our arrival at Mount Arden, we experienced very showery

weather for some days, (otherwise we could not have attempted a passage

to the westward); and as there were no longer any apprehensions of water

being found on the route to Streaky Bay, I sent two of my teams across

upon our old tracks, in charge of my overseer, whilst I conducted the

third myself, in company with Mr. Scott, direct to Port Lincoln, to

procure the supplies we required. In crossing from Mount Arden, towards

Port Lincoln, we travelled generally through a low barren country,

densely covered by brush, among which were scattered, at considerable

intervals, a few small patches of grass, with here and there some rocky

elevations; in the latter, we were usually able to procure water for

ourselves and horses, until we arrived at the districts already explored,

in traversing which we passed (to the N. E. of Port Lincoln) some rich,

well watered valleys, bounded by a considerable extent of grassy hills,

well adopted for sheep or cattle, arriving at Port Lincoln on the 3rd of

October. As a line of route from Adelaide for the emigration of stock,

the course we followed, though it cannot be called a good one, is

perfectly practicable in the winter season; and I have no doubt, when the

country becomes better known, the present track might be considerably

improved upon, and both grass and water obtained in greater abundance.

"I regret extremely to acquaint you, that on the morning of the 9th

September, one of the police horses (called "Grey Paddy") kindly lent to

the Expedition by His Excellency the Governor, was found with his leg

broken, apparently from the kick of another horse during the night, and I

was obliged to order him to be shot in consequence. With this exception,

no serious accident has occurred, and the whole of the party are in the

enjoyment of good health and spirits. As the Expedition will still be

absent, in all probability, upwards of five months, I have availed myself

of a kind offer from Dr. Harvey, to send his boat over to Adelaide, and

have sent Mr. Scott to receive any instructions his Excellency the

Governor, or the Committee, may wish to give relative to our future

proceedings; and immediately Mr. S. returns, I shall hurry up to Streaky

Bay with the supplies, and at once move on to the westward, my overseer

being now engaged in preparing for our forcing a passage through the

scrub, to the north-west of Streaky Bay, as soon as we arrive there with

the remainder of the party.

"I have the honour to be, Sir,

"Your obedient servant,

"EDW. JOHN EYRE."

"The Chairman of the Committee for promoting the Northern Expedition."

From the 9th to the 22nd of October, I was occupied a good deal at the

camp, having only one man and a native boy to attend to the tent, the

horses and the sheep, so that I was in a great measure confined at home,

occasionally only making short excursions to the town to superintend the

preparation of a large supply of horse-shoes, or visiting the stations of

some of the nearest country settlers. I had lately bought a kangaroo dog,

from the captain of an American whaler, and in these rambles had frequent

opportunities of trying my new purchase, both after emus and kangaroos,

but he was quite useless for hunting either, and did little credit to the

honesty of the person who sold him to me, and who had asked and received

a high price, in consideration of the animal being, as he assured me, of

a better description than ordinary. Of the natives of the district I saw

nothing whatever; the death of young Hawson, and the subsequent scouring

of the country by police, had driven them away from the occupied parts,

and forced them to the fastnesses of the hills, or to the scrubs; I was,

however, enabled by the kindness of Mr. Schurman, a German Missionary,

stationed at Port Lincoln, to obtain a limited collection of words and

phrases in the dialect of the district, and which I hoped might be of

some use to me hereafter. Mr. Schurman has since published a copious

vocabulary and grammar, of the language in use in this part of Australia.

On the 22nd, upon going into the settlement, I found the Government

cutter WATERWITCH at anchor in the harbour, having Mr. Scott on board,

and a most abundant supply of stores and provisions, liberally sent us by

his Excellency the Governor, who had also most kindly placed the cutter

at my disposal, to accompany and co-operate with me along the coast to

the westward.

Mr. Scott had managed every thing confided to him most admirably; and I

felt very greatly indebted to him for the ready and enterprising manner

in which he had volunteered, to undertake a voyage from Port Lincoln to

Adelaide in a small open boat, and the successful manner in which he had

accomplished it. Among other commissions, I had requested him to bring me

another man to accompany the expedition in the place of the one (R.

M'Robert) who had driven the dray to Port Lincoln, and with whom I was

going to part; as also to bring for me a native, named Wylie, an

aborigine, from King George's Sound, whom I had taken with me to Adelaide

on my return in May last, but who had been too ill to accompany me at the

time the expedition started; the latter he had not been able to

accomplish, as the boy was in the country when he reached Adelaide, and

there was not time to get him down before the WATERWITCH sailed. The man,

however, he had procured, and I was glad to recognize in him an old

servant, who had been with me in several of my former expeditions, and

who was a most excellent carter and tent servant. His name was Thomas

Costelow.

Having received large packets of papers and many letters, both from

relations in England, and from many warm-hearted friends in Adelaide, I

returned with Mr. Scott and Costelow to the tent, to make immediate

preparations for our departure. The delay, occasioned by my having been

obliged to send to Adelaide for our supplies, had so greatly protracted

the period of my absence from the rest of my party, beyond what I had

anticipated, that I became most anxious to rejoin them: the summer

weather too, was rapidly approaching, and I dreaded the task of forcing a

way through the low level scrubby waste, around Streaky and Smoky Bays,

under a tropical sun.

From the despatches received, I was glad to find that the Governor and

the Colonists had approved of the step I had taken, in moving to the

westward, which was gratifying and satisfactory, notwithstanding the

disappointments I had experienced. In the course of the day, I sent in a

dray to Port Lincoln, with our heavy baggage to put on board the cutter,

with orders to Mr. Germain the master, to sail immediately for Streaky

Bay, and lose no time in communicating with the party there. Before the

cutter sailed, I purchased an excellent little boat to be sent with her

for use in our coast or inland explorations, should it be found

necessary.

October 23.--The blacksmith not having finished all the shoes, I was

compelled to remain another day in camp; the man too, who had been left

in charge of the sheep had lost them all; whilst the one, therefore, was

finishing his work and the other looking for his sheep, I employed myself

in writing letters for Adelaide, and in arranging my business in Port

Lincoln, etc.

October 24.--Having struck the tent, and loaded the dray, Mr. Scott and I

rode into town to breakfast with Dr. Harvey, and take leave of our Port

Lincoln friends. After transacting business matters, I settled with the

man who was going to leave me, deducting the price of the sheep which by

his carelessness he had lost, and which had not been recovered; I then

paid Dr. Harvey for the hire of his boat, etc. and in arranging for it, he

generously refused to receive more than 5 pounds as his boat had not been

used in the return voyage from Adelaide. He also most kindly supplied us

with some few small things, which we yet required, and was altogether

most attentive and courteous.

Upon returning to our camp, I moved on the party, delighted once more

with the prospect of being actively employed. Whilst I conducted the

dray, I sent Mr. Scott round by Mr. Brown's station, to buy eleven more

sheep in the place of those M'Robert had lost, and at night he rejoined

us with them near Mr. White's station, about ten miles from Port Lincoln;

it was late before the sheep came, and the yard to put them in was made,

and as there were so few of them, they were a good deal alarmed and would

not go into the yard, rushing about violently, breaking away every time

we drove them near it; at last we got ten safely housed, and were obliged

to put up with the loss of the eleventh, the night being quite dark.

Mr. White and Mr. Poole visited us from their station, and I tried to

purchase from the former a noble dog that he possessed, of the mastiff

breed, but could not prevail upon him to part with it.

On the 25th I detained the party in camp, that I might get our sheep

shorn, and send to Port Lincoln to inquire if there were any more letters

for me by Dr. Harvey's little boat, which was expected to arrive to-day.

Mr. Scott, who rode into the settlement, returned in the afternoon.

October 26.--Sending the dray on under the guidance of the native boy, I

rode with Mr. Scott up to Mr. White's station to wish him good bye, and

to make another effort to secure an additional dog or two; finding that

he would not sell the noble mastiff I so much wished to have, I bought

from him two good kangaroo dogs, at rather a high price, with which I

hastened on after the drays, and soon overtook them, but not before my

new dogs had secured two fine kangaroos. For the first few miles we

crossed a low flat country, which afterwards became undulating and

covered with dwarf scrub, after this we passed over barren ridges for

about three miles, with quartz lying exposed on the surface and timbered

by the bastard gum or forest casuarinae. We then descended to a level

sandy region, clothed with small brush, and having very many salt lakes

scattered over its surface; around the hollows in which these waters were

collected, and occasionally around basins that were now dry, we found

large trees of the gum, together with a few casuarinae. A very similar

kind of low country appeared to extend far to the eastward and

north-west.

Kangaroos were very numerous, especially near those hollows, that were

surrounded by gum-trees, to which they retired for shelter during the

heat of the day. We encamped at night in the midst of many of these salt

lakes, without any water, but the grass was good. Our stage had been 25

miles upon a course of N. 25 degrees W. After watching the horses for a

few hours, we tied them up for the night, not daring to trust them loose

without water. A few natives had been seen during the day, but they ran

away.

A singular feature attending the salt lakes, or the hollows where water

had formerly lodged, was the existence of innumerable small stones,

resembling biscuits or cakes in shape, perfectly circular and flat, but a

little convexed in the upper surface, they were of various sizes, and

appeared to consist of lime, being formed into their present shape by the

action of water. Very similar ones have since been found in the volcanic

region near Mount Gambier, on the southern coast of New Holland. From our

present camp were seen before us to the north-west some low green looking

ranges, lightly timbered, and promising a better country than we had

hitherto met with.

October 27.--Having arrived at the hills, in about three miles, we found

them abundantly grassed, but very rugged and rocky, of an oolitic

limestone formation, with occasionally a light reddish soil covering the

rock in the flats and valleys. Between these ranges and the sea, which

was about a mile beyond them, were rather high sand hills, having a few

stunted trees growing upon them, but otherwise destitute of vegetation.

No water could be found, nor were there any watercourses from the hills,

where we examined them.

Keeping under the east side of the ranges for a few miles, we crossed the

main ridge to the westward, and after a stage of about thirteen miles,

halted under a high hill, which I named Mount Hope, in my former journey.

In a gorge of the range where the granite cropped out among the

limestone, we found a spring of beautiful water, and encamped for the

day. Mr. Scott and one of the native boys shot several pigeons, which

came to the spring to drink in the evening in great numbers. In the

meantime I had ascended the hill for a view, and to take angles. At a

bearing of W. S. W. I set Point Drummond only a few miles distant from

the camp, and between it and a bearing of S. W. was a considerable salt

water lagoon on the eastern side of the sand hills of the coast; the

surrounding country was low, level and scrubby. To the westward a great

extent of dense scrub was visible, amid which were one or two elevations;

and a salt lake, at a bearing of S. 60 degrees E. I made the latitude of

this camp 34 degrees 7 minutes 16 seconds S. and the variation of the

compass 4 degrees 10 minutes E.

October 28.--Travelling onwards for four miles, we passed a fine spring,

situated in a swamp to our left, and at two more we came to a sheet of

water, named Lake Hamilton, [Note 15: After my friend George Hamilton,

Esq.] a large and apparently deep lake, with but a few hundred yards

of a steep high bank, intervening between it and the sea; the

latter was rapidly encroaching upon this barrier, and would probably

in the course of a few years more force a way through, and lay

under water a considerable extent of low country in that vicinity. Around

the margin of the lake was abundance of good grass, but the bank between

it and the sea was high and very rocky.

After leaving the lake we entered upon a succession of low grassy hills

but most dreadfully stony, and at night encamped upon a swamp, after a

stage of about sixteen miles. Here we procured abundance of good water by

digging through the limestone crust, near the surface. The country around

was still of the same character as before, but amidst the never-ceasing

strata of limestone which everywhere protruded, were innumerable large

wombat holes--yet strange to say not one of these was tenanted. The whole

fraternity of these animals appeared to have been cut off altogether in

some unaccountable manner, or to have migrated simultaneously to some

other part. No emus or kangaroos were to be seen anywhere, and the whole

region around wore a singularly wild and deserted aspect.

October 29.--Our route was again over low stony hills, but with rather

better valleys between them; this kind of country appeared to extend from

five to twelve miles inland from the coast, and then commenced the low

level waste of barren scrubby land, which we so constantly saw to the

eastward of us.

I had intended to make a short stage to-day to a spring, situated in the

midst of a swamp, in latitude 33 degrees 46 minutes 35 seconds S., but

having kept rather too far away from the coast, I missed it, and had to

push on for twenty-three miles to a rich and very pretty valley, under a

grassy range, lightly wooded with casuarinae. The soil was somewhat

sandy, but clothed with vegetation; in holes in the rocks we procured

abundance of water from a little valley near our camp, and in a swamp

about a mile and a half north-east was a spring. Our stage was a long

one, and the day being excessively hot, our horses, sheep, and dogs were

nearly all knocked up. Of the latter two were unfortunately missing when

we arrived at our halting ground; one came up afterwards, but the other

could nowhere be found, though both had been seen not two miles away. The

missing dog [Note 16 at end of para.], was the best of the two which I had

purchased of Mr. White, and I felt sorry for a loss which it would be

impossible for me to replace. Many native fires were seen to-day, and

especially in the direction of a high bare-looking detached range to the

north-east, named by me from its shape, Mount Wedge; none of these people

were, however, seen, but a fire still burning was found where we encamped

for the night.

[Note 16: Upon returning to Adelaide in 1841, I learnt that the dog had

gone back all the way to Mr. White's station, and as Mr. White wished to

keep the animal, he returned the money he had received at his sale.]

On the 30th we remained stationary to rest the horses, and to try and

recover the lost dog, but after a long and fruitless search, we were

obliged to give up the attempt.

On the 31st, after crossing a ridge under which we were encamped, we

passed through a very pretty grassy and park-like country, and what was

very unusual, not stony on the surface. There were in places a great many

wombat holes, but these were now all occupied by their tenants, and the

whole aspect of the country was more encouraging and cheerful; the extent

of good country was, however, very limited. Towards the coast was a low

scrubby-looking region with salt lakes, and to the east it was bounded by

a dense brush, beyond which were extensive plains of a barren and scrubby

appearance. In the midst of these plains were large fields of a coarse

wiry-kind of grass, growing in enormous tufts, five or six feet high, and

indicating the places where swamps exist in wet seasons; these were now

quite dry, but we had always found the same coarse-tufted grass growing

around the margins of the salt lakes, and in those places also where we

had found water. This description of country seemed to extend to the base

of Wedge Hill, which I intended to have ascended, but the weather was too

cloudy to obtain a view from it. The character of the country to the

north and north-east was equally low and unpromising, with the exception

of two peaks seen at considerable distances apart.

Our stage to-day was sixteen miles to Lake Newland, [Note 17: Named after

my friend R. F. Newland, Esq.] a large salt-water lake, with numerous

fine and strong springs of excellent water, bubbling up almost

in the midst of the salt. In one place one of these springs was

surrounded by a narrow strip of soil, and the stream emanating from it

took its winding course through the skirts of the salt-water lake itself,

inclosed by a very narrow bank of earth, on either side; this slight

barrier being the only division between the salt and the fresh water.

From the abundance of fresh water at Lake Newland, and the many patches

of tolerably grassy country around, a very fair station might be formed,

either for sheep or cattle.

November 1.--Leaving Lake Newland we passed through a scrubby country,

which extended close under the coast hummocks for five miles, and then

ascended a high barren range. The view from this was extensive, but only

over a mass of low and desolate scrub, with the exception of one or two

elevations to the north and north-east. Towards the coast, amidst the

waste around, was a large sheet of salt water, with here and there a few

openings near it, studded with casuarinae, to this we bent our steps, and

at twelve miles from our last night's camp took up our position in lat.

33 degrees 14 minutes 36 seconds S. upon the lagoon seen by Flinders from

the masthead.

The traces of natives and their beaten pathways were here very numerous

(of the latter of which there could not be less than thirty) all leading

to a large deep hole, sunk about eight feet, principally through a soft

limestone rock. This was carefully blocked up with large stones and mud,

but upon clearing it out the water came bubbling up rapidly, and we got

an abundant supply. The entrance from seawards to the sheet of water, or

lagoon, is between two heads, (one of them being a high bluff) little

more than a mile apart. There appeared to be a reef off the entrance

outside, but our being without a boat prevented us from ascertaining how

far this inlet was adapted for a harbour. Inside, the water is shallow

towards the south, but deeper in the northern half of the inlet.

November 2.--Tracing round the shores, we passed several other holes dug

by the natives in the sand, to procure water; these, however, did not

appear of so permanent a character as the first, for many had fallen in,

and others contained but very little water. The huts of the natives were

numerous, and of a large and substantial description; but we saw none of

their owners.

After leaving the inlet we pushed on through the scrub to a high bluff of

granitic formation, distant about sixteen miles N. 35 degrees W., and

named by me Mount Hall. [Note 18: After G. Hall, Esq. the Governor's

Private Secretary.] The road being very heavy, it was late when we arrived

there, and both our horses and sheep were much fatigued. We got a

little water from holes in the sheets of granite, and had very good

grass in an opening under the hill.

From the summit of Mount Hall the view was extensive, and I obtained many

angles. The surrounding country was low, level, and barren, and densely

covered with scrub, among which, to the north-west were seen many

salt-water lakes. At intervals a few elevations were seen amidst this low

waste, apparently similar to the hill we were upon, among them were one

or two very distant at a little N. of E., and nearer, one at E. 16

degrees N.; the latter I named Mount Cooper. [Note 19: After Charles

Cooper, Esq. the Judge of the colony.] At a bearing of S. 35 degrees W.

another saltwater inlet was seen apparently communicating with the sea;

but this we could not satisfactorily ascertain from its great

distance. The latitude of Mount Hall, deduced from observations of a

Lyrae and a Aquilae, was 33 degrees 2 minutes 40 seconds S. Several

native fires were seen to the east and south-east in the scrub.

November 3.--After seeing the party ready tomove on, I left Mr. Scott to

conduct the dray, whilst I rode forward in advance to the depot near

Streaky Bay, where I arrived early in the afternoon, and was delighted to

find the party all well, and everything going on prosperously. They had

expected me some time before and were looking out very anxiously for my

arrival. The WATERWITCH had arrived on the 29th of October, but the

master did not communicate with my party before the 31st; so that until

the last three days they had been quite ignorant of our movements, and

uneasy at our so greatly exceeding the time originally fixed for

rejoining them. Having sent back a man, and two fresh and strong horses

to assist the dray, I reconnoitred once more our depot of 1839. Situated

in the middle of some extensive grassy openings among the scrub, is a

solid sheet of limestone of a very hard texture: in the centre of this

rock is a small oblong opening, a foot deep and only just large enough to

admit of a pint pot being dipped in it. This curious little hole

contained water from five to seven inches in depth, the level of which

was maintained as rapidly as a person could bale it out; this was our

sole supply for ourselves and horses, but it was a never-failing one.

[Note 20: The water had not a pleasant flavour, as it was of a chalybeate

nature; but in a country where water was scarce, it was invaluable. When I

was here in 1839, it had even then this disagreeable taste, but now it was

much worse, in consequence, probably, of the contaminating substance

being washed off more abundantly than formerly from the rocks enclosing

the reservoir by the rapid flow of water necessary to replace the large

consumption of my party.]

The spring is situated in latitude 32 degrees 49 minutes 0 seconds S. and

about three miles south-east from the most southerly bight of Streaky

Bay. About one mile and a half to the west is another small hole of

better flavoured water, but not so abundant in its supply.

I found all the horses in excellent condition, and one, a very fine mare

of my own, had foaled about six weeks before. Around the camp were

immense piles of oyster shells, pretty plainly indicating the feasting my

men had enjoyed during my absence, whilst their strong and healthy

appearance shewed how well such fare had agreed with them. The oysters

were procured from the most southerly bight of Streaky Bay, on some mud

banks about two or three hundred yards below low water mark, where they

are found in immense numbers and of different sizes. The flavour of these

oysters was excellent, and the smaller ones were of great delicacy. The

men were in the habit of taking a cart down to the beach frequently,

where, by wading up to their knees in the sea at low water, they were

enabled to fill it. This supply lasted for two or three days.

Many drays might easily be loaded, one after the other, from these oyster

beds. The natives of the district do not appear to eat them, for I never

could find a single shell at any of their encampments. It is difficult to

account for the taste or prejudice of the native, which guides him in his

selection or rejection of particular kinds of food. What is eaten readily

by the natives in one part of Australia is left untouched by them in

another, thus the oyster is eaten at Sydney, and I believe King George's

Sound, but not at Streaky Bay. The unio or freshwater muscle is eaten in

great numbers by all the natives of New South Wales and South Australia;

but Captain Grey found that a Perth native, who accompanied him on one of

his expeditions, would not touch this kind of food even when almost

starving. Snakes are eaten by some tribes, but not by others; and so with

many other kinds of food which they make use of.

About three o'clock, Mr. Scott arrived with the dray, after a long and

harassing stage of twenty miles over a low, stony, and scrubby tract of

country, between Mount Hall and Streaky Bay, and which extended beyond

our track to the coast hummocks to the west. These latter appeared

somewhat high, and under them we had seen many salt-water lakes from the

summit of Mount Hall.

My party were now once more all assembled together, after having been

separated for nearly seven weeks; during which, neither division knew

what had befallen the other, and both were necessarily anxious to be

reunited again, since, in the event of any mischance occurring to either,

the other would have been placed in circumstances of much difficulty, if

not of danger; and the whole object of the undertaking would have been

frustrated.

The great delay caused by my having been obliged to send over from Port

Lincoln to Adelaide for supplies, had thrown us very late in the season;

the summer was rapidly advancing, the weather even now, being frequently

intensely hot, whilst the grass was gradually drying up and losing its

nourishment. Our sending to Adelaide had, however, obtained for us the

valuable services of the WATERWITCH to assist us in tracing round the

desert line of coast to the north-west, and had enabled us to procure a

larger and more varied supply of stores, than we could possibly have

brought up from Port Lincoln in a single dray. We were now amply

furnished with conveniences of every kind; and both men and horses were

in good plight and ready to enter upon the task before them.

Chapter X.

COUNTRY BETWEEN STREAKY BAY AND BAXTER'S RANGE--ITS SCRUBBY

CHARACTER--GAWLER RANGE--MOUNT STURT--ASCEND A PEAK--SALT

LAKES--BEAUTIFUL FLOWER--ASCEND ANOTHER HILL--MOUNT BROWN SEEN--EXTENSIVE

VIEW TO THE NORTH--LAKE GILLES--BAXTER'S RANGE.

During the time that I had been occupied in conducting my division of the

party from Baxter's Range to Port Lincoln, the overseer had been engaged

in guiding the other portion across to Streaky Bay, upon my former track

from thence to Mount Arden, in September 1839. The following brief

extracts from my Journal of that period, whilst crossing from Streaky Bay

to Mount Arden, will convey an idea of the character of the country

extending between these two points; and of the great difficulty, indeed

almost the impossibility of forcing a passage, except immediately after

the occurrence of heavy rains.

1839, Sept. 18.--We left the depot near Streaky Bay, at a course nearly

due east, and passing through alternations of brush and of open grassy

plains, upon the skirts of which grew a few casuarinae; halted after a

stage of eighteen miles, at an opening in the brush, where we had good

grass, but no water; we were consequently obliged to watch the horses

during the night, to prevent their straying. From this camp Mount Hall

bore S. 2 degrees E. and Mount Cooper S. E. the variation of the compass

being 2 degrees 22 minutes E.

September 19.--Travelling east through the same kind of country for

fifteen miles, we halted upon a high scrubby ridge; having a few grassy

openings at intervals, and with large sheets of granite exposed in some

parts of its surface. In the holes among these rocks we procured a supply

of water that had been deposited by the late rains; but which a few warm

days would have dried up. The latitude of the water was 32 degrees 48

minutes S. and from it Mount Hall bore S. 38 degrees W., Mount Cooper S.

15 degrees W. Before us to the north-east were visible many peaks of a

range, with a high and broken outline, which I named the Gawler range,

after His Excellency Colonel Gawler, the Governor of South Australia. One

very high peak in this range I named Mount Sturt, after my friend Captain

Sturt; it bore from our present camp E. 10 degrees N. and had been

previously seen from the summit of Mount Hall.

September 20.--Our route to-day was through a perfect desert, very

scrubby and stony, with much prickly grass growing upon the sand ridges,

which alternated with the hard limestone flats; there were very few clear

intervals of country upon our whole course; and for the last five miles

the heavy sand and dense scrub made it very difficult to get on at all.

After a long stage of twenty-five miles nearly due east, we halted at a

high ridge similar to that upon which we encamped last night, with sheets

of granite exposed on its surface, and rain water lodged in the hollows.

The horses were all completely knocked up with the severe labour of this

day's stage; I ascertained the latitude of the camp to be 32 degrees 47

minutes 40 seconds S. and the variation of the compass which increased as

we advanced to the eastward, was now 4 degrees 12 minutes E. The Gawler

range was now distinctly visible, extending from N. 15 degrees W. to N.

65 degrees E. and presenting the broken and picturesque outline of a vast

mountain mass rising abruptly out of the low scrubby country around. The

principal elevations in this extensive range, could not be less than two

thousand feet; and they appeared to increase in height as the range

trended to the north-west. To the eastward the ranges decreased somewhat

in elevation, but were still very lofty.

September 21.--We had another long stage to-day of twenty miles, over, if

possible, a worse road than yesterday, no intermission whatever of the

heavy steep sandy ridges and dense eucalyptus scrub; the horses were

dreadfully jaded, and we were obliged to relieve them by yoking up all

the riding horses that would draw. Even with this aid we did not get the

journey over until an hour and a half after dark. During the day our

course had been more to the northward of east, and brought us close under

the Gawler range. At fourteen miles after starting, we passed a salt lake

on our right, and several salt ponds on our left; but we could find no

permanent fresh water anywhere. In the rocks of the range we had encamped

under, we procured a small quantity left by the rains, but this supply

was rapidly disappearing under the rays of a very hot sun, and had we

been a few days later, we could not have crossed at all. The latitude of

our camp was 32 degrees 41 minutes 40 seconds S.

September 22.--This morning I ascended one of the heights in the Gawler

range, from which the view is extensive to the southward, over a

generally low level country, with occasional elevations at intervals; to

the north the view is obstructed by the Gawler range, consisting

apparently of a succession of detached ridges high and rocky, and

entirely of a porphoritic granite lying in huge bare masses upon the

surface. The hills [Note 21 at end of para.] were without either timber or

shrubs, and very barren, with their front slopes exceedingly steep, and

covered by small loose stones; several salt lakes were seen in various

directions, but no indications of fresh water or springs.

[Note 21: Peron's description of the mountains on the South-western coast,

is singularly applicable to the Gawler range--He says, Tom. III. p. 233.

"Sur ces montagnes pelees on ne voit pas un arbre, pas un arbriseau, pas

un arbuste; rien, en un mot, qui puisse faire souponner l'existence de

queque terre vegetale. La durete du roc paroit braver ici tous les

efforts de la nature, et resister a ces memes moyens de decomposition qu'

elle emploie ailleurs avec tant de succes."]

It was late before the party moved on to-day, but the road was somewhat

better, and there were many intervals of open grassy plains under the

hills along which we travelled, at a course of E. 17 degrees N. for

twenty-five miles. Encamping at night with tolerable grass, but without

water. There had been a considerable pool of rain water here a few days

ago, but it was now nearly dried up by the sun, and I was obliged to

order the horses to be watched during the night.

To-day I found a most splendid creeping plant in flower, growing in

between the ranges, it was quite new to me, and very beautiful; the leaf

was like that of the vetch but larger, the flower bright scarlet, with a

rich purple centre, shaped like a half globe with the convex side

outwards; it was winged, and something like a sweet pea in shape, the

flowers hung pendent upon long slender stalks, very similar to those of

sweet peas, and in the greatest profusion; altogether it was one of the

prettiest and richest looking flowers I have seen in Australia.

September 23.--Moving on over a firm road, but with much scrub and

prickly grass, we travelled for fifteen miles under the hills at a course

of E. 20 degrees N., encamping early in the afternoon close under them,

and procuring a little water left in the hollows by the rains. I ascended

another of the heights in the Gawler range to-day, but could obtain no

clear view from it, the weather being hazy. Ridge behind ridge still

appeared to rise to the north, beyond the front one under which we were

travelling; and several salt lakes were seen among the hills at

intervals. The rock of which the hills were composed was now changed from

a porphoritic granite to a reddish quartz, which was scattered all over

the front hills in loose small fragments. The latitude of our camp was 32

degrees 30 minutes 35 seconds S.

September 24.--Our road was firmer to-day, over a red gritty soil of

sandy loam and gravel. The hills were still covered with quartz, but

decreasing perceptibly in elevation as we advanced to the east. At about

eight miles we were lucky enough to find a puddle of rain water, and at

once halted for the day to rest and refresh the horses. Having ascended a

high peak near the camp, I found I was surrounded by a mass of hills on

every side; they gradually increased in elevation as they stretched to

the northwest, becoming lower at a bearing of north, and quite detached

to the north-east; resembling so many islands in the level waste around

them.

September 25.--Moving from our camp early we had an excellent road, and

travelled rapidly for about twenty miles, nearly due east, halting for

the night under a high red hill, where we found some rain water for our

horses; but the grass was very scarce. After dinner I ascended the hill

near the camp and obtained a distant view of Mount Brown, and the range

on the east side of Spencer's Gulf. To the north was one vast sea of

level scrub, and in the midst of it a lake; but seemingly of no very

great size. A few elevations were seen to the south-east, of all of which

I took bearings, and then descended to the camp again. The bearing of

Mount Brown, from this hill, was E. 10 degrees S.; and the latitude of

the camp, under the hill, was 30 degrees 27 minutes 55 seconds S.

September 26.--Passing up a barren valley between low hills, we had at

first a good road, but afterwards it became very stony. We encamped

early, after a short stage of fifteen miles, having gradually left most

of the hills to the north of us. One that we were encamped under I

ascended, and had a very extensive view, and took many angles. A large

lake (named Lake Gilles) [Note 22: After the first Colonial Treasurer of

the province.] bore nearly due south, and was the same that had been

seen from Baxter's range; the latter was now distinctly visible

at a bearing of E. 20 degrees S. The latitude of our camp was 32 degrees

35 minutes 58 seconds S. There was barely enough rain water found to

supply our horses, but the feed was tolerably good.

September 27.--We had a very bad stony road to-day, consisting

principally of quartz and iron-stone, of which the ranges had latterly

been entirely composed. Our stage was sixteen miles, passing round the

south end of Baxter's range, and encamping under it, on the eastern

front, upon a gorge, in which was plenty of water and good grass. We had

thus, by taking advantage of the rains that had fallen, been enabled to

force a passage from Streaky Bay to Spencer's Gulf; but we had done so

with much difficulty, and had we been but a few days later, we should

have failed altogether, for though travelling for a great part of the

distance under very high rocky ranges, we never found a drop of permanent

fresh-water nor a single spring near them. There are no watercourses, and

no timber; all is barren rocky and naked in the extreme. The waters that

collected after rains, lodged in the basins of small lakes; but such was

the nature of the soil that these were invariably salt.

It was through this dreary region I had left my overseer to take his

division of the party when we separated at Baxter's range; but I confided

the task to him with confidence. Rain had at that time fallen very

abundantly; he had already been over the road with me before, and knew

all the places where water or grass was likely to be found; and our

former dray tracks of 1839, which were still distinctly visible, would be

a sufficient guide to prevent his getting off the line of route. The

skill, judgment, and success with which the overseer conducted the task

assigned to him, fully justified the confidence I reposed in him; and

upon my rejoining the party at Streaky Bay, after an absence of seven

weeks, I was much gratified to find that neither the men, animals, or

equipment, were in the least degree the worse for their passage through

the desert.

Chapter XI.

EMBARK STORES--PARTY LEAVE STREAKY BAY--DENSE SCRUE--POINT

BROWN--SINGULAR WELL--PROCESS OF CHANGE IN APPEARANCE OF COUNTRY--DIG FOR

WATER--FRIENDLY NATIVES--EXTRAORDINARY RITE--NATIVE GUIDES--LEIPOA'S

NEST--DENIAL BAY--BEELIMAH GAIPPE--KANGAROO KILLED--MORE

NATIVES--BERINYANA GAIPPE--SALT LAKES--WADEMAR GAIPPE--SANDY AND SCRUBBY

COUNTRY--MOBEELA GAIPPE--DIFFICULTY OF GETTING WATER--MORE

NATIVES--GENUINE HOSPITALITY--SINGULAR MARKS ON THE ABDOMEN--NATIVES

LEAVE THE PARTY--FOWLER'S BAY--EXCELLENT WHALING STATION.

November 4.--To-DAY the party were occupied in sorting and packing

stores, which I intended to send on board the WATERWITCH to Fowler's Bay,

that by lightening the loads upon the drays, we might the more easily

force a passage through the dense scrub which I knew we had to pass

before we reached that point. In the afternoon the men were engaged in

shearing the remainder of our sheep, washing their own clothes and

preparing everything for breaking up the camp, whilst I rode down to

Streaky Bay, and went on board the cutter to give orders relative to the

reception of our stores tomorrow.

The harbour of Streaky Bay is extensive, but generally open to the

westward. In its most southerly bight, however, is a secure well

sheltered bay, for vessels of moderate draught of water; being protected

by a long sandy shoal which must be rounded before a vessel can enter.

[Note 23: A plan of this harbour was made by Mr. Cannan, one of the

Government assistant surveyors of South Australia, when sent by the

Government in a cutter to meet my party with provisions in 1839.]

November 5.--To-day we were engaged in carting down the stores and a

supply of water to the cutter, which we got safely on board, when I gave

written instructions to the master to sail at once, and land a cask of

water, a little higher up the bay, for the use of the horses. In the

evening the drays were loaded and all got ready for our departure

to-morrow.

November 6.--Having had the horses watched last night we were enabled to

move away early, and about noon arrived at the place I had appointed Mr.

Germain to land the cask of water: it was all ready, and we watered the

horses, took luncheon and moved on again, directing Mr. Germain to

proceed to Smoky Bay, and land water for us again there. The country we

passed through to-day was low, level, and sandy, and covered with prickly

grass, with a few tea-tree swamps, but no fresh water. The shore of

Streaky Bay on its western side was bounded by high steep sandy hummocks,

behind which we travelled, and at night halted on the borders of a dense

scrub, nearly opposite the middle of the bay, after a stage of about

eighteen miles. Our vicinity to the sea enabled Mr. Scott, myself, and

the native boys to enjoy a swim, a luxury highly appreciated by a

traveller after a day's hard work, amidst heat and dust, and one which I

anticipated we should frequently obtain in our course to the westward.

November 7.--Breakfasted before daylight, and moved on with the earliest

dawn to encounter a scrub which I knew to be of heavier timber, and

growing more closely together than any we had yet attempted. It consisted

of Eucalyptus dumosa and the salt-water tea-tree, (the latter of a very

large growth and very dense,) in a heavy sandy soil.

By keeping the axes constantly at work in advance of the drays, we

succeeded in slowly forcing a passage through this dreadful country,

emerging in about seventeen miles at an open plain behind Point Brown,

and in the midst of which was a well of water. The entrance to this well

was by a circular opening, through a solid sheet of limestone, about

fifteen inches in diameter, but enlarging a little about a foot below the

surface. The water was at a depth of ten feet, and so choked up with sand

and dirt that we were obliged to clear the hole out effectually before we

could get any for the horses. This was both a difficult and an unpleasant

occupation, as the man engaged in it had to lower himself through the

very narrow aperture at the top and work in a very cramped position

amongst the dirt and wet below, with the mud dripping upon him; it was

drawn up in a bag, for a bucket could not be used in so contracted a

space. As a spade could not be employed a large shell left by the natives

was used for scooping up the dirt, which made the operation both slow and

tiresome. Our horses were dreadfully fagged and very thirsty after the

severe toil they had endured in dragging the drays through so heavy a

scrub, but with all our exertions we could only obtain from the spring

about two buckets of water apiece for them. As this was not nearly enough

to satisfy them, I was obliged to have them watched for the night to

prevent their straying. The men had been kept incessantly at work from

five in the morning until nearly ten at night, and the additional duty of

watching the horses bore very hard upon them; but they knew it to be

necessary, and did it cheerfully.

We had passed during our route through one or two of the small grassy

openings so constantly met with even in the densest scrubs, and, as

usual, I noticed upon these plains the remains of former scrub, where the

trees were apparently of a larger growth than those now existing around.

The soil too, from a loose sand, had become firmer and more united, and

wherever the scrub had disappeared its place had been supplied by grass.

This strongly confirmed my opinion, long ago formed, that those vast

level wastes in Australia, now covered with low scrub, (and formerly, I

imagine, the bed of the ocean,) are gradually undergoing a process of

amelioration which may one day fit them for the purposes of pasture or

agriculture. The smoke of many native fires was seen during the day

behind and around us, but we did not fall in with any of the natives.

November 8.--Having given each of the horses a bucket of water from the

well, we moved on again through the same dense scrub we had encountered

yesterday, but, if possible, more harassing, from the increased steepness

of the sandy ridges and the quantity of dead timber lying on the surface,

and causing a great impediment to our progress. We forced our way through

this worse than desert region, for about fourteen miles, and arrived

early in the afternoon, with our horses quite exhausted, upon the shores

of Smoky Bay, at a point where the natives had dug a hole in the sand

hills near the beach to procure water, and from which the south end of

the island of St. Peter bore W. 15 degrees S.

The WATERWITCH was already here, and supplied us with a cask of water,

until the men had dined and rested a little, before entering upon the

task of digging for water, which proved to be a most arduous undertaking,

and occupied us all the afternoon. We had to sink through a loose sand

for fifteen feet, which from its nature, added to the effect of a strong

wind that was blowing at the time, drifted in almost as fast as it was

thrown out. We were consequently obliged to make a very large opening

before we could get at the water at all; it was then very abundant, but

dreadfully salt, being little better than the sea water itself; the

horses and sheep however drank it greedily, as we had been able to give

them but little of that received from the vessel.

November 9.--Upon mustering the horses this morning I found they were

looking so exhausted and jaded after the hard toil they had gone through

in the last three days, that I could not venture to put them to work

again to-day. I was consequently obliged to remain in camp, to rest both

them and the men, all of whom were much fatigued. The well in the sand

was even salter to-day than we had found it yesterday, and was quite

unserviceable; the men had sunk the hole rather too deep, that they might

get the water in greater abundance; but when the tide rose it flowed in

under the sand and spoiled the whole. As the water, even at the best, had

been so salt that we could not use it ourselves, and as it was far from

being wholesome for the horses, I did not think it worth while to give

the men the fatigue of digging another hole. I therefore put both horses

and men upon a limited allowance, and got a cask containing sixty gallons

from the cutter for our day's supply. I also took the opportunity of

again lightening our loads by sending on board some more of the baggage

and the light cart. This, by decreasing the number of our teams, would, I

thought, enable me to change the horses occasionally in the others, and

give me an extra man to assist in clearing a road through the scrub,

Having completed my arrangements, I sent on the WATERWITCH to the

north-east part of Denial Bay, to land water there, as I did not expect

to get any until our arrival at Point Peter. Mr. Scott accompanied the

cutter, having expressed a wish to take a trip in her for a few days.

During the forenoon we were visited by a party of natives, who came to

get water at the hole in the sand. They were not much alarmed, and soon

became very friendly, remaining near us all night; from them I learned

that there was no water inland, and none along the coast for two days'

journey, after which we should come to plenty, at a place called by them

"Beelimah Gaip-pe;." Their language was nearly the same as that of Port

Lincoln, intermixed with a few words in use at King George's Sound,

and I now regretted greatly that I had not the Western Australian native

with me.

I found a most singular custom prevailing among the natives of this part

of the country, which I had never found to exist anywhere else (except at

Port Lincoln), and the origin of which it would be most difficult to

account for. In various parts of Australia some of the tribes practise

the rite of circumcision, whilst others do not; but in the Port Lincoln

peninsula, and along the coast to the westward, the natives not only are

circumcised, but have in addition another most extraordinary ceremonial.

[Note 24: Finditus usque ad urethram a parte infera penis.] Among the party

of natives at the camp I examined many, and all had been operated upon.

The ceremony with them seemed to have taken place between the ages

of twelve and fourteen years, for several of the boys of that age

had recently undergone the operation, the wounds being still fresh

and inflamed. This extraordinary and inexplicable custom must have a

great tendency to prevent the rapid increase of the population; and its

adoption may perhaps be a wise ordination of Providence, for that

purpose, in a country of so desert and arid a character as that which

these people occupy.

November 10.--Getting the party away about five o'clock this morning, I

persuaded one of the natives, named "Wilguldy," an intelligent cheerful

old man, to accompany us as a guide, and as an inducement, had him

mounted on a horse, to the great admiration and envy of his fellows, all

of whom followed us on foot, keeping up in a line with the dray through

the scrub, and procuring their food as they went along, which consisted

of snakes, lizards, guanas, bandicoots, rats, wallabies, etc. etc. and it

was surprising to see the apparent ease with which, in merely walking

across the country, they each procured an abundant supply for the day.

In one place in the scrub we came to a large circular mound of sand,

about two feet high, and several yards in circumference; this they

immediately began to explore, carefully throwing away the sand with their

hands from the centre, until they had worked down to a deep narrow hole,

round the sides of which, and embedded in the sand, were four fine large

eggs of a delicate pink colour, and fully the size of a goose egg. I had

often seen these hills before, but did not know that they were nests, and

that they contained so valuable a prize to a traveller in the desert. The

eggs were presented to me by the natives, and when cooked were of a very

rich and delicate flavour. The nest was that of a wild pheasant,

(Leipoa), a bird of the size of a hen pheasant of England, and greatly

resembling it in appearance and plumage; these birds are very cautious

and shy, and run rapidly through the underwood, rarely flying unless when

closely pursued. The shell of the egg is thin and fragile, and the young

are hatched entirely by the heat of the sun, scratching their way out as

soon as they are born, at which time they are able to shift for

themselves. [Note 25: For a further account of the LEIPOA, vide

CHAPTER III. of Notes on the Aborigines.]

Our road to-day was through a heavy sandy country, covered for the most

part densely with the eucalyptus and tea-tree. About eleven we struck the

south-east corner of Denial Bay, and proceeded on to the north-east,

where I had appointed the cutter to meet me. To my surprise she was not

to be seen anywhere, and I began to get anxious about our supply of water

for the horses, as we were entirely dependant upon her for it. In the

afternoon I observed the vessel rounding into the south-east bight of the

bay, and was obliged to send my overseer on horseback a long ride round

the bay, to tell the master to send us water to the place of our

encampment. He had been to the island of St. Peter yesterday looking for

birds' eggs, and having neglected to take advantage of a fair wind, was

not now able to get the cutter up to us. The water had consequently to be

brought in the boat a distance of eight miles through a heavy sea, and at

considerable risk. Mr. Scott, who came with the master in the boat,

returned on board again in the evening. Our stage to-day had been

eighteen miles, and the horses were both tired and thirsty. The small

supply of water brought us in the boat being insufficient for them, we

again were obliged to watch them at night.

November 11.--Guided by our friend "Wilguldy," we cut off all the corners

and bends of the coast, and steering straight for "Beelimah Gaippe,"

arrived there about noon, after a stage of twelve miles; the road

was harder and more open, but still in places we had to pass

through a very dense brush. The water to which the native took us was

procured by digging about four feet deep, in a swamp behind the coast

hummocks, which were here high and bare, and composed of white sand. The

water was abundant and good, and the grass tolerable, so that I

determined to remain a day to rest and recruit the horses; it was so

rarely that we had the opportunity of procuring both grass and water. The

dogs killed a kangaroo, which enabled us to give our guide an abundant

feast of food, to which he had been accustomed; but to do the old man

justice, I must say he was not very scrupulous about his diet, for he ate

readily of any thing that we offered him.

After we had encamped some more natives came up and joined us from the

vicinity of Point Peter, which lay a few miles to the east of us; they

were known to those who had accompanied us, and were very friendly and

well conducted. To many inquiries about water inland, they all assured me

that there was none to be found in that direction; but said that there

was water further along the coast called "Berinyana gaippe," and only one

day's journey from our present encampment.

November 12.--I sent the overseer this morning to communicate with the

cutter, and to request the master to fill up as much water as he could,

preparatory to our moving onwards to Fowler's Bay. In the evening the

overseer returned, accompanied by Mr. Scott, to acquaint me that the

water near Point Peter was a considerable distance from the vessel; and

that it would be impracticable to fill up all the casks, with no other

means than they had at command.

I took the sun's altitude, at noon, for latitude; but the day was windy,

and the mercury shook so much that I could not depend upon the

observation within three or four miles. It gave nearly 32 degrees 10

seconds S. which I thought too much to the northward. The sun set by

compass W. 24 1/2 degrees S.

November 13.--Guided by the natives, we moved onward through a densely

scrubby country, and were again obliged to keep the men with axes

constantly at work, in advance of the drays to clear the road. Our

progress was necessarily slow, and the work very harassing to the horses;

fortunately the stage was not a very long one, and in fourteen miles we

reached "Berinyana gaippe," a small hole dug by the natives, amongst

the sand hummocks of the coast, a little north of Point Bell.

By enlarging this a little, we procured water in great abundance

and of excellent quality. Our course had been generally west by south;

and from our camp, the eastern extreme of Point Bell, bore S. 28 degrees

W., and the centre of the "Purdies Islands" E. 49 degrees S.

November 14.--Upon moving on this morning, we were obliged to keep more

to the north to avoid some salt lakes and low swamps near the coast. The

natives still accompanied us through a very sandy and scrubby country to

a watering place among some sand hills, which they called

"Wademar gaippe." Here we encamped early, after a stage of ten miles,

and were enabled to procure abundance of good water, at a depth of about

four feet below the surface.

There was a large sheet of salt water near our camp which seemed to be an

inlet of the sea, and after a hasty dinner I walked down to examine it.

The water generally appeared shallow, but in some places it was very

deep; after tracing it for five miles, and going round one end of it, I

found no junction with the sea, though the fragments of shells and other

marine remains, clearly shewed that there must have been a junction at no

very remote period. The sand hummocks between the lake and the sea being

very high, I ascended them to take bearings, and then returning to the

lake halted, with the black boy who had accompanied me, to bathe, and

rest ourselves. The weather was most intensely hot, and our walk had been

long and fatiguing, amongst sand hills under a noonday sun. We fully

appreciated the luxury of a swim, and especially as we were lucky enough

to find a hole of fresh water on the edge of the lake, to slake our

parching thirst. Ducks, teal, and pigeons were numerous, and the recent

traces of natives apparent everywhere. It was after sunset when we

returned, tired and weary, to our camp.

November 15.--In the morning we started as early as possible to get the

stage over before the great heat of the day came on, still accompanied

and guided by the friendly natives, who took us through the best and most

open line of country. At six miles we entered a very dense scrub, leaving

to the north of us, several patches of open plains; to the north-east

were seen the smokes of several fires. The natives had told us that there

was water out in that direction, at a short day's journey; but, as they

did not wish us to go to it, I inferred that they thought there was not

enough to satisfy our party, having now frequently seen how great was the

supply we required at each encampment. I was myself of the opinion that a

hole probably existed to the north-east similar to the one we had found

in the plains behind Point Brown, where the access is difficult, and the

quantity procurable at any one time not very great. The scrub we had

traversed to-day was principally of salt-water tea-tree, growing upon a

succession of steep sandy ridges, which presented a formidable barrier to

the progress of the drays; the distance to be accomplished was not above

fourteen miles; but so difficult was the nature of the country, and so

oppressive the heat, that, notwithstanding our very early start, it was

four o'clock in the afternoon before we arrived at the place of

destination, which was called by the natives, "Mobeela gaippe."

The horses and men were greatly fatigued, but for the latter,

the labours of the day were far from being over, for, upon arriving

at the place where the water was to be procured, I found that

the holes, sunk by the natives, were through ridges of a loose sand to a

depth of fourteen or fifteen feet, at the bottom of which, water was

obtained in very small quantities. There were several of these holes

still open, and the traces of many others in every direction around,

which had either fallen in or been filled up by the drifting of the sand.

These singular wells, although sunk through a loose sand to a depth of

fourteen or fifteen feet, were only about two feet in diameter at the

bore, quite circular, carried straight down, and the work beautifully

executed. To get at the water, the natives placed a long pole against one

side of the well, ascending and descending by it to avoid friction

against the sides, which would have inevitably sent the sand tumbling in

upon them. We, however, who were so much clumsier in all our movements,

could not make use of the same expedient, nor indeed, would the size of

the wells, made by the natives, have enabled us even with their

assistance, to get out a moderate supply for the horses. It became

necessary, therefore, to open a new well, of much larger dimensions, a

task of no easy kind in so loose a sand.

Having put the overseer and men to their arduous employment, I ascended

the highest of the sand hills, and took a set of angles, among which

Point Fowler bore W. 16 degrees S. and Point Bell, E. 40 degrees S.

A small lake was visible at W. 40 degrees N. The country still looked

very cheerless in every direction, and no signs of improvement appeared

to relieve the dreary scene around, or to lead me to hope for better

country beyond.

Upon rejoining the well diggers, I found after great exertions they had

thrown out an immense quantity of sand, and made a large and commodious

well, and were just going to commence watering the horses; at this

juncture and before a single bucket of water could be taken out, the sand

slipped, and the sides of the well tumbled in, nearly burving alive the

man who was at the bottom. The labour of two hours was lost, and tired as

they were, the men had to begin their work afresh. It was eight at night

before the well was cleared out again sufficiently to enable us to water

the horses, for almost as fast as the sand was thrown out other sand fell

in; by nine the whole of them had received two buckets of water each,

when the sides of the well again shot in, and we were obliged to give up

our digging operations altogether, as the men were completely exhausted;

to relieve them Mr. Scott and I watched the horses during the night.

November 16.--Intending to remain in camp to-day, I set the men to clear

out the well once more. It was a tedious and laborious task, in

consequence of the banks of sand falling in so repeatedly, and

frustrating all their efforts, but at last by sinking a large cask bored

full of auger holes we contrived about one o'clock, to get all the horses

and sheep watered; in the evening, however, the whole again fell in, and

we gave up, in despair, the hopeless attempt to procure any further

supply of water, under such discouraging circumstances.

For some days past, we had been travelling through a country in which the

Mesembryanthemum grows in the greatest abundance, it was in full fruit,

and constituted a favourite and important article of food among the

native population; all our party partook of it freely, and found it both

a wholesome and an agreeable addition to their fare; when ripe, the fruit

is rich, juicy, and sweet, of about the size of a gooseberry. In hot

weather it is most grateful and refreshing. I had often tasted this fruit

before, but never until now liked it; in fact, I never in any other part

of Australia, saw it growing in such abundance, or in so great

perfection, as along the western coast. During our stay in camp a native

had been sent out to call some of the other natives, and towards evening

a good many came up, and were all regularly introduced to us by

'Wilguldy' and the others, who had been with us so long; I gave them a

feast of rice which they appeared to enjoy greatly. Our more immediate

friends and guides had learnt to drink tea, and eat meat and damper, with

which we supplied them liberally, in return for the valuable services

they rendered us.

November 17.--Moving on early, we were guided by the natives for about

twelve miles, round the head of Fowler's Bay, crossing through a very

sandy, scrubby, and hilly country, and encamping at a water hole, dug

between the sandy ridges, about two o'clock in the day. I had ridden a

little in advance of the party, and arriving at the water first,

surprised some women and children encamped there, and very busily engaged

in roasting snakes and lizards over a fire. They were much afraid and ran

away on seeing me, leaving their food upon the embers, this our friendly

guides unceremoniously seized upon and devoured, as soon as they came up

with the drays. These few women were the first we had seen for some time,

as the men appeared to keep them studiously out of our way, and it struck

me that this might be in consequence of the conduct of the whalers or

sealers with whom they might have come in contact on the coast. Old

Wilguldy, however, appeared to be less scrupulous on this point, and

frequently made very significant offers on the subject.

Soon after we had encamped several natives came up and joined those with

us. They were exceedingly polite and orderly--indeed the best conducted,

most obliging natives I ever met with--never troubling or importuning for

any thing, and not crowding around in that unmannerly disagreeable

manner, which savages frequently adopt--nor did I ever find any of them

guilty of theft; on the contrary, several times when we had left some

article behind, they called to us, and pointed it out. To them we were

indebted for the facilities we had enjoyed in obtaining water; for

without their guidance, we could never have removed from any encampment

without previously ascertaining where the next water could be procured;

and to have done this would have caused us great delay, and much

additional toil. By having them with us we were enabled to move with

confidence and celerity; and in following their guidance we knew that we

were taking that line of route which was the shortest, and the best

practicable under the circumstances. Upon arriving at any of the watering

places to which they had conducted us, they always pointed out the water,

and gave it up to us entirely, no longer looking upon it as their own,

and literally not taking a drink from it themselves when thirsty, without

first asking permission from us. Surely this true politeness--this

genuine hospitality of the untutored savage, may well put to the blush,

for their exclusiveness and illiberality, his more civilised brethren. In

how strong a light does such simple kindness of the inhabitant of the

wilds to Europeans travelling through his country (when his fears are not

excited or his prejudices violated,) stand contrasted with the treatment

he experiences from them when they occupy his country, and dispossess him

of his all.

There were now a considerable number of natives with us, all of whom had

been subjected to the singular ceremony before described. Those we had

recently met with, had, in addition, a curious brand, or mark on the

stomach, extending above and below the navel, and produced by the

application of fire. I had previously noticed a similar mark in use among

one or two tribes high up on the Murray River, (South Australia,) and

which is there called "Renditch." At the latter place, however, the brand

was on the breast, here it was on the stomach. I have never been able to

account in any way for the origin or meaning of this mark; but it is

doubtless used as a feature of distinction, or else why should it only be

found in one or two tribes and so far apart, had it been accidental or

arisen from lying near or upon the fires in cold weather, every

individual of certain tribes would not have been affected, and some

individuals of every tribe would: now, the first, as far as my experience

enabled me to judge, is the case; but the latter most assuredly is not.

Both at the Murray, and near Fowler's Bay, the natives always told me,

that the marks were made by fire, though how, or for what purpose, I

could never learn at either place.

November 18.--Our horses being all knocked up, and many of them having

their shoulders severely galled by the racking motion of the drays

winding up and down the heavy sandy ridges, or in and out of the dense

scrubs, I determined to remain for some time in depot to recover them,

whilst I reconnoitred the country to the west, as far as the head of the

great Australian Bight. To leave my party in the best position I could, I

sent the overseer round Point Fowler to see if there was any better place

for the horses in that direction, and to communicate with the master of

the WATERWITCH on the subject of landing our stores. Upon the overseer's

return, he reported that there was fresh water under Point Fowler, but

very little grass; that he had not been able to communicate with the

cutter, the wind being unfavourable and violent, and the cutter's boat on

board, but they had noticed him, and shewn their colours; he said,

moreover, that the vessel was lying in a very exposed situation, and did

not appear at all protected by Point Fowler, which, as she was not well

found in ground-tackle, might possibly occasion her being driven ashore,

if a gale came on from the south-east. This news was by no means

satisfactory, and I became anxious to get our things all landed that the

cutter might go to a place of greater safety.

November 19.--The wind still being unfavourable, the day was spent in

removing the drays, tents, etc. to a more elevated situation. Our camp had

been on the low ground, near the water, in the midst of many scrubby

hills, all of which commanded our position. There were now a great many

well armed natives around us, and though they were very kind and

friendly, I did not like the idea of their occupying the acclivities

immediately above us--at all events, not during my contemplated absence

from the party. I therefore had every thing removed to the hill next

above them, and was a good deal amused at the result of this manoeuvre,

for they seemed equally as uneasy as we had been at the heights above

them being occupied. In a very short time they also broke up camp, and

took possession of the next hill beyond us. This defeated the object I

had in view in our former removal, and I now determined not to be

out-manoeuvred any more, but take up our position on the highest hill we

could find. This was a very scrubby one, but by a vigorous application of

the axes for an hour or two, we completely cleared its summit; and then

taking up the drays, tent, baggage, etc. we occupied the best and most

commanding station in the neighbourhood. The result of this movement was,

that during the day the natives all left, and went in the direction of

where the cutter was. I was not sorry for their departure; for although

they had been very friendly and useful to us, yet now that I contemplated

keeping the party for a long time in camp, and should myself probably be

a considerable time absent, I was more satisfied at the idea of the

natives being away, than otherwise; not that I thought there was the

least danger to be apprehended from them if they were properly treated;

but the time of my men would be much occupied in attending to the horses

and sheep; and they were too few in number, to admit of much of that time

being taken up in watching the camp or the natives who might be near it;

for I always deemed it necessary, as a mere matter of prudence, to keep a

strict look out when any natives were near us, however friendly they

might profess to be.

Upon walking round the shores of Fowler's Bay, I found them literally

strewed in all directions with the bones and carcases of whales, which

had been taken here by the American ship I saw at Port Lincoln, and had

been washed on shore by the waves. To judge from the great number of

these remains, of which very many were easily recognisable as being those

of distinct animals, the American must have had a most fortunate and

successful season.

It has often surprised me, that the English having so many colonies and

settlements on the shores of Australia, should never think it worth their

while to send whalers to fish off its coasts, where the whales are in

such great numbers, and where the bays and harbours are so numerous and

convenient, for carrying on this lucrative employment. I believe scarcely

a single vessel fishes any where off these coasts, which are entirely

monopolised by the French and Americans, who come in great numbers; there

cannot, I think, be less than three hundred foreign vessels annually

whaling off the coasts, and in the seas contiguous to our possessions in

the Southern Ocean. I have generally met with a great many French and

American vessels in the few ports or bays that I have occasionally been

at on the southern coast of Australia; and I have no doubt that they all

reap a rich harvest.

Among the many relics strewed around Fowler's Bay, I found the shell of a

very large turtle laying on the beach; it had been taken by the crew of

the vessel that I met at Port Lincoln, and could not have weighed less

than three to four hundred weight. I was not previously aware that turtle

was ever found so far to the southward, and had never seen the least

trace of them before.

Chapter XII.

LAND THE STORES AND SEND THE CUTTER TO DENIAL BAY--PARTY REMOVE TO POINT

FOWLER--LEAVE THE PARTY--BEDS OF LAKES--DENSE SCRUB--COAST SAND

DRIFTS--FRUITLESS SEARCH FOR WATER--DISTRESS OF THE HORSES--TURN

BACK--LEAVE A HORSE--FIND WATER--REJOIN PARTY--SEND FOR THE

HORSE--COUNTRY AROUND DEPOT--TAKE A DRAY TO THE WESTWARD--WRETCHED

COUNTRY--EALL IN WITH NATIVES--MISUNDERSTAND THEIR SIGNS--THEY LEAVE

US--VAIN SEARCH FOR WATER--TURN BACK--HORSE KNOCKED UP--GO BACK FOR

WATER--REJOIN THE DRAY--COMMENCE RETURN--SEARCH FOR WATER--DRAY

SURROUNDED BY NATIVES--EMBARRASSING SITUATION--BURY BAGGAGE--THREE HORSES

ABANDONED--REACH THE SAND DRIFTS--UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TO SAVE THE

HORSES--SEND FOR FRESH HORSES--SEARCH FOR WATER TO N. E.--RECOVER THE

DRAY AND STORES--REJOIN THE PARTY AT DEPOT NEAR POINT FOWLER--RETURN OF

THE CUTTER.

November 20.--THE wind being favourable for the boats landing to-day, I

sent the overseer with pack-horses to the west side of Fowler's Bay, to

bring up some flour and other stores for the use of the party; at the

same time I wrote to the master of the cutter, to know whether he

considered his anchorage, at Fowler's Bay, perfectly safe. His reply was,

that the anchorage was good and secure if he had been provided with a

proper cable; but that as he was not, he could not depend upon the vessel

being safe; should a heavy swell set in from the southeast. Upon this

report, I decided upon landing all the stores from the cutter; and

sending her to lay at a secure place on the west side of Denial Bay,

until I returned from exploring the country, near the head of the Great

Bight. On the 22nd, I gave orders to this effect, at the same time

directing the captain to return to Fowler's Bay by the 11th December, at

which time I hoped to have accomplished the journey I contemplated.

On the same day I gave my overseer instructions for his guidance during

my absence; and after sending the drays on to the water behind Point

Fowler, that they might be nearer to the vessel, I set off on horseback

to the westward, accompanied by a native; and taking with us a pack-horse

to carry provisions. Crossing for about six miles through scrub, at a

west by south course, we entered open grassy plains, among which were

many beds of small dried up salt lakes. This description of country

continued for about six miles, when we again entered a very dense scrub,

and continued in it for eight miles, until we struck the coast. Not

finding any indications of water or grass, I pushed up along the beach

for three miles further, and was then obliged to encamp without either,

as it had become too dark to proceed.

November 23.--Moving along the coast for ten miles, we came to large high

drifts of pure white sand, from which some red-winged cockatoos and

pigeons flew out, and near which were several native encampments. I now

fully hoped to find water; but after a long and anxious examination, was

obliged to give up the search. I knew that our only hope of finding water

lay in these drifts of sand; but as it was frequently very difficult to

find, and never could be procured without digging, (sometimes to a great

depth,) I began to fear that our attempt to reach the head of the Bight

was almost hopeless. We had no means of digging in the sand to any depth;

whilst, from the constant drift, caused by the winds among these bare

hills, it was exceedingly disagreeable to remain even for a short time to

examine them. The wind was blowing strong, and whirlwinds of sand were

circling around us, with a violence which we could scarcely struggle

against, and during which we could hardly venture either to open our

eyes, or to draw our breath.

Leaving the sand-drifts we travelled behind the coast ridge through a

more open but still sandy country, making a long stage to some more high

bare sand-drifts, amidst which we again made a long but unsuccessful

search for water; at night we encamped near them, and our unfortunate

horses were again obliged to be tied up for the second time without

either grass or water.

November 24.--Finding that there was little prospect of procuring water

a-head, and that our horses were scarcely able to move at all, I felt it

necessary to retrace our steps as speedily as possible, to try to save

the lives of the animals we had with us. In order that we might effect

this and be encumbered by no unnecessary articles, I concealed, and left

among some bushes, all our baggage, pack-saddles, etc. After passing about

five miles beyond the sand-drifts where I had seen the cockatoos and

pigeons, one of the horses became completely exhausted and could not

proceed any further; I was necessitated therefore to tie him to a bush

and push on with the other two to save them.

When I left my party on the 22nd, I had directed them to remove to some

water-holes behind Point Fowler, but, as I had not seen this place

myself, I was obliged to steer in the dark in some measure at random, not

knowing exactly where they were. The greatest part of our route being

through a dense brush, we received many scratches and bruises from the

boughs as we led our horses along, to say nothing of the danger we were

constantly in of having our eyes put out by branches we could not see,

and which frequently brought us to a stand still by painful blows across

the face. At last we arrived at the open plains I had crossed on my

outward track, and following them down came to two deep holes in the

limestone rock, similar to the one behind Point Brown. By descending into

these holes we found a little water, and were enabled to give each of the

horses three pints; we then pushed on again, hoping to reach the camp,

but getting entangled among the scrub, were obliged at midnight to halt

until daylight appeared, being almost as much exhausted as the horses,

and quite as much in want of water, for we had not tasted the little that

had been procured from the hole found in the plains.

November 25.--At the first streak of daylight we moved on, and in one

mile and a half reached the camp near Point Fowler, before any of the

party were up. We had guessed our course well in the dark last night, and

could not have gone more direct had it been daylight. Having called up

the party and made them get a hasty breakfast, I hurried off a dray

loaded with water, and accompanied by the overseer, one man, and the

black boy, to follow up our tracks to where the tired horse had been

tied. During my absence I found that every thing but the cart had been

landed from the cutter, and safely brought up to the camp, and that as

soon as that was on shore she would be ready to go and lie at anchor at

Denial Bay.

About noon I was greatly surprised and vexed to see my overseer return

driving the loose horses before him. It seemed that whilst feeding around

the camp they had observed the dray and other horses going away and had

followed upon the tracks, so that the overseer had no alternative but to

drive them back to the camp. This was very unfortunate, as it would

occasion great delay in reaching the one we had left tied in the scrub. I

directed the overseer to hurry back as rapidly as possible, and by

travelling all night to endeavour to make up for lost time, for I greatly

feared that if not relieved before another day passed away, it would be

quite impossible to save the animal alive.

After resting myself a little I walked about to reconnoitre the

neighbourhood of our camp, not having seen it before. The situation was

at the west side of the upper extreme of Point Fowler, immediately behind

the sand-drifts of the coast, which there were high, bare, and of white

sand. The water was on the inland side, immediately under the sand-hills,

and procured in the greatest abundance and of good quality, by sinking

from one to three feet. It was found in a bed of white pipe-clay. To the

north-west of us were some open grassy plains, among which our horses and

sheep obtained their food, whilst here and there were scattered a few

salt swamps or beds of lakes, generally, however, dry. The whole country

was of fossil formation, and the borders of the lakes and swamps

exhibited indurated masses of marine shells, apparently but a very recent

deposit. Further inland the country was crusted on the surface with an

oolitic limestone, and for the most part covered by brush; a few open

plains being interspersed here and there among the scrubs, as is

generally the case in that description of country.

The natives still appeared to be in our neighbourhood, but none had been

near us since they first left on the 19th. I would now gladly have got

one of them to accompany me to look for water, but none could be found.

On the 26th and 27th I was occupied in getting up the cart, some casks,

etc. from the cutter, and preparing for another attempt to round the head

of the Great Bight. The vessel then sailed for Denial Bay, where she

could lie in greater safety, until I required her again.

Early on the 27th the man and black boy returned with the dray from the

westward, they had found the horse very weak and much exhausted, but by

care and attention he was got a little round, and the overseer had

remained to bring him slowly on: he had been four entire days and nights

without food or water, and for the first two days and a half of this time

had been severely worked. In the evening the overseer came up, driving

the jaded animal, somewhat recovered indeed--but miserably reduced in

condition.

The party with the dray had taken spades with them to dig for water at

the sand hills, where I had seen the pigeons and cockatoos on the 23rd,

and at ten feet they had been lucky enough to procure abundance, which

although of a brackish quality was usable; from the great depth, however,

at which it was obtained, and the precarious nature of the soil, it was

very troublesome to get at it.

November 28.--This morning I sent away a dray with three horses, carrying

seventy gallons of water to assist me in again endeavouring to get round

the Bight. As the road was very scrubby, and much impeded by fallen

timber, I had previously sent on a man to clear it a little; and about

ten o'clock I followed with the native boy. We got tolerably well through

the scrub, and encamped in a plain about sixteen miles from the depot,

where there was good grass. The weather being cool and showery, our

horses would not drink more than a bucket each from the casks.

November 29.--Having moved on the dray early over rather a heavy road, we

took up our quarters under the white sand-drifts, after a stage of nine

miles. I then left the boy in charge of the camp, and proceeded myself

with the two men, and provided with spades and buckets, to where the

overseer had obtained water by digging; the place was about two miles

from our camp, between the sand-drifts and the sea, and immediately

behind the front ridges of the coast. By enlarging the hole, and sinking

a tub bored full of holes, we managed to water the horses, and get a

supply for ourselves. In the afternoon an attempt was made to dig a well

nearer the camp, but a stratum of rock put an end to our labours.

November 30.--Sending back one of the men to the depot, I left the native

boy to guide the dray, whilst I diverged towards the coast to look for

water among the sand-drifts, that were seen occasionally in that

direction; in none of them, however, could I obtain a drop. The country

travelled over consisted of very heavy sand ridges, covered for the most

part with low scrub, and as the stage was a long one (twenty-two miles),

I found upon overtaking the dray that the horses were knocked up, and a

party of fourteen natives surrounding it, who were making vehement

gesticulations to the man not to proceed, and he being only accompanied

by a single black boy was greatly alarmed, and did not know what to do;

indeed, had I not arrived opportunely, I have no doubt that he would have

turned the horses round, and driven back again. Upon coming up with the

natives, I saw at once that none of them had been with us before, but at

the same time they appeared friendly and well-behaved, making signs for

us not to proceed, and pointing to some sand-drifts at the coast which we

had passed, implying, as I understood them, that there was water there.

We were now in an opening among the scrub, consisting of small grassy

undulating plains, and at these I determined to halt for the night,

hoping the natives would remain near us, and guide us to water to-morrow.

To induce them to do this, after giving the horses each two buckets of

water, I gave two gallons among them also, besides some bread. They at

once took possession of an elevation a little above our position, and

formed their camp for the night. As we were so few in number compared to

the natives, we were obliged to keep a watch upon them during the whole

night, and they did the same upon us--but at a much less individual

inconvenience from their number; they appeared to take the duty in

turn--two always being upon guard at once.

December 1.--After giving the natives some water, and taking breakfast

ourselves, we moved on in the direction they wished us to go, followed by

the whole party; at two miles they brought us to the sea over a dreadful

heavy road, but upon then asking them where the water was, they now told

us to our horror, that there was "mukka gaip-pe," or, no water.

The truth was now evident, we had mutually misunderstood one

another; they seeing strangers suddenly appear, had taken it for granted

they came from the sea, and pointed there, whilst we, intent only upon

procuring water, had fancied they had told us we should find it where

they pointed; upon reaching the coast both were disappointed--they at not

seeing a ship, and we at not finding water.

Journals of Expeditions of Discovery into Central Australia and Overland from Adelaide to King George's Sound in the Years 1840-1: Sent By the Colonists of South Australia, with the Sanction and Support of the Government: Including an Account of the Manners and Customs of the Aborigines and the State of Their Relations with Europeans — Complete · 第 20 / 29 章

That great reaction which was soon to convulse all the Australian