[Concluded from No. 6.]
When we set out upon our expedition, which I have just mentioned, we had
two servants with us, and as many dogs. One man carried some biscuits;
another a bottle of rum, a piece of beef, and a little tea and sugar,
with a couple of tea-pots. Immediately behind my house there is a fine
long hill, rising, with an easy slope, to the height of five hundred or
six hundred feet, and covered, like the country in general, with trees
and grass. It has been the practice to allow proprietors of cattle and
sheep to graze on the unlocated parts, which they were obliged to quit
on settlers coming to occupy the ground. These herds were generally left
in the care of one or two men, while the proprietor lived in Hobart
Town; the consequence of which was, that the cattle were allowed to
stray wherever they chose, and became altogether wild. This was the case
where I have settled; and although the herdsmen have removed themselves
to their assigned limits, the cattle are still on my ground, and have
been the cause of my suffering one of the most serious inconveniences
which can befal a settler. For I had scarcely arrived on my land when my
working bullocks got into the wild herd, with which they continue until
this day. This has completely baulked my agricultural projects, obliging
me to perform by manual labour what the beasts of the field should have
done for me. But I am again digressing, and tiring you with my
misfortunes, instead of giving you an account of our journey. As we
approached the river Ouse we found its banks had been lately burnt by
the natives, and the grass and smaller trees were completely consumed.
After some search we found a place which we ventured to wade, but it was
with great difficulty we could keep our feet. Sometimes the dogs would
kill a kangaroo, and as we had not time or opportunity to make use of
it, the huge crows, which abound in the woods, soon hovered over the
carcase in great numbers. These crows are of the same genus as your
English ones, but of a different species. They are very large, and
distinguished by a white ring round the eye: they have even more cunning
than their brethren of the old world. The banks on the further side of
the Ouse are yet steeper than on this. We continued to ascend over the
burnt ground, and underneath huge trees, for about five miles, till we
arrived at the stock-keeper’s hut, which we discovered by the help of
the track of horses. Here we found eight men, who had been sent up a few
days before to erect a hut and stackyard for the cattle. They had
sheltered themselves by branches of trees, and burnt a large fire in
front. They had chosen a spot beside a small spring of water, in the
midst of a large valley, which was almost clear of trees. After making
some kangaroo soup we again set out, and bending our course more to the
north, so as to keep near the river, we arrived at sun-set on the border
of a beautiful lake. It appeared about seven miles long, and
proportionably broad, with two lofty islands in the midst of it. The
water was very soft and clear; its bed seemed to be composed of fine
sand, and very shallow. Having formed our encampment near its brink, and
lighted three very large fires to keep ourselves warm, we commenced
making tea. One of the party fired a shot over its surface; the
discharge was succeeded by a long and lasting peal like thunder, which
had a sublime effect. We therefore named this piece of water Lake Echo.
We were now on very high ground, and seemed to overlook all the
mountains around us. In the morning, at peep of day, we took leave of
this enchanting scene, which we had admired at the two periods most
favourable to the display of its beauty with the rising and the setting
sun. The surface remained as even as glass, and the shadows of its banks
and islands gave a soft serenity to the landscape. A fine open valley
led us down to the river, but we traversed it with difficulty, for
during the wet season the water had so lodged in it that it was now full
of holes, and we were never sure of a step. We passed many recent
encampments of the natives, and saw their fires at a little distance. As
we approached the river the dog started a large kangaroo, and hunted it
down on the plain. This was a seasonable supply. We immediately
commenced cooking; cutting off some steaks, we strung them on a stick,
and set them before the fire; when one side was done we turned the
other;--this is what they call a _sticker-up_, and our manner of cooking
them is called _bush-fashion_. The slang nomenclature which the convicts
have imposed on this land is in many instances unpleasant and vulgar,
but sometimes appropriate. Having made a comfortable meal we again
crossed the Ouse, but with still greater difficulty than we had
encountered the day before. The immediate space between the rivers is
here still more mountainous than behind my house, and is covered with
large rugged stones, and fine lofty trees. We passed several encampments
of the natives. Pursuing our way, we soon came to the Shannon, which we
crossed, as the eastern side afforded the best walking. Here we entered
on an extensive plain, but so rough, and so obstructed with rushes, as
to render our passage through it quite laborious. In one part we struck
a light, and the wind blowing with great keenness, the grass blazed up
in a few minutes, the flame extending for nearly half a mile. Our
provisions were now quite exhausted, and we had to recreate ourselves
with tea, and chat beside a beautiful cascade on the river. In these
high regions we found several maple trees, with sweet unctuous juice
exuding from the bark. You can hardly form an idea of the beauty of the
heavens, as the vault appeared to the eye, while we reposed on a
kangaroo rug on the grass, beside a large fire which illumined the
trees, and with a fine sweep of the river winding its way before us, and
reflecting the silvery beams of the moon. Next morning, after walking
three or four miles, we killed a kangaroo, and fared sumptuously on a
_sticker-up_. Thus refreshed, we descended towards home. We had explored
in this journey a region which no European had ever seen before, and had
ascended to some of the highest ground in the island. I should calculate
my habitation to be nearly two thousand feet above the level of the sea,
and I think we ascended as much more. You may suppose what romantic
rapids and cascades occur in the course of a river which falls that
height in the course of thirty miles. Just before my door I have a broad
placid stream resembling a lake, over which I have made a flying bridge,
by means of a rope and the elm-tree case of my wife’s piano, which
answers the purpose so well that I brought over seven hundred sheep
belonging to Mrs. Smith, the other day, by twenty at a time. I am
completely at my own command, for if a visitor comes he must hail on the
opposite side before I slacken my rope, and allow him to pull the boat
over.
We have no fish in these rivers, excepting some fresh water craw-fish,
such as are found in the Thames, some eels, and a small thing not worth
catching. We sometimes, however, shoot a wild duck or a widgeon, which
are both large and good. We have also a kind of pigeon, which is very
fine eating, and many other smaller birds, besides cockatoos
innumerable, both black and white, and some beautiful parrots and
paroquets. But the bird which chiefly enlivens the grove is a species of
magpie, which sings two regular bars of music, of the clearest and
sweetest notes you can imagine. On taking possession of my grant, my
plan was to build a rough hut for my servants, which I should inhabit
whilst a better one was erecting for myself, but the loss of my bullocks
made me fain to make the best of my first habitation. It is entirely
built of the materials on the ground, excepting the nails, which came
from England, and the window-frames, which were made in Hobart Town. The
walls are composed of logs or planks split out of the trees, of about a
foot broad, and two or three inches thick. These are sunk two feet in
the ground, and nailed to a beam at the top; they are then plastered
over with a mixture composed of sand, clay, and grass cut short, and the
wall is complete. The roof is covered with shingles, which are also
split out of the trees round the house, and have exactly the appearance
of slates. I have not yet been able to make a floor, we therefore walk
at present upon the bare earth. As I cannot afford to buy another set of
bullocks (for they cost 87_l._) I must wait patiently till I recover
them when the wild herds are got in. This of course throws me into great
difficulties. I have, however, upwards of one hundred sheep, two cows,
and three or four young ones, a goat, and a pig, besides eight hens.
These last thrive amazingly, chiefly owing to the number of grasshoppers
which they eat.
I have just heard of an opportunity to send off a letter, and I
therefore hasten to a conclusion. It is strange, when I reflect upon it,
that any vicissitudes of life should have induced me voluntarily to
undergo separation from my friends; to desert their company for a wild
and enthusiastic scheme of emigration. Much however as I feel the
deprivation of such society, I must say that I do not yet regret my
coming to this country. When I consider that the people around me have
mostly been convicted of heinous offences in England, I am pleased at
the security we enjoy. You will, I know, rejoice to hear that I and my
family are in good health; and that though so remote, I am as near to
you in the alliance of friendship as ever.
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