CHAPTER 2.3.

Death of Captain Stanley.

Sail for England.

Arrive at the Bay of Islands.

Kororareka.

Falls of the Keri-Keri.

Passage across the South Pacific.

Oceanic birds.

Stay at the Falkland Islands.

Settlement of Stanley.

Call at Berkeley Sound.

Lassoing cattle.

Resume our homeward voyage.

Call at Horta in the Azores.

The caldeira of Fayal.

Arrive in England.

Soon after our arrival in Sydney we had to lament the loss of our much

respected commander, who died suddenly on March 13th, while apparently

convalescent from a severe illness contracted during our last

cruise--induced, I understand, by long continued mental anxiety, and the

cares necessarily devolving upon the leader of an expedition such as

ours, of which probably no one who has not been similarly situated can

ever fully comprehend the responsibility. Thus died at the early age of

thirty-nine, but after the successful accomplishment of the chief objects

of his mission, Captain Owen Stanley, who had long before won for himself

an honourable name in that branch of the naval service to which he had

devoted himself, and whose reputation as a surveyor and a man of science

stood deservedly high. Although it would ill become me as a civilian

attached to the expedition to enter upon the services* and professional

character of my late captain, yet in common with many others, I cannot

refrain from adding my humble testimony to his worth, by recording my

deep sense of many personal favours, and the assistance which was always

liberally rendered me during my natural history investigations throughout

the voyage, whenever the more important objects of the survey permitted.

(*Footnote. See O'Byrne's Naval Biographical Dictionary page 1109.)

By this unfortunate event all previous arrangements regarding our future

proceedings were anulled. It had been intended by Captain Stanley to

return to England by way of Singapore and the Cape of Good Hope, adding

to the charts of the Inner Passage as we went along the east coast of

Australia, and making a careful survey of the Strait of Alass, between

the islands of Lombock and Sumbawa. Captain the Honourable Henry Keppel

of H.M.S. Meander, as senior naval officer present, having appointed

Lieutenant Yule to the vacancy in the command of the Rattlesnake, with

orders to proceed direct to England, we left Sydney for that purpose on

May 2nd. The Bramble was left behind in the colony, and in addition to

her former crew, the limited accommodations of our ship were still

further crowded with the greater number of the Port Essington marines,

some invalids, and other passengers, making up the number on board to

upwards of 230 persons.

A course was steered to pass to the northward of New Zealand without

calling there, but shortly after leaving Sydney some defects in the ship

were found out, which rendered it necessary to put into the nearest port,

as the principal one, causing a leak in the after gunroom, could not be

repaired at sea. It was also considered expedient to get rid of the Asp

in order to lessen the straining of the ship during the prospective

passage round Cape Horn, which so much top weight was considered

materially to increase. On May 14th the land about Cape Maria Van Diemen

and the North Cape of New Zealand was in sight at daylight, appearing

high and mountainous, with steep maritime cliffs. On our passage across

from Australia we had seen few seabirds, but now albatrosses of three or

four species were very numerous, together with a few petrels, chiefly

Procellaria cookii. Next morning we found ourselves to leeward of Cape

Brett, having experienced a southerly current during the night of two

knots an hour; it took us the whole day to work up into the Bay of

Islands, and after dark we anchored in 28 fathoms, about six miles from

the entrance of the Kawa-Kawa.

May 16th.

The view from our anchorage, although under the favourable conditions of

fine weather, struck me as being dull and cheerless. The surface of the

country is hilly and undulating, showing patches of wood more or less

extensive, and large tracts of fern of a dull greenish hue. The shores of

the mainland and the numerous islands exhibit every here and there

argillaceous cliffs, and banks of a brown, reddish, or yellow colour,

from their steepness almost devoid of vegetation. In the morning it was a

dead calm, but at length a light air sprang up and carried us into the

bay of Kororareka, when we anchored in 4 1/2 fathoms, mud and sand, off

the village of the same name, also known as the township of Russell.

May 17th.

On landing at Kororareka, one finds that what from a distance appear neat

and comfortable cottages lose much by close inspection. The township

consists of about thirty small wooden houses, mixed up with many native

hovels. It extends along the shore of a small bay, with a shingly beach

in front and a swamp behind. The number of houses was formerly much

greater, most of those now existing having been built since May 1845,

when the greater part of the town was burnt down by the natives. Even now

it supports two public houses, and several general stores, where

necessaries may be procured at double the Sydney prices. At one time much

trade was done here, before the duties imposed on the occasion of New

Zealand becoming a British colony drove away the whalers which used to

resort in great numbers to the Bay of Islands to refit; at present,

besides the Rattlesnake, the only vessel here is a brig from Hobart,

bound to California, which put in to this place to get a new rudder.

Livestock is plentiful and the prices are moderate.

There are many natives living in the settlement. They afford a striking

contrast to the wretched specimens of Australian aborigines one

occasionally sees in the streets of Sydney. Many of the men are athletic

and well made, and in their gait and expression exhibit much manliness of

character. The faces of some of the principal people present good

specimens of elaborate tattooing. The women appear strange figures from

their ungainly modern dress, consisting merely of a loose smock of

calico, fastened at the neck and wrists. Some were tolerably handsome

(according to our notions of female beauty) and among them were several

halfcastes. Their fashion of dressing the hair is curious--in front it is

cut short in a line across the forehead, but is allowed to grow long

behind. We met Waka Nene, a Maori chief, possessing considerable

influence, especially in the neighbouring district of Hokianga, who, by

siding with the English during the war, rendered such important services

that the Government rewarded him with a pension of 100 pounds per annum,

and a house in Kororareka. Besides this he owns a small vessel or two

employed in the coasting trade. I peeped into the hut of one of his

people. A small entrance served the combined purposes of door, window,

and chimney, the roof was so low as to preclude one from standing upright

inside, a small fire was burning in the centre of the earthen floor, and

a heap of mats and blankets in one corner pointed out a sleeping-place.

Behind Kororareka one of a series of hills overlooking the town is

memorable as the site of the flagstaff, the cutting down of which by Heke

was one of the first incidents of the Maori war. On March 11th, 1845, an

attack was made upon the place before daylight, by three of the

disaffected chiefs. Kawiti with one division entered the town from the

southward by a pass between two hills, and after a short conflict forced

a party of marines and seaman from H.M.S. Hazard to retire with the loss

of seven killed and many wounded. While this work was going on, a small

detachment of soldiers occupying a blockhouse on the flagstaff hill was

surprised by Heke and his party, who killed four men, and drove away the

remainder, and levelled the flagstaff to the ground. The English

residents took refuge on board the shipping, and two days afterwards the

Maoris sacked and burned the town with the exception of the two churches,

and a few houses contiguous to the property of the Roman Catholic

Mission.

The greater part of the country about the town is covered with fern and

the manuka bush (Leptospermum scoparium) the latter a low shrub with

handsome white or pinkish flowers. In some of the ravines two species of

tree-ferns of the genus Cyathea grow luxuriantly in the moist clayey

soil. Everywhere one sees common English weeds scattered about,

especially the sow-thistle and common dock, and a British landshell

(Helix cellaria) has even found its way to New Zealand and is to be met

with in some of the gardens.

Much rain had lately fallen, and many of the paths were partially

converted into watercourses. I walked across to a neighbouring bay, and

employed myself in searching for shells in the mud at low-water. Some

bivalves, common there--various Cythereae and Mesodesma

chemnitzii--constitute an important article of food to the natives, who

knew them by the name of pipi. A marshy place, at the mouth of a small

stream, was tenanted by a curious wrinkled univalve, with a notch on the

outer lip, Amphibola avellana of conchologists.

May 18th.

I joined a party made up to visit the falls of the Keri-Keri river, and

we started, after an early breakfast, in one of the ship's boats. The

morning was dull and rainy, and we had occasional showers during the

forenoon. In an hour after leaving the ship we entered the estuary of the

river, a large arm of the sea, which we followed for several miles. The

scenery reminded me of that of some of the sea lochs on the west coast of

Scotland, and although fern was here substituted for heath, the Scotch

mist was perfectly represented at the antipodes. The country is scantily

wooded, and the muddy shores are occasionally fringed with a small

mangrove (Avicennia tomentosa). Here and there were a few settlers'

houses, with the accompanying signs of cultivation. One of the small

islands, and also a hilltop on the northern shore, had an artificial

appearance, their summits being leveled and the sides scarped--they were

the remains of former fortified villages or pahs. At length the estuary

narrowed, and assumed the appearance of a winding river, with low hilly

banks covered with fern and bushes. One and a half miles from this

brought us to a rocky ledge across the stream, preventing further

progress in the boat, and marking the junction of the fresh and salt

water.

Here Mr. Kemp, a schoolmaster of the Church Mission Society, has been

located for upwards of thirty years. A well built store, a neat cottage

and garden, and residences for a few Maoris, complete the establishment.

From this place a dray-road leads to the extensive Missionary

establishment at Waimate, distant about ten miles. Crossing the river, we

started for the falls, in charge of a sharp little urchin who acted as

guide. After leaving the narrow valley which the river has cut for itself

through a superstratum of yellowish clay, the country becomes nearly

level--a dreary plain, covered with fern and the manuka bush. The

extensive tract of country now in sight is said to have once been a great

kauri forest--a few of these noble trees (Dammara australis) were pointed

out to me from a distance. When about halfway we left the road, and

within the distance of a mile our guide contrived to lead us into five or

six bogs, where we were up to our knees in water, besides entangling us

in several thickets nearly as bad to penetrate as an Australian scrub. At

length we arrived in sight of the waterfall, then in full force from the

quantity of rain which had lately fallen.

The Keri-Keri, after a long course through a country composed chiefly of

upland moors and gently undulating hills, here suddenly precipitates

itself over a rocky wall into a large circular pool eighty feet below,

then continues its course for a while between steep and densely wooded

banks. Behind the fall the rock is hollowed out into a wide and deeply

arched cave, formed by the falling out of masses of columnar rock. A

winding path leads to the foot of the fall, whence the view is very

grand. Some of the party crept over the slippery rocks, and reached the

cave behind the fall, where they were much gratified with the novelty of

the scene. The luxuriant and varied vegetation in the ravine affords a

fine field for the botanist. The variety of cryptogamic plants is very

great--every rock, and the trunk of each tree, being covered with ferns,

lichens, and mosses. Among the trees I noticed the pale scarlet flowers

of the puriri or New Zealand Teak (Vitex littoralis) the hardest* and

most durable of all the woods of the country. A short search among the

damp stones and moss brought to light some small but interesting

landshells, consisting of a pupiform Cyclostoma, a Carocolla, and five

species of Helix. This leads me to mention, that although the number of

New Zealand landshells hitherto described scarcely exceeds a dozen, this

does not imply any scarcity of such objects in the country, as an

industrious collector from Sydney, who spent nine months on the northern

and middle islands, obtained nearly a hundred species of terrestrial and

fluviatile mollusca. The scarcity of birds during our walk surprised me,

for the only one which I saw on shore was a solitary kingfisher (Halcyon

vagans): during our ascent of the Keri-Keri, however, many ducks (Anas

superciliosa) flew past the boat, and gulls, terns, and two kinds of

cormorants were numerous.

(*Footnote. This wood was much used in the construction of the pahs

which, in 1845, under the Maori chiefs Heke and Kawiti, long resisted the

attacks of disciplined forces, aided by artillery. In reference to the

puriri wood used in the palisading of one of these, it was officially

stated, that "many of our six-pound shot were picked out of the posts,

not having actually entered far enough to hide themselves.")

Returning to the road by a path which avoided the swamps our guide had

taken us through, in little more than half an hour we reached Mr. Kemp's

house, and after partaking of that gentleman's hospitality returned to

the ship. On our way we landed at sunset for an hour upon a small island,

which will probably long be remembered by some of the party as having

furnished us with a supper of very excellent rock-oysters.

Having effected the necessary repairs, and disposed of the decked boat,

we left New Zealand on May 22nd on our homeward passage. On July 5th

having passed to the eastward of Cape Horn we bore up for the Falkland

Islands, having taken forty-three days to traverse a direct distance of a

little more than 5000 miles. During this period the wind was usually

strong from the south-west, but on various occasions we experienced calms

and easterly winds, the latter varying between North-East and

South-South-East and at times blowing very hard with snow squalls. The

lowest temperature experienced by us off Cape Horn was on the day when we

doubled the Cape in latitude 57 degrees South when the minimum

temperature of the day was 21 and the maximum 26 degrees. This reminded

some of us that we had now passed through not less than 75 degrees of

temperature in the ship, the thermometer in the shade having indicated 96

degrees during a hot wind in Sydney harbour.

A passage such as ours, during which at one time we were further from

land than if placed in any other portion on the globe, must almost of

necessity be a monotonous one. We saw no land, not even an iceberg, and

very few vessels. For five or six successive evenings when in the

parallels of 40 and 41 degrees South between the meridians of 133 and 113

degrees West we enjoyed the fine sight of thousands of large Pyrosomae in

the water, each producing a greater body of light than I ever saw given

out by any other of the pelagic-luciferous mollusca or medusae. The

towing net was put over on several occasions but produced little or

nothing to repay Mr. Huxley for his trouble: so that even a naturalist

would here find his occupation gone were it not for the numbers of

oceanic birds daily met with, the observation of whose habits and

succession of occurrence served to fill up many a leisure hour. It being

the winter of the southern hemisphere, the members of the petrel family,

at other times so abundant in the South Pacific, were by no means so

numerous as I had expected to find them, and in the higher southern

latitudes which we attained before rounding Cape Horn, albatrosses had

altogether disappeared, although they had been abundant as far to the

southward as 41 degrees South. The most widely dispersed were Daption

capensis--the pintado or Cape-pigeon of voyagers--Procellaria hasitata,

P. coerulea, P. lessonii, and P. gigantea, of which the first and second

were the most numerous and readily took a bait towing astern. It is

probable that all these species make the circuit of the globe, as they

are equally distributed over the South Indian Ocean. Some interesting

additions were made to the collection of Procellariadae (commenced near

the equator with Thalassidroma leachii) and before leaving the Falklands

I had captured and prepared specimens of twenty-two species of this

highly interesting family, many members of which until the publication of

Mr. Gould's memoir* were either unknown or involved in obscurity and

confusion. Among these is one which merits special notice here, a small

blue petrel, closely resembling P. coerulea, from which it may readily be

distinguished by wanting the white tips to the central tailfeathers. It

turns out to be the P. desolata, known only by a drawing in the British

Museum made more than half a century ago, from which this species was

characterised. When in latitude 50 degrees 46 minutes South and longitude

97 degrees 47 minutes West I saw P. antarctica for the first time; one or

two individuals were in daily attendance while rounding Cape Horn and

followed the ship until we sighted the Falkland Islands. I had long been

looking out for P. glacialoides, which in due time made its appearance--a

beautiful light grey petrel, larger than a pigeon; it continued with us

between the latitudes of 40 and 58 degrees South and occasionally pecked

at a baited hook towing astern.

(*Footnote. Magazine and Annals of Natural History for 1844 page 360.)

One may naturally wonder what these petrels can procure for food in the

ocean to the southward of 35 degrees south latitude, where they are

perhaps more numerous than elsewhere, and where the voyager never sees

any surface-swimming fishes which they might pick up? It is, of course,

well known that they eagerly pounce upon any scraps of animal matter in

the wake of a vessel, hence it is reasonable to suppose that they follow

ships for the purpose of picking up the offal, but they may also be seen

similarly following in the wake of whales and droves of the larger

porpoises. Almost invariably I have found in the stomach of the many

kinds of albatrosses, petrels, and shearwaters, which I have examined,

the undigested horny mandibles of cuttlefish, which would thus appear to

constitute their principal food; and, as all the petrel family are to a

certain extent nocturnal, it seems probable that the small cuttlefish on

which they feed approach the surface only at night.

July 8th.

Yesterday at noon we passed close to Beauchene Island, a dreary, bushless

place, half covered with snow. Vast numbers of pintados were about, also

some albatrosses, the first that had made their appearance for several

weeks back. In hopes of reaching an anchorage before dark we stood in for

Bull Road, East Falkland Island, but after running fourteen miles, and

sighting Sealion Islands, this was found impracticable. The ship was kept

away to the eastward, and, after wearing several times during the night

to avoid closing the land, a course was shaped to take us to the

settlement. Passing inside of the Seal Rocks we rounded Cape Pembroke, on

which is a tall beacon, and anchored at dark inside the entrance to Port

William.

July 9th.

The thermometer fell to 18 degrees during the night, and the water froze

on the decks during the holystoning. A cold dreary aspect was presented

when the sun rose upon the snow-clad country around, but the sight of a

herd of cattle on shore conjured up visions of fresh beef and made ample

amends. We beat up Port William, and, passing by a narrow channel from

the outer to the inner harbour, or Port Stanley, anchored off the

settlement. We found a solitary vessel lying here--an English brig bound

to California.

The settlement of Stanley was formed in July, 1844, by the removal

thither of the former establishment at Port Louis--Port William being

considered preferable as a harbour, besides being easier of access and

more conveniently situated for vessels calling there for supplies. The

inner harbour, which communicates with the outer one by a passage not

more than 300 yards wide, is four and a half miles in length by half a

mile in width, with anchorage everywhere. The township extends along the

centre of the south shore, as a small straggling village of wooden

houses, the uncompleted residence of the Lieutenant-Governor being the

only one built of stone. The population, I was told, is about 300: of

these thirty are pensioned soldiers, many of whom with their families are

temporarily lodged in a large barrack, which curiosity one day led me to

visit. Its inmates are all Irish, and appeared to be in anything but

comfortable circumstances, although such as work as labourers receive

three shillings per diem, and mechanics are paid in proportion. One of

them, who had served in Van Diemen's Land, said he often envies the lot

of a convict there, for "sure we are fretting to death to think that we

have come to this in our old age after serving our king and country so

long." They all bitterly complained of having been deluded at home by

highly-coloured reports of the productiveness of a country where grain

will not ripen, and which has not yet been found capable of producing a

tolerable potato. Of the remainder of the place little can be said. There

are two good stores where we procured nearly everything we wanted at very

moderate prices: beef of very fair quality is sold at 2 pence per pound,

wild geese at 1 shilling 3 pence each, and rabbits at four shillings a

dozen. The only vegetables, however, were some small Swedish turnips,

which we got by favour. Lastly, a ship may obtain water here with great

facility from a small reservoir from which a pipe leads it down to the

boat.

We had to remain at Port Stanley for thirteen days before the necessary

observations for determining the rates of the chronometers could be

obtained. During this period a thaw occurred, followed by hard frost and

another fall of snow, making the country as bleak and desolate as before.

By all accounts the winter has been unusually severe. The ground had been

covered with snow for four weeks previous to our arrival, and many cattle

the horses had perished; I also observed at the head of the harbour some

beds of mussels, most of which were dead, having doubtless been frozen

when uncovered at low water. The average mean temperature on board ship

during our stay was 33 degrees, the maximum and minimum being

respectively 37 and 25 degrees.

I was obliged to content myself with short excursions, for the inclemency

of the weather would not permit of camping out at night. The appearance

of the surrounding country may briefly be described: ridges and peaks of

grey quartz rock of moderate elevation form boundaries to shallow

valleys, or become the summits of slopes extending with gentle declivity

towards the shore. The ground almost everywhere, even on the hills, is

boggy, with numerous swamps, rivulets and pools. The peat in some places

is as much as six feet in thickness; it forms the only fuel on the

island, for not a single tree occurs to diversify the landscape, and few

of the bushes exceed a foot in height. The general tint of the grass and

other herbage at this season is a dull brownish-green. Bays and long

winding arms of the sea intersect the country in a singular manner, and

the shores are everywhere margined by a wide belt of long wavy seaweed or

kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) which on the exposed coasts often forms

immense beds of various species, some of which attain to gigantic

dimensions.

On my first walk I was surprised at the extraordinary tameness of the

smaller landbirds: a thrush (Turdus magellanicus) almost allowed me to

knock it down with my cap, and some other birds were quite as familiar as

our robin in winter--a pair of loggerhead ducks (Brachypterus

micropterus) were quietly pluming themselves on the jetty at government

house, and others were swimming along shore within pistol shot of a

public road; at first I thought they were domesticated, and refrained

from firing. The loggerhead is a large and heavy bird for a duck: one

which I shot weighed eighteen pounds, and it has been recorded as

sometimes weighing as much as twenty-nine pounds. From the

disproportionate smallness of its wings it is incapable of flight, but

employs these members as paddles in hurrying along the surface of the

water when alarmed, using its feet at the same time with much splashing

and apparent awkwardness, leaving a broad wake behind it on the

water--hence the not inappropriate name of steamer which is sometimes

applied to it. Not being fit to eat, and moreover from its strength and

the closeness of its plumage difficult to kill, it is not much molested

by sportsmen. Another bird very likely to attract attention is the kelp

goose (Bernicla antarctica) generally seen in pairs along the rocky

coasts: the plumage of the male is of a beautiful white, that of the

female is dark and glossy, variously speckled and barred.

July 24th.

We sailed from Port Stanley yesterday at daylight, and after entering

Berkeley Sound beat up as far as Hog Island, off which we anchored at

sunset, at a distance from the old settlement of Port Louis of about two

miles and a half. As the sole object in coming here was to obtain

magnetic observations at the spot used for that purpose in 1842 by the

Antarctic Expedition under Sir James Ross, for which one day would

suffice, we had little time to make excursions in the neighbourhood. Two

parties were made up to shoot rabbits in some large warrens which have

long been established on the shores of Johnson Harbour and at the head of

Port Darlington, but they met with very little success. I preferred

accompanying Captain B.J. Sulivan for the purpose of seeing his gauchos

use the lasso and bolas in catching some cattle required for the ship.

This officer, who formerly commanded H.M.S. Philomel, employed for

several years upon the survey of the Falklands, has been one of the first

to avail himself of the proposals made by Government to develop the

resources of these islands by throwing them open to private enterprise;

in association with several gentleman in England he has set on foot an

establishment for the purpose of curing beef, hides, and tallow, which,

it is expected, will be in full operation in the course of next year. The

terms upon which settlers of the better class are invited to East

Falkland are, I believe, the following: the purchaser of a block of land

of a quarter of a square mile at the minimum price of eight shillings an

acre (64 pounds) is entitled to a lease of 10,000 acres of contiguous

land for the period of twenty years, at the rent of 10 pounds per annum,

with right of pre-emption. Also, according to part of an agreement

between Government and Mr. Lafone (an Englishman residing at Montevideo)

by which the latter has acquired a right to all the wild cattle on the

island (estimated at 30,000 head) until the year 1860, he is bound to

reclaim annually a certain number, and supply them to purchasers at the

fixed rate of thirty shillings a head.

We landed on Hog Island where Captain Sulivan's herd of eleven hundred

cattle (besides a number of horses) had been kept during the winter,

supported chiefly by the tussock grass fringing the shore, which they had

cropped so closely that, being a perennial plant of slow growth, two

years' rest would be required to enable it to regain its former vigour.

Large patches of this magnificent grass*--Dactylis caespitosa of

botanists--along the shores of the mainland have been destroyed by the

cattle in their fondness for the nutritious base of the stem, a small

portion of which, as thick as the little finger, has a pleasant taste and

may be eaten by man, to whom it has occasionally furnished the principal

means of subsistence when wandering in the wilds of these inhospitable

islands. Great numbers of upland geese (Chloephaga magellanica) chiefly

in small flocks, were feeding on various berries and the tender grass.

Although seldom molested on this island, they became rather wary after a

few shots had been fired--still a sufficient number to answer our purpose

were procured without much difficulty. Unlike the kelp goose, which has a

very rank taste, derived from its feeding chiefly upon the filmy seaweeds

covering the tidal rocks, the upland goose is excellent eating, and

formed a welcome addition to our fare on board. Loggerheads and other

ducks, cormorants, and grebes, were swimming about among the beds of

kelp, and oyster-catchers of two kinds, gulls, kelp-geese, and many other

birds frequented the shores.

(*Footnote. For a full account of this useful plant, the growth of which

in Britain in certain favourable maritime situations has been attempted

on a large scale, I would refer to Botany of the Antarctic Voyage by Dr.

J.D. Hooker page 384 and plates 136 and 137.)

Meanwhile one of the gauchos rode over from Captain Sulivan's

establishment on the main by a ford passable at low-water, and was sent

back for a companion to assist him in catching the cattle. He was an old

weather-beaten half-bred Pampas Indian of the name of Escalante, whose

capability of enduring fatigue and privations of every kind were

described as being remarkable even in a gaucho. At length the cattle were

collected and driven up, and although eight hundred out of those

composing the herd had been reclaimed only three months, yet the whole

were easily managed by the two men on horseback, who rounded them in

without difficulty upon the summit of a low hill close to the

slaughtering-place. A fine dun heifer four years old was the first

selected; it was detached from the herd after some trouble, and pursued

by both gauchos who, throwing off their ponchos, untwisted the bolas from

round the waist, and, after swinging them round the head several times,

threw them in succession at the beast's hind legs but without taking

effect, as each time the animal stumbled for an instant and the bolas

slipped off the legs without becoming entangled. Stooping as he passed to

pick up the bolas from the ground, Escalante uncoiled his lasso, and

getting upon the cow's left flank, drove her at full speed towards the

foot of the hill; when distant about twelve yards from the chase, he

threw the lasso which he had kept swinging horizontally and slowly round

his head for a few minutes back--the noose fell over the animal's head

and neck, catching one of the forelegs, which was instantly doubled up

under the throat by the drawing of the noose, when the beast staggered

and fell, but rose again immediately on three legs, and attempted to

charge the horse and rider. Catching one of the forelegs and neck in this

manner is considered the master-stroke in lassoing, being the most

difficult of execution: Captain Sulivan told me that a one-armed man at

Montevideo, famous for his skill in lassoing, on one occasion for a wager

caught nine out of ten bullocks in succession after this fashion. It was

admirable to observe the manner in which the horse eased off the shock of

bringing up an animal much heavier than itself, and by keeping a strain

upon the lasso urged the furious beast onwards to a triangle which had

been put up. The other gaucho, Andrez Pelaluya by name, meanwhile was

riding up behind, and at length threw his lasso over the heifer's flanks,

the slack of the noose falling down upon the ground--in throwing up her

heels the hind legs were dexterously caught, when in a moment the beast

was dragged over on one side and firmly moored. Leaving the horses to

keep up the strain--for the lasso is made fast to an iron ring in the

saddle--the riders dismounted, and Escalante drawing out a long knife

from his belt and renewing the edge upon a steel which he carried in one

boot, quickly despatched the beast. A second heifer was afterwards picked

out from the herd and caught by the horns; as the animal, maddened with

terror, was galloped past with the lasso at full strain, I must confess

that being a novice I did not feel quite comfortable, and instinctively

clutched my gun, not being altogether sure that the lasso might not

break--but, although no thicker than the little finger, it is of immense

strength, being made of plaited hide. This beast was secured and

butchered pretty much as in the former instance; the bolas had been

thrown at the hind legs, but caught only one, round which the three

thongs and balls were so tightly interlaced as to require some patience

in extricating them.

While slaughtering the cattle it was amusing to notice the familiarity of

the carrion hawks, hundreds of which were collected about, perched upon

the little hillocks all round, watching every movement of ours, or

hovering overhead within the distance of a few yards. They are the

Milvago australis, a bird of which the sexes differ so much in

appearance, that they were pointed out to me as distinct species. The

settlers and others call them rooks, and another very common carrion bird

of the vulture family (Cathartes aura) is known here as the john-crow. On

board the ship the sight of some quarters of beef secured to the mizen

cross-trees had attracted numbers of these hawks, and upwards of a dozen

might have been seen at one time perched upon the rigging, including one

on each truck; on shore they made several attacks upon a pile of geese

lying near the boat, and although repeatedly driven off with stones, they

returned as often to make a fresh attempt.

July 25th.

Yesterday afternoon some of our people employed in cutting grass upon a

small island close to the ship, stumbled upon a huge sealion asleep in

one of the pit-like recesses among the tussocks. At first it was supposed

to be a dead bullock, but the beast on being disturbed rose upon his fore

flippers, and, displaying a formidable array of teeth, roared loudly* at

the disturbers of his rest, who, being unarmed, rushed helter-skelter to

the boat and went off to the ship. They returned immediately with an

assortment of pikes, muskets, and pistols sufficient to ensure the

destruction of a host of sealions; but after cautiously investing the

place, it was discovered that the beast had very prudently got out of the

way, nor this morning could he be found by a person who went to make a

second search.

(*Footnote. "Sometimes when we came suddenly upon them, or waked them out

of their sleep (for they are a sluggish sleepy animal) they would raise

up their heads, snort and snarl, and look as fierce as if they meant to

devour us; but as we advanced upon them, they always ran away; so that

they are downright bullies." Cook's Voyages Volume 4 page 187.)

On this--Peat Islet of the chart--the tussock grass grows in great

luxuriance, and to a stranger presents a most singular appearance. Its

clusters of stems--frequently upwards of a hundred or more in a

bunch--are raised from the ground upon a densely matted mass of old and

decayed roots, two or three feet high, from the summit of which the

leaves, frequently six feet in length, arch gracefully outwards. The

tussock grass has been likened to a palm on a small scale, but altogether

it reminded me more of the Xanthorrhoea, or grass-tree of Australia. We

saw many seals swimming about among the kelp, and on the shore found the

carcases of several which had lately been killed with clubs, each of the

skulls having been fractured by a blow at the root of the nose. They were

of the kind known here as the hair-seal, the skin of which is of little

value. It is still very abundant; but the fur-seal, from the

indiscriminate slaughter of old and young for many years back has become

scarce, and is now confined to a few favourite localities--rookeries as

they are called, a name also applied at the Falklands to any great

breeding place of penguins or other seafowl. A few days ago a party of

five sealers returned to the settlement after a short absence, with the

skins of no less than 120 fur-seals, worth, I was told, twenty-five

shillings each.

Here I found two pairs of the sheathbill (Chionis alba) a bird whose

place in the system has puzzled ornithologists. It has been variously

considered as being one of the galinaceous birds, the pigeons, the

waders, and even as belonging to the web-footed order. Its habits are

those of the oyster-catchers,* however different the form of the beak,

which in the sheathbill is short, stout, and pointed, and enveloped at

the base by a waxy-looking sheath. Its feet are like those of a

gallinaceous bird, yet one which I wounded took voluntarily to the water

and swam off to a neighbouring point to rejoin its mate. Cuvier, besides

erroneously mentioning that it is a native of New Holland, states that it

feeds on carrion; the stomachs of two which I examined contained seaweed,

limpets, and small quartz pebbles. The people here call it the rock-dove,

and from its snow-white plumage it forms a conspicuous object along the

shores.

(*Footnote. When the above was written I had not seen the remarks on

Chionis by M. Blainville, whose anatomical investigation assigns to it

precisely the same position in the system--or next the

oyster-catchers--which appeared to me to have been indicated by its

habits. Voyage de la Bonite Zoologie tome 1 page 107 plate (oiss.) 9.)

We resumed our homeward voyage on July 25th, and thirty-six days

afterwards crossed the equator in 24 degrees west longitude. The last

pintado left us 240 miles within the tropics to follow an outward-bound

vessel. Another petrel much resembling it--a new species with longer

wings and different markings, the head, neck, and upper surface being

dark chocolate, and the lower parts white--was abundant between the

latitude of 46 and 40 degrees South, and between the parallels of 36 and

35 degrees South, Procellaria conspicillata was numerous, but

unfortunately I had no opportunity of procuring specimens of either.

Five days after leaving the Falkland Islands, we encountered a very heavy

gale, commencing at south-east, and blowing hardest at east, when the

barometer was down to 29.264--next day the wind went round to the

south-west and moderated. From the latitude of the entrance of the River

Plate up to latitude 15 degrees South, we experienced northerly winds

between East-North-East and West-North-West, after which we got winds

commencing at South-West and merging into the South-East trade, which we

may be said to have fairly got in 13 1/2 degrees South latitude and 23

1/2 degrees West longitude, and lost in 6 degrees North latitude, and 22

degrees West longitude. We picked up the North-East trade in latitude 13

degrees North and longitude 24 degrees West and carried it up to latitude

29 degrees North and longitude 37 1/2 degrees West. I mention these

particulars as the limits of the trade-winds as experienced by us were

considered to differ considerably from what was to be expected at this

season of the year. Gulf weed made its first appearance in latitude 24

degrees North and longitude 35 1/2 degrees West but in small quantity,

and was last seen in latitude 38 degrees North and longitude 33 1/2

degrees West in detached pieces, mostly dead. About 31 1/2 degrees North

and 37 3/4 degrees West it was very plentiful, occurring in long lines

from one to fifty yards in width, extending in the direction of the wind.

Some pieces which were hooked up furnished on being shaken numbers of a

minute univalve shell (Litiopa) many small fish--especially pipe-fish

(Syngnathus) and numerous crustacea (of which Planes minuta was the most

plentiful) while several delicate zoophytes were encrusted or attached to

the weed. In short each little patch of gulf weed seemed a world in

itself, affording the shelter of a home to hundreds of minute and

wonderful animals.*

(*Footnote. The gulf weed is still regarded as of questionable origin.

Has it--unlike all other seaweeds--always existed as a floating plant, or

has it been detached by storms from the bottom of the sea and carried by

the currents of the ocean into the well defined region it now occupies

and out of which it is never met with in any great quantity? Without

entering into proofs, the principal of which are its not yet having been

found attached to the shore, and the invariable absence of

fructification--it seems probable that those botanists are in the right

who consider the gulf weed (Sargassum bacciferum) to be merely an

abnormal condition, propagating itself by shoots, of S. vulgare, which in

its normal state grows upon the shores of the Atlantic and its islands.

See note by Dr. J.D. Hooker in Memoirs of Geological Survey of Great

Britain volume 1 page 349.)

September 29th.

With only another day's supply of fresh water on board, we were glad this

morning to have the islands of Pico and Fayal in sight. The view, as we

closed the land, standing in from the south-westward for the roadstead of

Horta, was very fine--on our left we had the beautiful island of Fayal

rising to the height of 3000 feet, its sides gradually sloping towards a

range of maritime cliffs, while the lower grounds, in full cultivation,

indicated--along with numbers of neat white-washed cottages and

occasional villages--a well peopled and fertile country, contrasting

strongly with those from which we had lately returned. To the right was

Pico--with the summit of its peak (stated to be 7,613 feet in height)

peeping out from a mass of snowy clouds descending almost to the

shore--and the centre was occupied by the more distant island of St.

Jorge with a portion of Graciosa dimly seen projecting beyond its western

end.

After having been for two months cooped up on board ship, I was glad to

have a quiet walk on shore. In a ravine at one end of the town it was

pleasing to see numbers of old acquaintances among the birds, bringing

vividly to my recollection that home which we had now approached so

closely. Martins were hawking about, the whitethroat warbled his short

snatches of song among the bushes, and blackbirds and starlings flew

past. And although engaged in the matter-of-fact occupation of searching

for landshells, by turning over the stones, I could not help being struck

with the beauty of the terraced walks and overhanging gardens; the

beautiful belladonna lily--here run wild in great abundance--made a fine

show. At Point Greta the rock pigeons--the original stock of the

domesticated race--were flying about in large flocks or sunning

themselves on the sea cliffs. A heavy shower of rain, by bringing out the

landshells, enabled me to pick up half-a-dozen species of Helix, Bulimus,

and Pupa, at the foot of the hedgerows; I was anxious to procure some to

ascertain whether any were non-European forms; one was even quite a new

species. On a white-flowered convolvulus with succulent leaves, I found

numbers of the caterpillars of a large hawk-moth (Sphinx convolvuli)

which some ragged urchins who followed me showed great dread of, running

away when I picked one up and shouting to me to throw it away, else I

should die. One was afterwards brought on board by an English

resident--as a very venomous reptile, which had caused three or four

deaths during his stay on the island. The recurved horn on the tail has

been regarded as a sting, and the poor harmless creature, having once got

a bad name, is now by the Fayalese, in the absence of snakes or

scorpions, made to supply their place.

The town of Horta contains, I was told, upwards of 10,000 inhabitants. It

is prettily situated on the shores of a small bay, extending between two

rocky headlands. The landing-place is at the remains of a mole under the

walls of Fort Santa Cruz, the only one of numerous ruinous fortifications

where a few guns are mounted; even these are in so wretched a condition

that the commandant admitted that it would require several hours'

preparation before they would be fit to return our expected salute, and

seemed glad when told that as a surveying ship we were exempted from

saluting the flags of other nations. A sea wall runs along the face of

the town; parallel with this is the principal street, with others at

rightangles extending up the hill, the narrow streets are clean and well

paved--the houses, generally of one storey, are built of tough grey

trachyte.

Almost every inch of available ground upon the island of Fayal has been

turned to good account: Indian corn is the chief agricultural product.

With our usual bad fortune in this respect we were too late for the

grapes and the oranges had not yet come in. The lower grounds are divided

into small enclosures by stone walls, and subdivided by rows of a tall

stout reed (Arundo donax) resembling sugarcane. Although taxes and other

burdens are heavy, and wages very low, yet to a mere visitor like myself

there appeared none of those occasional signs of destitution which strike

one in walking through a town at home, nor did I see a single beggar.

In Fayal and Pico the most careless observer from the anchorage of Horta

can scarcely fail to associate the number of smooth conical hills with

former volcanic activity; and in looking over Captain Vidal's beautiful

charts of the Azores, nearly all the principal hills throughout the group

are seen to have their craters or caldeiras. Fayal exhibits a fine

specimen of one of these caldeiras in the central and highest part of the

island. At an elevation of a little more than 3000 feet, we reached the

ridge forming the margin of a circular crater, rather more than a mile in

diameter, and 700 feet deep. The outer slope is gradual, but the inner

walls are steep, deeply furrowed by small ravines and watercourses, and

covered with grass, fern and heath-like bushes. The bottom contains a

considerable extent of swampy meadowland, a shallow lagoon, and a small

hill with a crater also partially filled with water. The view here is

magnificent, enhanced, too, at times by the rolling volumes of mist

overhead, at one moment admitting of a peep at the blue sky above, in the

next concealing the rim of the crater and increasing in idea the height

of its wall-like sides. The caldeira, I may add in conclusion, is said to

have been formed during the last eruption of Fayal in 1672, but this

statement appears to be very doubtful.

We resumed our homeward voyage on October 5th, and on November 9th, the

Rattlesnake was paid off at Chatham, after having been in commission

upwards of four years.

...

ACCOUNT OF MR. E.B. KENNEDY'S EXPEDITION FOR THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAPE

YORK PENINSULA, IN TROPICAL AUSTRALIA.

In addition to the brief account which already forms part of the

Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, I have thought it would

add to the interest of this work and the gratification of its readers,

were I to give under a distinct head a detailed history of the exploring

expedition conducted by the late Mr. Edmund B. Kennedy, derived from a

pamphlet printed in Sydney, and scarcely procurable in this country. It

includes the interesting narrative of Mr. W. Carron, the botanist

attached to the expedition in question; also the statements of the

aboriginal black who witnessed the death of his gallant master--of Dr.

Vallack who took an active part in rescuing the survivors--and of Mr.

T.B. Simpson who proceeded in search of the remainder of the party, whose

fate was still in a measure uncertain, and succeeded in recovering some

of Mr. Kennedy's papers.

NARRATIVE OF MR. W. CARRON.

We left Sydney on the 29th of April, 1848, in the barque Tam O'Shanter

(Captain Merionberg) in company with H.M.S. Rattlesnake.

Our party consisted of the following persons: Mr. E.B. Kennedy (leader),

Mr. W. Carron (botanist), Mr. T. Wall (naturalist), Mr. C. Niblet

(storekeeper), James Luff, Edward Taylor, and William Costigan (carters),

Edward Carpenter (shepherd), William Goddard, Thomas

Mitchell, John Douglas, Dennis Dunn (labourers), and Jackey-Jackey, an

aboriginal native of the Patrick's Plains tribe, of the Hunter River

district.

Our supplies and equipment for the journey had been most fully

considered, and were estimated by Mr. Kennedy as amply sufficient for a

journey so short as what we then anticipated. Our livestock consisted of

twenty-eight horses, one hundred sheep, three kangaroo dogs, and one

sheep dog. Our dry provisions comprised one ton of flour, ninety pounds

of tea, and six hundred pounds of sugar. Besides these necessary supplies

for subsistence on the road, we took with us twenty-four pack-saddles,

one heavy square cart, two spring carts, with harness for nine horses,

four tents, a canvas sheepfold, twenty-two pounds gunpowder, one hundred

and thirty pounds shot, a quarter cask of ammunition, twenty-eight tether

ropes (each twenty-one yards long) forty hobble chains and straps,

together with boxes, paper, etc., for preserving specimens, firearms,

cloaks, blankets, tomahawks, and other minor requisites for such an

expedition, not forgetting a supply of fish-hooks and other small

articles, as presents for the natives.

After a tedious passage of twenty-two days, we arrived at Rockingham Bay

on the 21st May; and even here, at the very starting point of our

journey, those unforeseen difficulties began to arise, which led us

subsequently to hardships so great and calamities so fatal.

On casting anchor, Mr. Kennedy, in company with Captain Merionberg,

proceeded in a boat to examine the shores of the Bay, and to determine on

a suitable landing-place for the horses, but returned in the evening

without having been able to discover one.

The attempt was renewed the next morning, and continued during the entire

day; and on the morning of the 23rd of May Mr. Kennedy and Captain

Merionberg returned to the ship with the intelligence that they had

discovered a spot where the horses might be landed with tolerable safety,

and where, too, there was plenty of grass and water. This was an

important desideratum, as we had lost one horse and eleven sheep on the

voyage.

The water round the shores of the bay was very shallow, in consequence of

which the vessel could not approach close inshore, but was compelled to

cast anchor about a quarter of a mile off, and this distance the horses

had to swim.

In the afternoon the vessel was anchored off the landing-place, and early

on the following morning (May 24th) the tents, tether ropes, and

sheepfold were taken ashore, with a party to take care of the horses when

landed. At ten o'clock A.M., slings having been prepared, we commenced

hoisting the horses out of the hold, and lowering them into the water

alongside a boat, to the stern of which the head of each horse was

secured, as it was pulled ashore. One horse was drowned in landing, but

all the others were safely taken ashore during the day. The weather this

day was very cold, with occasional showers of rain.

During the time occupied by landing the horses, a number of aboriginal

natives assembled on the beach; they evinced no symptom of hostility, but

appeared much surprised at our horses and sheep. White men they had

frequently seen before, as parties have landed on the beach from

surveying vessels.

We found no difficulty in making them comprehend that we desired to be

friendly with them, and they advanced towards us with green boughs in

their hands, which they displayed as emblems of peace. We met them with

our arms extended and our hands open, indicating that we had no

implements of war with us. We made them a present of two circular tin

plates, with Mr. Kennedy's initials stamped upon them, and chains to hang

them round the neck; we also gave them a few fish-hooks, and they

accepted our presents with great demonstrations of pleasure. We made

signs for them to sit down about 200 yards from the spot where the horses

and sheep were being landed, and marking a line upon the sand we made

them understand that they were not to cross it to approach us. One of our

party was placed amongst them to enforce this regulation, which he did

with little difficulty, although they expressed great curiosity as to

various articles brought on shore from the ship.

These natives appeared to be very fine strong men, varying much in

intelligence and disposition. I entered into such conversation with them

as we were enabled to hold, and I soon found that while some were eagerly

anxious to learn the names of different articles and their uses, others

were perfectly indifferent about them.

We pitched our tents about two hundred yards from the beach, forming a

square, with the sheepfold in the centre. Mr. Kennedy came on shore in

the morning to superintend the arrangements, and after giving the

necessary directions and instructions, returned to the ship. The party

left ashore in charge consisted of myself, Wall, Dunn, Carpenter, and

Douglas. Our provisions were supplied from the ship, in order that no

time might be lost in getting all our stores and implements in proper

order for starting.

A few yards from our camp was a freshwater creek, from which, although

the tide ran into it about one hundred yards--where it was stopped by a

small bank--we could obtain excellent water. The grass around was very

long, and mostly of very coarse descriptions, consisting chiefly of a

species of Uniola growing in tufts, and an Agrostis with creeping roots

and broad blades; the horses seemed to like the Uniola best. A little to

the northward of our camp were very high and almost perpendicular rocks,

composed mostly of micaceous schist, covered with various epiphytal

orchides and ferns.

The labour of the day being ended, and most of our stores landed, the

greater number of our party came ashore to pass the night; and after

having tethered the horses in fresh places, we assembled at supper, the

materiel of which (beef and biscuit) was sent from the ship. We then took

possession of our tents, one square tent being allotted to Mr. Kennedy;

Niblet, Wall, and myself occupied a small round one; Taylor, Douglas,

Carpenter, Mitchell, and Jackey, a large round tent; and Luff, Dunn,

Goddard, and Costigan, the other.

Mr. Kennedy's tent was 8 feet long, by 6 feet, and 8 feet high, and in it

were placed a compact table, constructed with joints so as to fold up, a

light camp stool, his books and instruments. The two larger round tents

were pyramidal in shape, seven feet in diameter at the least, and nine

feet high. The small tent was six feet in diameter, and eight feet high.

Every man was then supplied with one pair of blankets, one cloak, a

double-barrelled gun or carbine, a brace of pistols, cartridge box, small

percussion-cap pouch, and six rounds of ammunition. The arrangement for

preserving the safety of the camp from attack was, that every man, with

the exception of Mr. Kennedy, should take his turn to watch through the

night--two hours being the duration of each man's watch--the watch

extending from 8 P.M. till 6 A.M. During the night the kangaroo-dogs were

kept chained up, but the sheepdog was at large.

The position of this our first encampment was near the northern extremity

of Rockingham Bay, being in latitude 17 degrees 58 minutes 10 seconds

south, longitude 146 degrees 8 minutes east. The soil, where our cattle

and sheep were feeding, was sandy and very wet. The land, from the beach

to the scrub in the swamp beyond, was slightly undulating, and very

thickly strewed with shells, principally bivalves.

On the morning of the 25th May, a party commenced landing the remainder

of our stores; and it being a fine morning, I went out to collect

specimens and seeds of any new and interesting plants I might find. On

leaving the camp I proceeded through a small belt of scrub to the rocks

on the north; the scrub was composed of the genera Flagellaria, Kennedya,

Bambusa (bamboo), Smilax, Cissus, Mucuna, and various climbing plants

unknown to me: the trees consisted principally of Eugenia, Anacardium,

Castanospermum (Moreton Bay chestnut), a fine species of Sarcocephalus,

and a large spreading tree belonging to the natural order Rutaceae, with

ternate leaves, axillary panicles of white flowers, about the size of

those of Boronia pinnata. At the edge of the rocks were some fine

treeferns (Dicksonia) with the genera Xiphopteris, and Polypodium; also

some beautiful epiphytal Orchideae; among others a beautiful Dendrobium

(rock lily,) with the habit of D. speciosum, but of stronger growth,

bearing long spikes of bright yellow flowers, the sepals spotted with

rich purple. I found also another species with smaller leaves, and more

slender habit, with spikes of dull green flowers, the column and tips of

the sepals purple: and a very fine Cymbidium, much larger than C. suave,

with brown blossoms, having a yellow column.

I proceeded along the edge of a mangrove swamp for a short distance, and

entered a freshwater swamp about a mile from the beach, covered with very

thick scrub, composed of large trees of the genus Melaleuca, running for

the most part from forty to fifty feet high. Here also I first found a

strong-growing climbing palm (Calamus australis) throwing up a number of

shoots from its roots, many of them 100 feet long, and about the

thickness of a man's finger, with long pinnatifid leaves, covered with

sharp spines--and long tendrils growing out of the stem alternately with

the leaves, many of them twenty feet long, covered with strong spines

slightly curved downward, by which the shoots are supported in their

rambling growth. They lay hold of the surrounding bushes and branches of

trees, often covering the tops of the tallest, and turning in all

directions. The seed is a small hard nut, with a thin scaly covering, and

is produced in great abundance.

The shoots, which are remarkably tough, I afterwards found were used by

the natives in making their canoes. These canoes are small, and

constructed of bark, with a small sapling on each side to strengthen

them, the ends of which are tied together with these shoots.

The growth of this plant forms one of the greatest obstacles to

travelling in the bush in this district. It forms a dense thicket, into

which it is impossible to penetrate without first cutting it away, and a

person once entangled in its long tendrils has much difficulty in

extricating himself, as they lay hold of everything they touch. On

entering the swamp to examine plants, I was caught by them, and became so

much entangled before I was aware of it, that it took me nearly an hour

to get clear, although I had entered but a few yards. No sooner did I cut

one tendril, than two or three others clung around me at the first

attempt to move, and where they once clasp they are very difficult to

unloose. Abundance of the shoots, from fifteen to twenty feet long, free

from leaves or tendrils, could be obtained, and would be useful for all

the purposes to which the common cane is now applied.

At this spot also I met with Dracontium polyphyllum, a beautiful plant,

belonging to the natural order Aroideae, climbing by its rooting stems to

the tops of the trees, like the common ivy. This plant has narrow pointed

leaves, four inches long, and produces at the ends of the shoots a red

spatha, enclosing a cylindrical spadix of yellow flowers.

In many parts the swamp was completely covered with a very strong-growing

species of Restio (rope-grass). On the open ground, between the beach and

the swamp, were a few large flooded-gums, and a few Moreton Bay ash

trees, and near the beach I found the Exocarpus latifolia.

On the beach, too, just above high-water mark, was a beautiful spreading,

lactescent tree, about twenty feet high, belonging to the natural order

Apocyneae, with alternate, exstipulate, broad, lanceolate leaves, six to

eight inches long, and producing terminal spikes of large, white,

sweet-scented flowers, resembling those of the white Nerium oleander, but

much larger. I also met with a tree about twenty feet high belonging to

the natural order Dilleniaceae, with large spreading branches, producing

at the axilla of the leaves from three to five large yellow flowers, with

a row of red appendages surrounding the carpels, and a fine species of

Calophyllum, with large dark green leaves, six to eight inches long, two

and a half to three inches broad, beautifully veined, and with axillary

racemes of white, sweet-scented flowers; the seed being a large round nut

with a thin rind, of a yellowish-green colour when ripe. There were many

other interesting plants growing about, but the afternoon turning out

wet, I left their examination to stand over till finer weather.

Growing on the beach was a species of Portulaca, a quantity of the young

shoots of which I collected, and we partook of them at our supper, boiled

as a vegetable.

In the evening after watering our horses, we took them to the camp and

gave each of them a feed of corn which we had brought with us for the

purpose of strengthening them previous to our starting from Rockingham

Bay, on our expedition; but although the grass on which they had been

depasturing was coarse, they were with difficulty induced to eat the

corn, many of them leaving it almost all behind them. We then tethered

them and folded our sheep, one of which we killed for food. The ration

per week on which the party was now put, was one hundred pounds of flour,

twenty-six pounds of sugar, three and a half pounds of tea, with one

sheep every alternate day.

This night too we commenced our nightly watch, the whole of the stores

being landed and packed in the camp. During nearly the whole of the day a

tribe of natives was watching our movements, but they seemed to be quite

peaceably inclined; the weather was very cold, and at night the rain set

in and continued to fall, almost without intermission, till morning.

The next morning (May 26th) was very wet and cold; but after securing our

horses, I again went out to search for, and examine plants, although it

was too rainy to collect seeds or specimens. On a Casuarina near the

swamp, I saw a beautiful Loranthus with rather small oval leaves,

panicles of flowers, with the tube of the corolla green; segments of the

limbs dark red; of a dwarf bushy habit. This beautiful parasite covered

the tree, and was very showy. The afternoon turning out fine and warm, I

collected several specimens and sorts of seeds. In the open ground grew a

beautiful tree producing large terminal spikes of yellow flowers, with

broad, and slightly cordate leaves; it belongs to the natural order

Bignoniaceae.

The open ground between the beach and the swamp varied in width from half

a mile to three or four miles; it was principally covered with long

grass, with a belt of bushy land along the edge of the beach; the bush

consisting principally of Exocarpus, with dark green oval leaves, near an

inch long; two dwarf species of Fabricia, one with white, the other with

pink flowers; a species of Jasminum, with rather large, white,

sweet-scented flowers; and a few acacia trees, with long, linear,

lanceolate, phyllodia, racemose spikes of bright yellow flowers. There

also grew the genera Xanthorrhoea, Xerotes, and Restio (rope-grass.)

There were a great many wallabies near the beach, but they were very

wild. While returning to the camp in the evening, I met several natives

who had been fishing. Most of the fish they had taken had been speared,

only a few having been caught with hooks. I remained with them some time,

and learned some of their expressions. Fresh water they call hammoo,*

salt water, mocull; their dogs--the same species as the native dogs found

near Sydney--they call taa-taa. We had not as yet seen any of their

women, as they were encamped at some distance from us.

(*Footnote. Kamo, at Goold Island, only a few miles distant.)

Near the beach, by the side of the saltwater creek, I saw a beautiful

species of Ruellia with terminal spikes of blue flowers, and

spiny-toothed leaves, and a bushy shrub eight or ten feet high, with

alternate exstipulate, simple, oval leaves, bearing a solitary, axillary,

round fruit, resembling a greengage plum; the fleshy pulp covering the

hard round stone has rather a bitter taste, but it is not disagreeable

when ripe. It acts as a laxative if eaten in any quantity, and is

probably Maba laurina.

On the following morning, May 27th, when the horses were watered and fed,

I commenced digging a piece of ground, in which I sowed seeds of cabbage,

turnip, leek, pumpkin, rock and water melons, pomegranate, peach stones,

and apple pips. On the two following days, May 28th and 29th, I remained

in the camp all day.

The next morning, May 30th, Mr. Kennedy and three others of the party

rode out to examine the surrounding country, and to determine in what

direction the expedition should start, the remainder staying at the camp,

busily occupied with preparations for our departure into the wilderness.

The flour was put into canvas bags, holding 100 pounds each, made in the

shape of saddlebags, to hold 50 pounds weight on each side. The sugar we

put into two large tin canisters, made to fit into one of the carts, and

the tea was packed in quarter-chests. The surplus stores, comprising

horse shoes, clothes, specimen boxes, etc., which would not be required

before our arrival at Cape York, were sent on board H.M.S. Rattlesnake,

which it was arranged should meet us at Port Albany. During the day one

of the party shot a wallaby on the beach, which made very good soup.

During the morning of the next day (May 31st) I was employed in procuring

specimens and seeds of various plants, and in the afternoon we all

resumed our preparations for starting, as we expected Mr. Kennedy back

next day. He however did not arrive in the camp, and on the following

afternoon I obtained specimens of a very pretty plant of the natural

order Onagrariae, with opposite, oblong, simple leaves, and large purple

flowers.

The following day (June 3rd) Mr. Kennedy and his party returned to the

camp, with the intelligence that it was impossible to proceed in a north

or north-westerly direction, in consequence of the swamps. Mr. Kennedy

had penetrated them in some places, where the scrub was not too thick;

but could not get through them in any place, on account of the water, and

the dense scrub. He informed us that he found we should be obliged to

cross a river on the beach to the south-west of the camp before we could

hope to make any progress.

The two following days were occupied with completing our arrangements for

starting; as it was determined on the following morning to strike our

tents and proceed at once on our expedition.

As I may now consider our expedition as fairly begun, it may, for the

sake of clearness and arrangement, be advisable to continue my narrative

in the form of a journal; detailing from day to day the various

occurrences which took place. It must be remembered, however, that in

narrating the particulars of our journey, I am obliged to trust largely

to memory, and to very imperfect memoranda; and to these difficulties

must I refer, in excuse for the defects, with which I am well aware this

narrative abounds.

Up to the present time, the whole of the party, and especially its

unfortunate leader, had remained in good spirits, and, buoyed up with

sanguine hopes of success, were eager to set out on their pilgrimage of

discovery.

June 5.

We breakfasted at an early hour this morning, and proceeded at once to

harness our horses to the carts, three to each cart. The carts contained

about seven hundredweight each. This business having been completed, and

the packhorses saddled and loaded, we started at nine o'clock A.M., and

proceeded along the beach. Mr. Kennedy and Jackey rode in front, followed

by the three carts. After Wall, riding one horse and leading two

packhorses, came Goddard, Douglas, Mitchell, and Dunn, leading three

packhorses, then Niblet in the rear, riding one and leading two horses,

followed by Carpenter driving the sheep, and myself on foot, carrying Mr.

Kennedy's mountain barometer, which he had given into my charge during

the journey; and I was also to take the time for that gentleman, in his

observations.

After travelling in this order about two miles, we came to a large

river,* emptying itself into Rockingham Bay. This river was about one

hundred and fifty yards wide, and although the tide ran up it about a

mile, fresh water was procurable from it considerably nearer the sea.

(*Footnote. Mackay River of the Admiralty chart of Rockingham Bay.)

At nearly high-water I tasted fresh water on one side of the river, and

salt on the other, and about two hours after high-water, there was no

difficulty in obtaining plenty of excellent water on either side of the

river, in different places. There is a great deal of fresh water running

into the sea here, and at the same distance from the sea as the mouth of

the river, it is in some places mixed with salt water, whilst in others

it is quite fresh. The banks of this river are low and sandy, and a short

distance above where we joined it, it is skirted on either side by a

thick mangrove swamp, for the distance of about a mile, where it joins

the freshwater swamps, covered with thick scrub. On my proceeding up the

river, it became narrower in its channel as it approached the swamps,

from which it appeared to be principally supplied. It had a tortuous

course, and when I left it, was turning to the westward.

A boat was sent to us by Captain Stanley of H.M.S. Rattlesnake to assist

us in carrying our stores across, which we effected with some difficulty

by ten o'clock P.M., the horses and some of the sheep swimming across,

while the remainder of the latter were taken in the boat. We pitched Mr.

Kennedy's tent on sand, at the side of the river, and it being dark, and

not knowing where to obtain water on that side of the river, I and five

others recrossed it, and went back about three-quarters of a mile to a

small creek running parallel to the beach. We filled our kegs, and

returned to the camp in time to have supper by twelve o'clock, after

which we rolled ourselves in our blankets, and, wearied by the fatigues

we had undergone, slept soundly till daylight.

This was a very harassing day to us, as we were all constantly in the

water, loading and unloading the boat. It is but just to state, that

Captain Stanley of the Rattlesnake, both in landing our horses and

stores, and in crossing this river, rendered us every assistance in his

power, and seemed throughout to take a strong interest in the expedition,

and its object.

While landing our things at the other side of the river, the natives

assembled in great numbers about our luggage. As they appeared to be

friendly, we permitted them to come within about 150 yards of our

landing-place; with some few we had a little difficulty, but for the most

part they would sit down quietly as soon as a sign was made for them to

do so.

June 6.

Early this morning Lieutenant Simpson of the Rattlesnake left us, he

having stayed all night at the camp, and we were now left entirely to our

own resources. We loaded our carts and packhorses, and proceeded about

three miles inland, but again finding it impossible to cross the swamps,

we returned to the beach, and about dusk came to another river, also

emptying itself into Rockingham Bay, about two miles south-west of the

first we had to cross. This river was much wider than the first, being

about two hundred yards wide where we crossed it near the mouth. At the

mouth of this river is a sandbank, over which the water is about four

feet deep. Inside the bank the water is ten feet deep. The tide flows up

for about a mile; there appears to be a great quantity of fresh water

discharged into the sea from the river, which, I think, is principally

supplied from the swamps. These swamps lie at the foot of a high mountain

range, and probably the rivulets descending from the range spread over

the flat ground, and form channels by which they reach the sea. Fresh

water can be obtained on either side the river very near the sea. I

tasted fresh water on one side, salt in the middle, and slightly brackish

on the other side, as we crossed over it. Small boats only can enter this

river, on account of the sandbank at the mouth. Its course turned to the

south-west about two miles up. Its banks were sandy and barren, at least

close to the water; on the north side of the river there is a mangrove

swamp, extending some distance up the stream; on the south side the banks

are higher, and are covered with Casuarinas and Acacias, the soil being

sandy and pretty well covered with grass, the land slightly undulating,

for about one and a half or two miles up the river. It being too late to

think of crossing the river to-night, we hobbled our horses, and having

pitched Mr. Kennedy's tent, slept on the sand till morning.

June 7.

As soon as we had breakfasted this morning, we prepared to cross, to

assist us in which undertaking we contrived to construct a sort of punt

by taking the wheels and axletrees off one of the carts. We then placed

the body of the cart on a large tarpaulin, the shafts passing through

holes cut for them, the tarpaulin tightly nailed round them. The

tarpaulin was then turned up all round, and nailed inside the cart; by

this means it was made almost water-tight. We then fastened our

water-bags, filled with air, to the sides of the cart, six on each side,

and a small empty keg to each shaft. We tied our tether ropes together,

and made one end fast on each side of the river, by which means our punt

was easily pulled from one side to the other. By this contrivance we

managed to get most of our things over during the day, and at night a

party slept on either side, without pitching the tents.

June 8.

One party continued employed in getting the remainder of the things

across the river, whilst the others went in search of the horses, which

had rambled to some distance to seek for better grass. The grass had

hitherto continued plentiful in places all the way. The horses were

brought up to the river by eleven A.M., and were with some difficulty got

across; after which they were hobbled, and we camped for the night near

the beach, in good grass.

June 9.

Mr. Kennedy, with Jackey and three others, left the camp this morning for

the purpose of ascertaining the most practicable route for our carts.

During the day a great number of natives came around our camp, but

appeared very friendly; they are a finer race of men than those usually

seen in the southern districts of the colony, but their habits and mode

of life seem very similar. They left us before dark, without making any

attempt at plunder.

June 10.

Mr. Kennedy returned to the camp this evening; he still found the swamps

were impassable, the water and mud lying on them in many parts, from

three to four feet deep; there were patches of dry land here and there

covered with good but coarse grass.

We saw here large flocks of black and white ducks, making a whistling

noise similar to some I have seen near Port Macquarie; Mr. Wall shot

three of them, and they proved very good to eat, but they were not new,

belonging to the genus Dendrocygna eytoni.

June 11.

We started early this morning and proceeded along the beach for three or

four miles, when we came to another river, similar in its character to

the one we crossed on the 8th, with low sandy banks, and dry bushy land

on each side. We unloaded and hobbled our horses, and prepared our punt

as before.

Near to this spot we came to a native encampment, consisting of eighteen

or twenty huts of an oval form, about seven feet long, and four feet

high; and at the southern end of the camp, was one large hut eighteen

feet long, seven feet wide, and fourteen feet high. All of them were

neatly and strongly built with small saplings stuck in the ground, arched

over, and tied together at the top with small shoots of the climbing

palm, which I have already described. They were covered with the bark of

the large Melaleucas which grow in the swamps, fastened to the saplings

with palm shoots. A small opening is left at one end, from the ground to

the top, and the floors were covered with long dried grass.

The natives being absent from the camp, I entered the large gunyah, and

found in it a large shield of solid wood, two feet in diameter, convex on

one side, and flat on the other. The convex side was curiously painted

red, in circular rings and crosses. On the flat side was a handle, cut

out of the solid wood. In the same hut I found four wooden swords, three

and a half feet long, and four inches broad, sharp at both edges, and

thick in the centre, with a slightly curved, round handle, about six

inches long. They were made of very hard wood, and were much too heavy to

wield with one hand. I also found a number of fishing lines, made from

grass, with hooks attached of various sizes, made from mussel shells.

After I had carefully examined all these things, I left them where I

found them. In the centre of the camp were four large ovens, for cooking

their food. These ovens were constructed by digging a hole in the ground,

about three feet in diameter, and two feet deep. The hole is then filled

to within six inches of the top with smooth, hard, loose stones, on which

a fire is kindled, and kept burning till the stones are well heated.

Their food, consisting principally of shell and other fish, is then

placed on the stones and baked.

There were no vessels in the camp in which they could boil anything, and

it is my opinion, from what I afterwards saw of their habits, that their

cookery is confined to roasting and baking. In the camp were several

large shells for holding water, and some calabashes, made by taking out

the inside of a gourd, which grows plentifully near the camp. These

calabashes would hold from one to three pints each.

June 12.

This morning Taylor endeavoured to cross the river with the rope for

working our punt, but although an expert swimmer, and a very strong man,

he was unable to do so, from the strength of the tide which was running

out. We saw several natives fishing in the river from their canoes, which

are about five feet long and one and a half feet wide, made of bark, with

small saplings tied along the side, and are paddled with small pieces of

bark held in either hand. We made signs to them to come to us, with which

three of them complied. We made them understand that if they would take

our rope across, and make it fast to a dead tree on the other side of the

river, we would give them a tomahawk. They consented to undertake the

task, and after great exertion succeeded in performing it, and received

their reward, with which they seemed quite satisfied and highly pleased.

We succeeded in getting everything across this river by ten o'clock P.M.,

for the moon being up we would not stop till we had finished. Our horses

we took about a quarter of a mile up the river, and they crossed where it

was narrower and not so deep. Several natives, who had not yet seen our

horses, assembled on the banks of the river to see them cross, and when

they came out of the water commenced shouting to frighten them,

continuing their noise for about twenty minutes. Seeing at length,

however, that the beasts submitted to be led quietly along the beach,

they came near the camp, and we made them a present of a few fish-hooks.

They returned to their camp before sunset.

The river we crossed this day was not so deep as either of the former

ones. There is, apparently, a sandbank across all the rivers emptying

themselves into Rockingham Bay, near the mouth, and this one formed no

exception to the rule. The tide runs up very strongly, I should think

from a mile and a half to two miles.

There is a mangrove swamp running up some distance on the northern side

of the river, till it joins the freshwater swamps. There is not so much

fresh water running out of this river as from the last, and fresh water

is only procurable from the south side near the swamp--it being

impossible to penetrate the scrub on the northern side to obtain it. At

low-water the river is very shallow, with a muddy bottom.

June 13.

On our mustering this morning, Carpenter was missed from the camp. It was

discovered that he had absconded during the night, carrying off with him

a damper weighing about eleven pounds, two pounds of tea, and ten pounds

of sugar. We had breakfast as quickly as possible, and Mr. Kennedy sent

four men on horseback to scour the country around in search of him. They

returned from an unsuccessful search, but had received intelligence from

the blacks that he was not far off.

June 14.

A party went out early this morning, in search of Carpenter, and caught

sight of him about two miles from the river, sharing his damper with the

blacks. As soon, however, as he saw the party approaching, he decamped

into the bush, and was again lost sight of. On coming up to the spot

where he was seen, the bags in which he had carried away the tea and

sugar were found; the sugar was nearly consumed, but the tea appeared

untouched. In the evening Carpenter returned, and on begging Mr.

Kennedy's pardon, he was forgiven. Throughout the expedition he was of

very little service, being, in fact, little better than an idiot.

This evening we saw a large alligator, about twenty feet long, rising to

the surface of the water, close to our camp. He appeared to be

attentively watching our sheep, which were feeding by the side of the

river, on the Dolichos and Ipomoeas which were growing on the sand. The

natives here had a great many dogs, which, towards evening, rushed on our

sheep and drove them among the bushes in all directions. We had great

difficulty in getting them together before dark.

June 15.

We proceeded inland two or three miles to the edge of the freshwater

swamps, and camped there. Mr. Kennedy went with a party into the swamps

to ascertain if it were possible to make a road for the carts to pass

through. Wall and myself went out collecting specimens.

I found a beautiful species of Loranthus, growing on acacia trees, and

producing on its long pendulous shoots abundance of beautiful scarlet

flowers; the tube of the corolla was two inches long, with a very short

limb, and the plant has lanceolate, glossy leaves. This most interesting

parasite--covering the acacia trees--when in flower forms a most gorgeous

sight; presenting a beautiful contrast to the dull foliage of the

surrounding trees. I also found a scarlet passionflower,* very beautiful,

with three-lobed glaucous leaves; and a Nymphaea, (waterlily) growing in

the waterholes and small creeks, producing large purple flowers, and

peltate leaves; besides a number of other new and interesting plants. Mr.

Wall succeeded in obtaining a specimen of a beautiful little marsupial

animal, resembling an opossum in form, but not larger than the common

rat, the colour pure white, with very small black spots.

(*Footnote. Disemma coccinea. See Volume 1.)

Mr. Kennedy and party returned in the evening, after having been in the

water up to their knees all day. He reported that it was altogether

impossible to make a road.

June 16.

Mr. Kennedy and party proceeded again this morning to enter the swamps,

but in a different direction, in the hope of finding some spot where a

road might be made, but returned with no better success. This day we

killed the best sheep we had yet slaughtered; it weighed 53 pounds, those

we had previously killed weighed from 40 to 48 pounds; they did not keep

fat, but up to this time we were enabled to fry all the meat, which mode

of cookery was more speedy and convenient for us than boiling or any

other way.

June 17.

We proceeded this evening along the edge of the swamps, crossing several

small creeks. In many places the wheels of the carts sank to the

axletrees in consequence of the rottenness of the ground near the creeks.

At length we camped, after travelling about five miles.

June 18.

This day was Sunday, and at eleven o'clock Mr. Kennedy assembled the

whole party under the shade of some large trees and read prayers. This

was a practice always persevered in when practicable, and unless for some

very pressing reason, we uniformly set apart the Sabbath as a day of

rest, such an interval from our toils being in fact absolutely necessary.

June 19.

Again Mr. Kennedy started this morning, accompanied by five men, into the

swamps, determined, if possible, to find a road by which we might cross

them, and get to the foot of the mountain ranges on the south. He

remained out during this and the two following days. The natives appear

to be very numerous in the neighbourhood of Rockingham Bay. There was an

old camping-place with twelve or fourteen old huts near our camp, but it

was not visited by the natives during our stay there. They generally came

to look at us every day, but always kept at a distance; on some days we

saw as many as from eighty to a hundred. The women and children always

kept farther from us than the men; I think more from fear of our dogs and

horses than of ourselves. The weather was cool, with showers occasionally

during the day, and at night steady rain set in.

June 20.

The rain continued throughout the day.

June 21 and 22.

The rain still continued. Two of our horses were found bogged in a creek

near the camp, but were soon released without injury; they had strayed

into the creek to eat the aquatic grass, which is plentiful on almost all

the creeks between the swamps and the sea. The soil here was rather

stiffer than we had found it before, being a light sandy loam, and in

places clayey. There were not so many shells to be seen, and what there

were, were principally bivalves.

Mr. Kennedy returned this evening, and having again found it impossible

to cross the swamps, we were obliged to return to the beach, where the

travelling was far better than among the trees. While travelling inland a

man was always obliged to walk before the carts, to cut down small trees.

At this time we had only two meals per day; breakfast at daylight, and

dinner when we had completed our day's work, and camped. The time for

dinner was therefore irregular, depending on the nature of the country

over which we travelled. Some days we dined at one o'clock, on others not

till dark. Whenever any birds were shot, they were boiled for supper; but

as yet we had killed very few.

Mr. Kennedy appeared to be, in every respect, admirably fitted for the

leader of an expedition of this character. Although he had innumerable

difficulties and hardships to contend with, he always appeared cheerful,

and in good spirits. Travelling through such a country as we were in,

such a disposition was essential to the success of the expedition. He was

always diverting the minds of his followers from the obstacles we daily

encountered, and encouraging them to hope for better success; careful in

all his observations and calculations, as to the position of his camp,

and cautious not to plunge into difficulties, without personal

observation of the country, to enable him to take the safest path. But

having decided, he pursued his deliberate determination with steady

perseverance, sharing in the labour of cutting through the scrub, and all

the harassment attendant on travelling through such a wilderness, with as

much (or greater) alacrity and zeal as any of his followers. It was often

grievous to me to hear some of the party observe, after we had passed

over some difficult tract, that a better road might have been found, a

little to the right or to the left. Such observations were the most

unjust and vexatious, as in all matters of difficulty and of opinion, he

would invariably listen to the advice of all, and if he thought it

prudent, take it. For my own part, I can safely say, that I was always

ready to obey his orders, and conform to his directions, confident as I

then was of his abilities to lead us to the place of our destination as

speedily as possible.

June 23.

We started early this morning, and proceeded along the beach till we came

to a small river, which was narrow and shallow, but the bottom being

muddy, and it being low-water, we diverged towards the sea, where the

sand was firmer, and there crossed it with little difficulty, without

unloading the packhorses or carts. The tide runs but a short distance up

this river, and as far as the tide goes it is fringed with a belt of

mangroves. The banks are muddy, and so soft that a man sinks up to his

knees in walking along them. A little above the mangroves the river

divides into several small creeks, in swampy ground, covered with small

melaleucas so thickly, that although they are not at all bushy below, but

have straight trunks of from three to five inches in diameter, and from

ten to twenty feet high, a man can scarcely walk between them.

After crossing this river we again turned inland for a short distance,

and camped by the side of a small river south of the last; with steep

grassy banks on the north side, overhung by Tristanias and arborescent

Callistemons. On the south side grew mangroves, and the large

blue-flowered Ruellia seen at our first camp. The tide ran up to our

camp, the fresh water coming from the north-west. There were plenty of

waterholes in the valley, between the river and the higher sandy ground.

The grass here consisted principally of Agrostis, near the river, where

the land is occasionally inundated, and of Uniola, a little further back,

growing in tufts. On the sandy ridges, however, there was little else

than Xanthorrhoea, Xerotes, and Restio (rope grass). Here we saw a great

many native companions (Grus antigone), and swamp pheasants (Centropus

phasianus).

June 24.

Mr. Kennedy and a party of five men again proceeded to examine the

swamps, but returned without finding any practicable way of crossing.

June 25.

We started early this morning, proceeding towards the beach in a

southerly direction, the river turning again south by west, and camped

after travelling over five or six miles of rotten and rather sandy

ground.

June 26.

We proceeded along the beach till we came to a small river, most probably

the same we left yesterday, which we attempted to cross in the same

manner as we had done the one on the 23rd, but unfortunately the horses

and carts sank so deeply into the mud that they were completely set fast.

We were now obliged to unload, and carry the goods ashore. Some of the

flour-bags fell into the water, but were quickly taken out--very little

damaged. We had great difficulty in getting the carts out of the mud.

A number of natives had accompanied us all day, and pointed out to us the

best place to cross the river. Some of them also assisted us in carrying

our things across, while one or two attempted petty thefts. I caught one

with two straps belonging to a saddle, and a pair of Mr. Kennedy's spurs

in his basket, which I took from him and sent him away. Many of these

natives were painted all over with a sort of red earth, but none of them

had visited us armed with spears for several days past. Some of them had

learned to address several of our party by name, and seemed pleased when

they received an answer. We frequently made them small presents, and

endeavoured to impress upon them the anxiety we felt to remain on

friendly terms with them.

After having crossed the river we turned inland; cutting our way through

a belt of mangrove scrub, about half a mile wide; we got the carts

through with comparative ease, the ground being harder than usual. We

camped on a rising ground, with good grass around us, by the side of a

small creek running here almost parallel with the beach, and coming from

the westward. At this camp I obtained seeds of a dwarf spreading tree,

with alternate, exstipulate, pinnate leaves, and axillary racemes of a

round flattened fruit, similar in size and shape to the small blue fig

cultivated in gardens, of a dark purple colour, and possessing a flavour

similar to an Orleans plum when hardly ripe, with a hard rough stone

inside.

June 27.

We proceeded about five miles in a westerly direction, passing over two

small creeks running to the south-east. The country here appeared to be

gradually rising, and the land to be growing drier; and we now hoped to

be enabled to prosecute our journey without any great obstruction from

the swamps.

June 28.

Proceeding on the same course as on the previous day, we crossed two

small creeks, running rapidly to the eastward. The bottoms of these

creeks were covered with granite pebbles, of various sizes. The first

creek we crossed at the entrance, and the other near the middle of a

thick scrub, extending nearly three miles, and through which we had to

cut a road. The various plants of which this scrub was composed

corresponded with those described as forming the scrub near our first

camp in the Bay. The greatest obstacles to our progress through these

scrubs were the long shoots of the Flagellaria, and climbing palm. We

camped in an open patch of forest land, covered with grass, and the trees

consisted principally of Moreton Bay ash, (a species of eucalyptus),

Casuarina, and a rather large-growing Acacia, with broad, rhomboidal,

sericeous phyllodia, and very broad, flat legumes.

Luff and Douglas were this day taken very ill with the ague.

June 29.

We found that some of our horses had strayed into the scrub, and we did

not succeed in finding them until nearly twelve o'clock, and Luff and

Douglas being no better, Mr. Kennedy with three others proceeded to

examine the country in advance of us.

June 30.

This morning Luff was a little better, but Douglas was able to eat but

little. In the scrub near our camp I found a species of Musa, with leaves

as large, and the plants as high, as the common banana (M. paradisiaca)

with blossoms and fruit, but the fruit was not eatable. I also found a

beautiful tree belonging to the natural order Myrtaceae, producing on the

trunk and large branches only abundance of white, sweet-scented flowers,

larger than those of the common rose-apple (Jambosa vulgaris), with long

stamens, a very short style, slightly two-cleft stigma, five very small

semi-orbicular petals, alternate with the thick fleshy segments of the

calyx, broad lanceolate leaves, the fruit four to six inches in

circumference, consisting of a white fleshy, slightly acid substance,

with one large round seed (perhaps sometimes more), the foot-stalk about

one inch long. This is a most beautiful and curious tree. Some specimens

which I saw measured five feet in circumference, and were sixty feet

high, the straight trunks rising twenty or thirty feet from the ground to

the branches, being covered with blossoms, with which not a leaf mingled.

There were ripe and unripe fruit mingled with the blossoms, the scent of

the latter being delightful, spreading perfume over a great distance

around; I had frequently noticed the fragrance of these blossoms while

passing through the scrub, but could not before make out from whence it

arose. It resembles the scent of a ripe pineapple, but is much more

powerful. There are not many of these trees to be found, and those only

in the scrub, in a stiff loamy soil. The small animals eat the fruit, and

I tasted some, but it was not so good as the rose-apple; we called it the

white-apple. It is a species of Eugenia.

A short distance to the south-west of our camp, is a range of round

hills, of moderate height, covered with grass, and thinly timbered with

box and other species of eucalyptus, resembling the ironbark. These hills

are composed of huge blocks of coarse granite, with a stiff soil, and

appear to stretch a long distance to the west.

July 1.

Mr. Kennedy returned this morning, having explored the country for about

forty miles, over which he thought we might travel safely. There being

plenty of grass however at the camp, and the men no better, he determined

to defer our advance till Monday.

July 2.

Being Sunday, prayers were read at eleven o'clock.

July 3.

Early this morning we prepared to start, but Luff and Douglas being

seized with a fit of ague, we were compelled to stop. Although our horses

had all the way had abundance of feed, they began to grow very

thin--several of them very weak, and one getting very lame, from bad

feet. The sheep also had fallen away very much, which I attributed to the

wet journey they had had; being almost always wet, from crossing rivers

and creeks.

July 4.

Mr. Kennedy and three others roamed this morning to some distance from

the camp, when they were followed by a tribe of natives, making

threatening demonstrations, and armed with spears; one spear was actually

thrown, when Mr. Kennedy, fearing for the safety of his party, ordered

his men to fire upon them; four of the natives fell, but Mr. Kennedy

could not ascertain whether more than one was killed, as the other three

were immediately carried off into the scrub.

July 5.

Luff and Douglas now began to get better, but being still unable to walk,

we could not break up our camp.

July 6.

We started early this morning, and crossed two creeks with narrow belts

of scrub on each side, running north-east. I have little doubt these

creeks run into the river we crossed on the 8th of June. The banks of the

second creek were nearly twenty feet high, so that we were obliged to

lower down the carts into its bed by means of ropes and pulleys, fastened

to the branches of the trees which overhung the creek. The horses were

got into the creek with a great deal of difficulty, then harnessed to the

carts, and we proceeded along the bed of the creek till we arrived at a

spot where the banks on the opposite side were not so steep. At this

place by harnessing six horses to each of the carts, we managed to get

them all out of the creek without any accident. The bed of the creek was

composed of granite pebbles. We encamped on the northern side of it, the

soil being a strong clayey loam, well covered with grass two or three

feet high, so thick that it was difficult to walk through it. The country

here was hilly open forest-land, with a high range before us, running

north-east. The trees were principally Moreton Bay ash, box, and another

species of eucalyptus, resembling the common ironbark, but with long

narrow leaves. I also found a magnificent species of Grevillea, with fine

pinnatifid silvery leaves, and beautiful racemes of orange-coloured

flowers; also another tree belonging to the same natural order, rivalling

the Grevillea in the beauty of its flowers, producing an abundance of

cream-coloured blossoms, on compound, terminal racemes. In the scrub by

the side of the creek, I found a most beautiful Scitamineos plant, the

foliage, root, and habit of which resembled Hedychium. The beauty of the

plant consisted in its large, stiff, shining bracteae, which continue to

grow after the small pink blossoms have fallen. The bracteae are about

half an inch broad at the base, slightly curved inwards, and tapering to

a point. The heads of the flowers, resembling a pineapple in shape and

size, and of a beautiful crimson colour, are produced on the top of a

strong flower-stem, 18 inches high, and they will retain their shape and

colour a month after being cut. This plant appears to be very local in

its habits, as I only caught sight of it by the side of three creeks, and

always in moist, shady places. I obtained seeds, and also packed some of

its fleshy, tuberous roots in a tin case.

We saw but few wallabies; and not one kangaroo or emu had as yet been

seen by any of the party. The country was not open enough for them to

inhabit.

July 7.

We started at daylight, proceeding over open forest ground covered with

long grass, very thick and luxuriant. Travelling was rendered still more

difficult by the large logs of dead wood which strewed the ground in

every direction, and which much impeded the progress of the carts. We

camped by the side of a creek, with a narrow belt of scrub on the

south-east side, but apparently a wide extent of it on the other. This

creek had a large sandy bed; with large Castanospermums, Tristanias, and

Sarcocephali growing on its banks, which were rather steep. It had a very

tortuous course, coming from south-west and turning east a little below

our camp, which was in a bend of the creek.

July 8.

We were employed nearly all this day in cutting through very thick scrub

on the other side of the creek. Whilst doing so we had to cross several

other smaller ones, all turning east, and in the evening we camped on a

small patch of open forest land, covered with long coarse grass, and

large blocks of coarse granite rock jutting out here and there.

July 9.

This being Sunday we halted for the day, and prayers were read at eleven

o'clock.

July 10 and 11.

We continued throughout these days cutting through belts of scrub and

crossing small creeks, running from the west and north-west, and turning

east. During the latter day we were visited by a small tribe of natives,

who appeared very friendly and did not stop long. I found a large

quantity of Castanospermum seeds in one of the creeks, apparently put

there to steep by the natives, who use them for food. They informed me

that they steep them in water for five days, and then cut them into thin

slices and dry them in the sun; they are then pounded between two large

stones, and the meal being moistened with water is baked on a flat stone,

raised from the ground a few inches, with a small fire burning beneath. I

afterwards saw some of the meal baked, but it was not very palatable.

July 12 and 13.

Our journey still continued through scrub, intersected by small creeks,

which we had to cross, and by patches here and there of open forest

ground, covered with long grass, the soil a stiff loam. We were not able

to make much progress, travelling on the average from three to five miles

a day. We were compelled to cut away the scrub, and the banks of some of

the creeks, before we were able to cross them, and frequently obliged to

run a creek up and down some distance before we could find a place where

it was passable at all.

July 14.

We started very early this morning, and commenced travelling over very

uneven ground, full of small hillocks, and having the appearance of being

frequently inundated, the grass growing very high and luxuriantly over

it. Owing to the irregularities of the surface the axletree of one of our

carts gave way this day. We were forced to leave the cart and harness

behind, and load the horses with the spare pack-saddles we had brought

with us, covering the load of each horse over with a piece of tarpaulin.

We travelled on till dusk, when we arrived at a small creek, overgrown

with grass, which we imagined we should cross with little difficulty; but

the carts were set fast in the mud, and some of the horses got bogged. We

were forced to carry the loading of our carts and saddle-horses over on

our shoulders, a task of no small difficulty and labour, the mud giving

way up to the knee at every step. The horses were then safely taken

across, and we lifted out the carts and carried them to the other side,

finding that it was useless to attempt to draw them out. It was ten

o'clock at night before we had got the things over, and as soon as we had

partaken of our late dinner we made a large fire to dry our clothes,

which had become completely saturated by the labours of the day.

Mr. Kennedy arrived at the determination this day, to leave the carts

behind at this camp, as they caused so much extra labour and delay in

travelling.

July 16.

Sunday, we halted, and had prayers read at eleven o'clock.

July 17.

We got up early, and prepared all the loads ready for starting, but we

were obliged to leave many things behind, that would have been very

essential to the successful prosecution of all the objects of the

expedition; my specimen box, a cross-cut saw, pickaxes, and various other

articles which it was considered were too heavy to be carried on

horseback. We however took good care that not an ounce of provisions of

any description should be left behind. The sugar and tea were more

compactly packed than heretofore, and the packages in which they had

formerly been carried were left behind. Near this camp a large swamp

extended south-westward, but it was clear of scrub, containing nothing

but Melaleucas of moderate size.

July 18.

Having loaded the horses, we started at eight o'clock this morning, in

good hope and high spirits, rejoicing to have got rid of one great

impediment to our progress. The blacks regarded us with curious interest

as we proceeded on our way, forming a train of twenty-six horses,

followed by the sheep, and Mitchell occasionally sounding a horn he had

brought with him.

We all felt the inconvenience of leaving the carts behind, and I in

particular. I was now obliged to make two strong bags to fit my specimen

boards, and to hang them over a horse's back, one bag on each side, a

very inconvenient method, as it rendered them liable to much damage going

through the scrub. The sheep at this time had grown very thin and poor,

not averaging more than thirty pounds when skinned and dressed; they had,

however, become so habituated to following the horses that they cost us

very little trouble in driving them.

After travelling about six miles through open forest land we camped near

a creek on the skirts of a thick scrub.

July 19.

We were cutting through scrub all day, skirting numerous small creeks

which we met with here, most of them running to the eastward. The soil

was rather stiff, and indicated a rocky formation, blocks of granite

projecting from it in various directions.

July 20, 21, and 22.

During these three days we travelled over an irregular, mountainous

country, intersected by numerous creeks, running in every direction, but

all of them with belts of scrub on each side. We sometimes crossed the

same creeks two or three times a day, owing to the tortuous directions

they took, and our clothes were kept wet all the day; some of them too

had very steep banks, which presented another obstacle to the progress of

our horses. Between the creeks, small patches of open forest land

intervened, with large blocks of rock scattered over them; most of the

creeks had a rocky bottom, and were running to the eastward.

July 23.

Sunday, we had prayers read as usual at eleven o'clock, and halted for

the day.

July 24.

We resumed our journey through the same description of country, cutting

through scrub, and occasionally travelling through open land, timbered

principally with Moreton Bay ash, box, and flooded-gum, and covered with

very long grass. We crossed two creeks running to the northward, on the

side of the last of which we camped. We were here compelled to shoot one

of our horses, which had fallen lame. During the week we had made very

little progress, being forced to turn in every direction to avoid the

deep gulleys, and the scrub which invariably prevailed in the bends of

the creeks. A tribe of natives visited us at this camp, and appeared very

friendly; they did not stop with us long. I saw to-day several trees of

the white-apple, as we called it, and which I have before described.

July 25.

We entered the scrub on the side of the creek, and proceeded along its

banks with difficulty, being obliged to cut our way through, but it grew

less dense after we had skirted the creek a short distance. We found the

creek to be the branch of a river, which here divided, one branch running

to the south-east (by which we had camped yesterday)the other running

east. It is rocky, and shallow where it divides, but grows deeper in its

course towards the coast. It is about two hundred yards wide, and its

banks are overhung with trees on each side. After following it about a

mile up, it grew much more shallow and narrow, and had a rocky bottom.

On the opposite side were patches of open forest ground, but they did not

extend to any distance. After skirting the river about three miles, we

crossed it in a shallow place, the bed of it being composed of blocks of

water-worn granite. The impediment offered by these blocks rendered it

very difficult for our horses to pass, although the water was only from

one to three feet deep. Several of the horses fell in crossing this

river; the one carrying my specimens fell three times, and my specimens

and seeds received much damage, if they were not entirely spoiled.

The river here runs from the north-west. We crossed it and entered the

scrub, but not being able to get through it before dark, we tied our

horses to trees, and slept by them all night.

July 27.

We were cutting through scrub nearly all day, and having recrossed the

river, cut our way to the top of a high hill, which we could not avoid.

We found a patch of open ground on the hill, with grass for our horses

and sheep. The trees growing on the hill were casuarinas, and acacias,

with a few box-trees. Here we camped and tethered our horses, for fear

they should fall down the steep bank of the river. At the foot of the

hill, on the opposite side of this river, the rocks were of great height,

and almost perpendicular. The river runs through a range of hills coming

from the eastward, joining a very high range, over which our journey now

lay. This range is composed of a dark-coloured granite, very hard; near

the water was a vein of talc schist, running north-west and south-east.

On the top of the hill we found large pebbles of quartz.

July 28.

This morning, having loosed our horses from the tether, one of them fell

down from the hill upon a ledge of hard rock at the edge of the river, a

descent of thirty feet; he was so much injured by the fall that he died

during the day. We came down the hill through the scrub towards the

mountains, and camped but a short distance from where we rested the

previous evening. We were now at the foot of the range.

July 29.

Mr. Kennedy proceeded to explore the range, to ascertain the best spot to

cross it, it being covered with thick scrub. It runs from the southward

and turns eastward. I dug up a piece of ground here near the edge of the

scrub, and sowed seeds of cabbage, turnip, rock and water melons,

parsley, leek, pomegranate, cotton, and apple pips.

I here found a beautiful orchideous plant, with the habit of Bletia

tankervilliae, flowering in the same manner, with flower-stems about

three feet high, and from twelve to twenty flowers on each stem. The

sepals were much larger than those of Bletia, and of a rich purple

colour; the column yellow, with a spur at the base of the flower about

three-fourths of an inch long. I packed some of its thick fleshy roots in

a tin case. I also here obtained specimens of a beautiful Hovea, with

long lanceolate leaves, a much finer shrub than H. celsii. Also a species

of Hibiscus, with rough palmate leaves, large bright sulphur-coloured

flowers, with a rich purple spot at the base of each petal, the stamens

and stigma bright red, the blossoms when fully expanded eight inches in

circumference; the plant has a very erect habit. Also another Hibiscus,

with obcordate tomentose leaves, and pink flowers; both these last were

very handsome shrubs. The trees on the open ground were casuarinas and

flooded-gums, with a few Balfourias. Although we had a very difficult

task before us--the ascent of the hills-our spirits did not fail us; but

the horses began to look very poor and weak, although they had always had

plenty of grass.

July 31.

Early this morning Mr. Kennedy, Jackey, and four others left the camp,

and began clearing a way up the mountain. They remained out the whole of

the day.

August 1.

Mr. Kennedy and his party returned to the camp, having determined on a

route by which we should proceed up the mountain. Mr. Kennedy spoke very

highly of Jackey, and thought him one of the best men of the party for

cutting away scrub and choosing a path; he never seemed tired, and was

very careful to avoid deep gullies.

August 3.

We started early this morning, and proceeded up a spur of the range, in a

north-westerly direction, but could not get so far as they had cleared.

We managed to get twenty-three horses and their loads up to a flat place

on the range, but, after several efforts, being unable to drive or lead

the other horse up, we left him tied to a tree in the scrub. We found him

all right the next morning, but as there was nothing but scrub before us,

Mr. Kennedy thought it prudent to send the horses back to where there was

grass and water for them, whilst some of the party cleared a path. After

we had entered the scrub, we crossed a small creek, running rapidly, and

which joined another running from the north-eastward, and which at their

junction, form the river we had been camped at for the last few previous

days.

The creeks ran over precipitous rocky falls, and it was Mr. Kennedy's

opinion, that all the creeks we have met with on this side (coast side)

the range, run into the swamps, and there spread, and gathering again,

form into channels and run into Rockingham Bay. There is a large tract of

land opposite Rockingham Bay which is occupied by swamps, intersected by

patches of open ground, and a few peaked hills. The swamps extend about

forty-five miles, to about 145 degrees 20 minutes east longitude. It

seemed that a great deal of rain had fallen over this country, and it

rained at intervals all the time we were in the vicinity of Rockingham

Bay--from the 21st May to the middle of August. It was Mr. Kennedy's

opinion that the rainy season occurred very late this year. The whole

peninsula seemed to fall from the east towards the west.

August 4.

Mitchell, Dunn, and myself, took the horses and sheep to grass and water,

and having hobbled the former, we made ourselves a small hut with

saplings, and covered it with a small tarpaulin. We divided the night

watch into three parts, being four hours each.

August 5.

We mustered the horses morning and evening, and drove the sheep close to

the fire, having one of our kangaroo dogs chained up beside them, and the

other one with the sheep dog loose. We were apprehensive that the natives

might attack us.

August 6.

Shortly after we had mustered the cattle this morning, seven or eight

natives appeared at the edge of the scrub, in the direction from which we

had come. Just as they approached, an Australian magpie perched upon a

tree, and I shot it to show the effect of our firearms. On hearing the

report of the gun they all ran into the scrub, and we saw them no more.

On all occasions it was Mr. Kennedy's order--not to fire on the blacks,

unless they molested us. I was anxious on this occasion not to let the

natives know how few we were, and was glad to send them away in so quiet

a manner. One of our sheep died this day, and as we had lost several

before, and had but little to employ us, we opened it to see if we could

ascertain the cause of its death. We found its entrails full of water.

Our party was now divided into three bodies: Mr. Kennedy, Jackey, and

four others, clearing a way up the mountain; Niblett and three others

guarding the stores; whilst myself, Dunn, and Mitchell, had charge of the

sheep and horses. It was necessary, therefore, for us to keep a good

lookout, and two of us watched together.

August 7.

Early this morning a man came down to help us with the horses and sheep.

We loaded our horses, with the exception of one, which was too weak and

too much bruised from falling to travel. We turned him toward the open

ground, and having packed our horses went on till dark, when we tied our

horses to a tree and lay down for the night beside them, although it

rained all night. We had each of us a water can which held five pints,

which we filled, and our two water kegs, at the foot of the range,

fearing we might not find water in the journey over.

August 8.

At daylight we were afoot and breakfasted, and started immediately after.

We travelled up the hills all day, but made very little progress, owing

to the great labour of clearing, and the numerous steep ascents we met

with. We fortunately found water in a low place, and with difficulty

lighted a fire, everything being saturated with rain. We then laid down

and endeavoured to sleep, but were unable to do so from the number of

small leeches which attacked us. I was obliged to get up several times in

the night, and in the morning I found myself covered with blood.

August 9.

We started at daylight, although it was raining, and continued to do so

all day; about six o'clock in the evening we reached a small river,

running rapidly over rocks, and deep in some places. Its course was

north-easterly, but it turned north, a little below where we first came

upon it. We camped by the side of it, it being too late to cross,

although there was open forest ground on the other side. The open ground

on the coast side of the range was considerably lower than that on the

other, the highest part of our track being, according to Mr. Kennedy's

barometrical observations, upwards of two thousand feet above the level

of the sea. The soil was a strong loam of a dark colour, owing to the

admixture of a great deal of decomposed vegetable matter; rock projected

in many places, and in those parts where the rocks were near the surface,

Callitris (cypress pine) grew. In the deeper soil were large trees of the

genera Castanospermum, Lophostemon, and Cedrela, mingled with Achras

australis, Calamus (climbing palm), Seaforthia, Dicksonia, Osmunda, large

shrubs of Alyxia; several very interesting Orchideae were also found in

this place. We also discovered a great many snails, with very large

shells of a greyish colour. One I found on the bushes with an

operculum--this I gave to Wall.

August 10.

This morning we took the sheep and horses to a spot in the river where

the current was not so strong, and drove them across. The sheep followed

the horses like dogs. We then cut down three small straight trees, and

made a bridge across a deep channel which ran between two rocks which

projected out of the water, across which we carried our stores on our

backs. All the things were got over before dark, after which we made a

large fire to dry ourselves, having been wet to the waist all day.

Niblett, who had been very unwell for three or four days, was taken much

worse to-day. The position of our camp here was about 17 degrees 48

minutes South latitude, 145 degrees 20 minutes East longitude. We this

day crossed the range, and prepared to commence our journey on the other

side.

August 11.

We remained this day at the camp to give the horses a rest after their

harrassing journey over the range.

August 12.

Proceeding about five miles over uneven open forest ground, with isolated

blocks of rock, we camped by a chain of rocky waterholes. The trees

growing here were casuarina, box, apple-gum, and ironbark.

August 13.

Sunday. Prayers as usual at eleven o'clock.

August 14.

Complaint was made to Mr. Kennedy of the waste and extravagant use of the

flour and sugar by Niblett, who had the charge of the stores. Mr. Kennedy

immediately proceeded to examine the remainder of the stores, when he

found that Niblett had been making false returns of the stores issued

weekly. Up to this time Mr. Kennedy, Niblett, and Douglas (who waited on

Mr. Kennedy) had messed together, apart from the other ten. Niblett took

charge of the ration for the smaller mess, and usually cooked it himself,

the ration being taken out weekly from that weighed for the whole party.

Besides issuing a larger ration to his own mess, Niblett had taken a

great deal from the stores for himself.

On finding this out, Mr. Kennedy requested me to take charge of the

stores, and issue them to the cook for the week, and from this date we

all messed together. We had at this time about seven hundred pounds flour

left. Everything was weighed in the presence of the whole party before I

took charge, and I always weighed out every week's ration in the presence

of the cook and two other parties. At this camp it was found necessary to

reduce our ration to the following scale per week; fifty pounds flour,

twelve pounds sugar, two and three-quarter pounds tea, and the sheep as

before--one every second day. After the ration was cooked, it was divided

by the cook at every meal. We this day burned our sheepfold to lighten

our loads a little.

August 15.

We were cutting through scrub nearly all day, and crossed several small

creeks running westward. This day the horse carrying my specimens had

become so poor and weak that he fell five different times, and we were

obliged to relieve him of his load, which was now placed on one of Mr.

Kennedy's horses; but we soon found that even without a load he could not

travel. We took off his saddle, bridle, and tether rope, and left him

behind on a spot of good grass, where plenty of water was to be found.

The country here had a rugged and broken appearance; huge blocks of rock

were lying on the open ground, sometimes one irregularly placed on the

top of another, and of curious shapes. The hills as well as the valleys

were generally covered with good grass, excepting in the scrub. On some

of the hills the rocks were shivered into irregular pieces, and displayed

crystals of quartz, small laminae of mica, and occasionally hornblende.

This evening we camped by the side of a fine casuarina creek, coming from

the north-east. Immediately over our camp its waters ran over a very hard

trap-rock of a black colour, the soil a stiff loam.

August 16.

We travelled on for the most part of this day over irregular, barren,

stony ridges, and gullies, intersected by numerous small creeks, and

abounding in rocky holes, all containing plenty of water.

Two more of our horses fell several times this day; one of them being

very old, and so weak that we were obliged to lift him up. We now made up

our minds for the first time, to make our horses, when too weak to

travel, available for food; we therefore killed him, and took meat enough

from his carcass to serve our party for two days, and by this means we

saved a sheep. We boiled the heart, liver, and a piece of the meat to

serve us for our breakfast next day. We camped in the evening in the

midst of rocky, broken hills, covered with dwarf shrubs and stunted

gumtrees; the soil in which they grew appearing more sandy than what we

had yet passed on this side of the range. The shrubs here were Dodonaea,

Fabricia, Daviesia, Jacksonia, and two or three dwarf species of acacia,

one of which was very showy, about three feet high, with very small

oblong, sericeous phyllodia, and globular heads of bright yellow flowers,

produced in great abundance on axillary fascicles; also a very fine

leguminous shrub, bearing the habit and appearance of Callistachys, with

fine terminal spikes of purple decandrous flowers, with two small

bracteae on the foot-stalk of each flower, and with stipulate, oval,

lanceolate leaves, tomentose beneath, legumes small and flattened, three

to six-seeded, with an arillus as large as the seed; these were flowering

from four to twelve feet high. There was plenty of grass in the valleys

of the creeks. To the South-West on the hills the grasses were Restio,

Xerotes, and a spiny grass, which neither the horses nor the sheep would

eat.

August 17.

This morning we commenced to prepare our breakfast of horse-flesh. I

confess we did not feel much appetite for the repast, and some would not

eat it at all; but our scruples soon gave way beneath the pangs of

hunger, and at supper every man of the party ate heartily of it, and

afterwards each one claimed his share of the mess with great avidity. The

country to the north and north-west--the course we intended to

pursue--looking very rugged and broken, we were discouraged from

proceeding further this day, as the weak state of our horses prevented us

making almost any progress. We therefore camped by the side of a small

rocky creek, winding through the mountains in all directions.

August 18.

Shortly after starting this morning we crossed a creek, running

south-west, with a few arborescent Callistemons growing out of the rocks

here and there. The horse which Mr. Wall had been riding had grown so

weak that it was unable to travel, even with nothing to carry but the

saddle. As we were passing along the side of a hill, he fell and rolled

down into a gully. Being quite a young horse we thought he might regain

strength, and did not like to kill him, so we left him and proceeded to

find a good place for camping, which we did after travelling about four

miles in the north-west direction, by the side of a fine river, with

steep reedy banks, lined with large casuarinas and flooded-gum trees, and

abundance of grass growing in the valley of the river. At this camp the

feet of our horses were all carefully examined by Costigan, who was a

blacksmith: it was also his duty to mark the number of each of our camps

on some adjacent tree.

August 19.

Wall rode back to see if he could bring up the horse we had left behind,

but on reaching the spot found him dead; one of our kangaroo-dogs had

also stopped behind by the horse, being unable to follow us to the camp.

We had the good luck to succeed in catching several fish in the river,

and, what was better, shot a fine wallaby, which saved us another sheep.

We had all along been particularly unfortunate in getting anything from

the bush to add to our mess, not having been able either to shoot or

catch anything for some time past except a few pigeons and two or three

brown hawks.

The river by which we were camped was running west by south: below our

camp it was not nearly so wide as at the spot where we came upon it.

Where it turned through the hills its banks were rocky and steep, and the

bed narrow, but running rapidly. The hills here, as well as the valley of

the river, were well covered with grass. The position of the camp was

about 17 degrees 30 minutes south latitude, 145 degrees 12 minutes east

longitude.

August 20, 21, and 22.