(*Footnote. Family, Percidae; Genus, Acerina; Subgenus, Cernua, Flem. or Ruffe; Species, Cernua bidyana mihi, or Bidyan ruffe. Colour, brownish yellow, with the belly silvery white. The three middle pectoral rays are branched. The dorsals confluent. The first dorsal fin has 11 spines, the ventrals having 1 + 6 rays, and the anals 3 + 6. See Plate 9. Observation: Bidyan is the aboriginal name.)
(**Footnote. Family, Percidae; Genus, Acerina; Subgenus, Gristes, Cuv. or Growler; Species, Gristes peelii mihi, or Cod-perch. Colour, light yellow, covered with small irregular dusky spots, which get more confluent towards the back. Throat pinkish, and belly silvery white. Scales small, and concealed in a thick epidermis. Fins obscure. The dorsals confluent. The first dorsal has 11 spines, and the caudal fin is convex. Plate 6 figure 1. Observation: This fish may be identical with the fish described by MM. Cuvier and Valenciennes Volume 3 page 45 under the name of Gristes macquariensis: but it differs from their description in not having the edge of the second dorsal and anal white; and besides is in many respects very different from the figure given by M. Guerin of the Gristes macquariensis in the Iconographie du Regne Animal.)
(***Footnote. Family, Siluridae, Cuv.; Genus, Plotosus, Lacepede, or Eel-fish; Subgenus, Tandanus mihi; Species, Plotosus tandanus mihi; or Tandan Eel-fish. Colour, silvery. The dorsal fin placed halfway between the pectoral and ventral has six rays, of which the middle two are the longest. Plate 6 figure 2. Observation: This is an Asiatic form of fish; whereas the Gristes is an American form. Tandan is the aboriginal name.)
PREPARATIONS FOR CROSSING THE RIVER.
After maturely considering the prospects this river opened to us then, before exploring its course, it remained questionable whether it did or did not belong to the Darling. We were nearly in the prolongation of the supposed course of that river, and still nearer to its supposed outlet on the southern coast than we were to any part of the northern coast of Australia. No rising ground could be seen to the northward or westward, and whether we proceeded in a boat or along its bank it was desirable to explore the course of this river downwards. The horses required rest, and it was necessary to unite the party before this could be attempted. I expected Mr. Finch to arrive with the stores, and in the meantime the preparation of a strong boat was going forward, to be ready in case our further discoveries might lead to navigable waters. With this view it was made to take into three pieces. The bottom being nearly flat formed one portion, and the two sides the others. They were to be united by small screw-bolts, the carpenter having brought a number of these useful articles for such purposes; and when the sides and bottom were detached they could be carried on the carts. Thus we were to proceed with a portable punt, ready for the passage of any river or water which might be in our way.
January 25.
This day we laid down the keel and principal timbers of a boat to be strongly planked, so as to be proof against the common drift-timber in the river. For this part of the work we used bluegum (eucalyptus) the only callitris we knew of being several miles back along the route.
At night some stars appeared, whereby I ascertained the latitude of this camp to be 29 degrees 2 minutes south. The thermometer at noon was 76 degrees; and at four P.M. 82 degrees.
January 26.
A clear morning with a fine breeze; the thermometer which had ranged from 90 to 108 degrees during the two last months stood now at 64 degrees. To breathe such refreshing air and not move forward was extremely irksome. The river rose this day a quarter of an inch. Thermometer at six 64 degrees. Wind south. At noon 86 degrees.
NATIVES APPROACH IN THE NIGHT.
In the evening the sky became overcast with a cold and stormy wind. At ten P.M. I was called out of my tent to look at a firestick which appeared in motion amongst the trees north-eastward of our camp. We had seen no natives, but their habit of carrying a light whenever they stir at night (which they do but seldom) is well known; and the light we then saw moved in the direction of our horses and saw-pit. Our numbers did not admit of our keeping a watch, and although I had ordered the men to bring dogs on this ride they had brought none; we could only therefore lie down and trust to Providence.
VIEW FROM ONE TREE FASTENED TO ANOTHER.
January 27.
The clear cool weather continuing I endeavoured to obtain a view of the horizon from a tree raised by block and tackle to the top of another; but no point of high land appeared on any side to break a woody horizon as level as the sea. At six A.M. thermometer 70 degrees; wind south.
The natives to the number of ten or twelve appeared on the opposite bank. Our attention was first drawn to them by the snorting and starting of the horses which happened to be grazing by the riverside. On seeing us approach they suddenly disappeared. About a dozen eggs, white, and the size of those of a blackbird, were found by one of the men in the sand near the riverbank. Each contained a perfectly formed lacertine reptile. This morning my attention was drawn by a noise resembling the growl of a dog, when I perceived a black insect nearly as large as a bird carrying something like a grasshopper, alight, and disappear in a hole. On digging, it suddenly arose from amidst the dust and escaped; but we found there several large larvae; this was the most bulky insect I ever saw. A beautiful species of stilbum frequently visited my tent; its buzz, having two distinct notes, had a very pleasing sound. The sandy banks abounded with a species of monedula, and others of the Bembecidae tribe. In dead trees we found the Scutellera corallifera as described in the Appendix to Captain King's voyage.
This day the river fell nearly an inch.
MR. WHITE ARRIVES WITH THE PARTY AND LOST MAN.
January 28.
Mr. White arrived with the carts and the depot party, including Souter, The Doctor, who had wandered from our camp in search of water on the 21st instant.
DETAINED BY NATIVES.
His story was that on going about six miles from the camp he lost his way, and fell in with the blacks, who detained him one day and two nights, but having at length effected his escape while they were asleep early on the second morning, he had made the best of his way towards the Gwydir, and thus reached the depot camp.
MR. WHITE CROSSES THE RIVER.
This day Mr. White crossed the river and examined the country for several miles beyond it, in search of the pine (or callitris) which we required for the completion of our boat, but he found none in that direction.
MARKS OF FLOODS ON TREES.
About three miles to the north of our camp he came upon a chain of large lagoons extending in a westerly direction, and the drift marks on trees showed that at some seasons a considerable current of water flowed there to the westward, rising occasionally to the height of ten or twelve feet above the surface of these lagoons. He also saw a kangaroo, a circumstance which indicated that higher forest land was not far distant. Thermometer at six A.M. 67 degrees. Wind North-East high. Sky clear. At noon thermometer 87, clear sky.
We now looked with some anxiety for Mr. Finch's arrival and, in order to preserve our provisions as long as possible, I determined to make the abundance of fish available, by distributing fishing-hooks to the men, and to reduce their weekly ration of pork from 3 1/2 to 2 pounds.
In fishing we were tolerably successful; but flour was the article of which we stood most in need, and for this the country afforded no substitute, although I reduced the allowance of that also. The only starving members of the party were our unfortunate dogs, which had become almost too weak to kill a kangaroo--had any been seen there; neither did that region contain bandicoots which, in other situations, had been occasionally caught about dead trees, with the assistance of some of the watch-dogs. We were obliged to shoot hawks and crows, and boil them into a mess, which served, at least, to keep these poor animals alive.
January 29.
The cart was sent back about twelve miles for some of the callitris trees required for planking, none having been seen nearer to our camp.
MAN LOST IN THE WOODS.
William Woods, who had gone out in search of the spare cattle early in the morning, did not return by one P.M., and as he was a good bushman, we began to feel apprehensive that the natives had detained or perhaps killed him. I therefore proceeded in search with four men, and scoured the forest within five miles of the camp without discovering any traces either of the natives or of him. On returning however at sunset, we had the satisfaction to find that he had reached the camp about an hour before us, having during the whole day been unable to find his way back to our camp through the trackless forest.
Today the river fell another inch, and this failure of the waters, as upon the Namoi, added much to the irksomeness of the delay necessary for the completion of a boat. In the present case however more than on the Namoi, the expected arrival of Mr. Finch, and the exhausted state of our cattle, disposed me to give the party some days rest at so convenient a point, and towards which I had indeed looked forward with this view, in the efforts we made to attain it. The characters of my men were now better known to me, and I could not help feeling some sympathy for The Doctor, as the men called Souter. He was also what they termed a new chum, or one newly arrived. He left the mess of his fellow prisoners, and cooked and ate by himself. In figure he was the finest specimen of our race in the party, and as he lay by his solitary fire, he formed a striking foreground to the desert landscape. In his novitiate he was most willing to do anything his fellows required, and I felt often disposed to interfere when I overheard such words as "Doctor! go for a kettle of water, while I light a fire," etc. Worthington, in particular, I overheard, telling him he had been "a swell at home;" but a few days afterwards The Doctor came to me, stating that an immediate operation was necessary to save the life of Worthington, and demanding the dissecting instruments. On inquiry I found that this man, alias Five-o'clock, had a slight swelling in the groin, for which The Doctor's intended remedy, as far as I could make out, was an incision in the lower part of the abdomen. I gravely assured Five-o'clock that if The Doctor thought such an operation necessary it must take place, although I should defer lending him the instruments for a day or two. Thus I succeeded in establishing the importance of The Doctor's position, and we heard no more of his having been a swell--or of the swelling of Worthington who, on that pretext, seemed inclined to escape work.
January 30.
The cart returned with some fine timber which was soon placed on the saw-pit; meanwhile a stockyard for the cattle was erected on the higher ground.
NATIVES' METHOD OF FISHING.
No fish could be caught this day, and we supposed that the natives were busy taking them above and below our camp for, in their mode of fishing, few can escape. We had previously seen the osier nettings erected by them across the various currents, and especially in the Gwydir, where some had been noticed of very neat workmanship. The frame of each trellis was as well squared as if it had been the work of a carpenter, and the twigs were inserted at regular intervals, so as to form, by crossing each other, a strong and efficient kind of net or snare. Where these were erected a small opening was left towards the middle of the current, probably that some bag or netting might be applied there to receive the fish while the natives in the river above should drive them towards it. The river continued still to fall during the day.
NATIVE DOG.
January 31.
The sky overcast. A good supply of fish caught in the morning. A small black native dog made its appearance about the camp, and was immediately run down and worried by our dogs. From the miserable mangey appearance of this animal I conjectured that it had belonged to the natives who were probably skulking about us, and who are very much attached to their dogs. I was therefore very sorry that this poor animal had been killed; and that no traces might remain of our apparent want of kindness I ordered the body to be burnt, and gave positive instructions to prevent strange dogs being worried in future. This day we completed the planking of the boat.
MR. WHITE'S ACCOUNT OF THE RIVER.
February 1.
The night had been calm and close; and just before daybreak distant thunder resembling discharges of artillery was heard in the south-west. The sun rose clear, but was soon obscured when the wind sprung up from the north-east. I sent Mr. White with a party of men down the river to clear away any trees likely to obstruct the boat, and to ascertain whether any other impediments appeared in the channel. On his return he reported that at the distance of some miles down the channel was filled with dead trees of considerable size; and that in another place the bottom consisted of flat rocks which occasioned a rapid or shallow of considerable length, over which our boat, being made of very heavy materials, could not be carried without considerable delay. This unpleasant intelligence, and the continued subsidence of the stream, determined me to explore its course with a party on horseback until I could ascertain whether it took the desired direction, namely, north-west; and whether at any lower point the channel improved so much as to enable us to relieve the cattle of part, at least, of their load, by carrying it in the boat. I was most desirous of leaving the cattle there, and some of the party, to await the arrival of Mr. Finch, while I continued our researches with the boat if we could possibly find water sufficient for the purpose. This method of proceeding was contemplated in my original plan on leaving Sydney, when I hoped to reach a navigable stream where the cattle might refresh for the return journey, until the party, thus enabled to extend its operations by water, might fall back on some such depot.
Excursion down the Karaula.
Its unexpected course.
Formidable insects.
Junction of the Gwydir.
Owls and Rats.
Natives at the camp during my absence.
Their attempts to steal.
Native dogs.
Tents struck to cross.
Arrival of Mr. Finch.
Murder of his men.
Loss of his horses.
And seizure of his stores by the natives.
Destroy the boat and retire from the Karaula.
Forced march to the Gwydir.
Numerous tribes surround the party.
Good effects of sky-rockets.
Funeral dirge by a native female.
Dog killed by a snake.
Numerous tribes follow.
The party regains the plains.
EXCURSION DOWN THE KARAULA.
February 2.
I left the camp with six men and four pack-animals, carrying nine days' rations, and proceeded along the left bank of the newly-discovered river.
ITS UNEXPECTED COURSE.
I found the course much more to the southward than I had expected or wished. The stream separated into branches which re-united, and the channel was besides crossed in many places by large trees reaching from bank to bank. After passing close by several southerly bends in following a bearing of 20 degrees south of west, I met the river crossing that line at rightangles. This was at a distance of 7 1/2 miles from the camp, and near the point where the water broke over a rock of ferruginous sandstone, interspersed with veins of soft white clay. The rock appeared to be stratified, and inclined to the north-east. At 4 1/2 miles further we again made the river on a bearing of south 10 degrees west after crossing a small plain and passing through a scrub of tea-tree (or mimosa). Two miles beyond that part of the river we crossed the junction of a chain of ponds with it; and in proceeding on a bearing of 30 degrees east of south we crossed, when about two miles from that junction, another chain of ponds, apparently that on which we had encamped on the 22nd of January.
After riding about four miles beyond these ponds, according to the windings of the river, but chiefly towards the south, we encamped on a high point overlooking the stream, and where the grass was good. We here caught a large cod-perch, this being by far the best of the three kinds hitherto found by us. Latitude observed 29 degrees 12 minutes 3 seconds South.
February 3.
The course of the river compelled me to travel still further southward, which direction I accordingly pursued for seventeen miles, occasionally taking slight turns south-eastward, in order to avoid either the bends of the river, or hollows containing lagoons. One of these, which we arrived at after travelling about thirteen miles, was a very extensive sheet of water, a pleasing sight to us, still remembering how recently and frequently we had sought that life-sustaining element in vain. This latter had firm banks resembling the ancient channel of a river, although the bed was evidently much higher than the water flowing in the channel we were then exploring; and it was further remarkable in being contracted at one part by masses of a very hard rock consisting of grains and small pebbles of quartz cemented in a hard ferruginous matrix, probably felspar.
FORMIDABLE INSECTS.
At seventeen miles we entered a plain where grew trees of the Acacia pendula, and we traversed it in the most elongated direction or to the south-west. On entering the wood beyond a sudden, extreme pain in my thigh made me shout before I was aware of the cause. A large insect had fastened upon me, and on looking back I perceived Souter, The Doctor, defending himself from several insects of the same kind.* He told me that I had passed near a tree from which their nest was suspended; and it appeared that this had been sufficient to provoke the attack of these saucy insects, who were provided with the largest stings I had ever seen. The pain I felt was extreme, and the effect so permanent that when I alighted in the evening from my horse on that leg, not thinking of the circumstance, I fell to the ground, the muscles having been generally affected. The wound was marked by a blue circular spot as large as a sixpence for several months.
(*Footnote. Genus, Vespa; subgenus, Abispa; species, Abispa australiana (mihi). Head, antennae, and feet yellow; eyes black; the scutellum of prothorax yellow; the scutum of mesothorax black, with the scutellum yellow; the scutum of metathorax yellow, with the scutellum black, and the axillae yellow. The wings yellow, with dusky tips. The first segment of abdomen has the petiole black. The second segment is black, and the rest yellow.)
Beyond the wood a magnificent sheet of water lay before us and extended like a noble river in a north and south direction. Keeping its eastern bank I traced it southwards until I reached the termination, or rather an interval, where some rocks occurred in its bed, of the same kind as those last mentioned. The produce of gradual decomposition lay around the rocks and seemed to prove that although these masses had been originally denuded by the current which formed the channel, the current had not flowed there for a very considerable time. We encamped between the two lagoons, separated by this interval and these rocks, in latitude 29 degrees 27 minutes 27 seconds South.
February 4.
We continued along the bank of the second lagoon which, turning towards the east, threatened to stop our progress. At length however we arrived at the termination of the water, and passing over the soft mud we proceeded southward to look for the Gwydir, which I knew could not then be far distant. We rode through groves of casuarinae, and over small plains and burnt flats. In one of the thickets we saw two small kangaroos, the first observed since our arrival on the banks of this large river. Emus appeared to be numerous but very wild; pelicans abounded on the lagoons, and seemed to be remarkably tame, considering the remains of them which we saw at the old fires of the natives. It was obvious on various occasions however that the first appearance of such large quadrupeds as bullocks and horses did not scare the emu or kangaroo, but that, on the contrary, when they would have run at the first appearance of their enemy, man, when advancing singly, they would allow him to approach mounted, and even to dismount, fire from behind a horse, and load again, without attempting to run off.
JUNCTION OF THE GWYDIR.
At length we perceived that the ground sloped towards the south, and at the distance of about four miles from where we had slept we made the Gwydir. The course of this river was as tortuous as at our last camp upon it, which could not be distant more than fourteen or fifteen miles. The volume of water was so much reduced that in shallows, where alone the current could be perceived, I could step across it. This stream could not therefore contribute much to that I was tracing, and in search of which I now turned westward. On this course the windings of the Gwydir often came in my way, so that I turned to north 25 degrees east, in which direction I at length reached the large river, which had been the object of our excursion. Here it was, indeed, a noble sheet of water, and I regretted much that this had not been our first view of it, that we might have realised, at least for a day or two, all that we had imagined of the Kindur. I now overlooked, from a bank seventy feet high, a river as broad as the Thames at Putney; and on which the goodly waves, perfectly free from fallen timber, danced in full liberty. A singular-looking diving-bird, carrying only its head above water, gave a novel appearance to this copious reservoir: and there was a rich alluvial flat on the opposite bank.
I could not however perceive much current in these waters, and I traced the stream downwards, anxious to discover that this breadth and magnitude continued; but I was undeceived on arriving at a slight fall where the river was traversed by another rocky dyke similar to those seen higher up, and over which it fell in a small body like that in the rapid near the camp. Below this fall the river bore no such imposing appearance, but assumed that which it wore at the various places where we had visited its banks much higher up the stream. The meandering Gwydir terminated in this river a little way below the fall; and I could not perceive any difference in the appearance of the larger channel below that junction.*
(*Footnote. The situation of this junction afforded a curious illustration of the principle which guided me in choosing my route from the great Namoi Lagoon on the 14th of January. Having been then between two rivers (at A) I chose the bearing of 20 degrees west of north, as given by the bearing of the high land (B) in the opposite direction, and this junction (C) was now found to be exactly in that line. That high land was a projecting point of a range; the course of rivers is conformable to the angles of such ranges, and therefore the rivers on each side of me (at A) were not so likely to come in my way in the direction of AC, as in any other direction I could have chosen. The chance of finding firm ground in that direction was also better as the rivers were only likely to continue separate by the protrusion of some remote offset of ground between them, from the salient feature B.)
Thus terminated our excursion to explore this last-discovered stream; for there was no necessity for extending it further, as I could not suppose that it was any other than the Darling. Into this river we had traced the Gwydir; the junction of the Namoi, also, could not be far distant; and even that of the Castlereagh was only about 70 miles to the south-west, which was the direction of the supposed general course of the Darling. It was probable that the streams we had now explored formed the chief sources of that river, and that we had connected its channel thus at an intermediate point, with the basin of all those rivers which had been crossed by Mr. Cunningham near the coast range above. It therefore remained for me only to return to the party, which had probably, by that time, finished the punt; and there to cross the river, in order to ascertain, by extending our journey, the nature of the country forming the northern or north-western side of this extensive basin.
RETURN TOWARDS THE CAMP.
Returning towards the camp with these intentions we halted to pass the night by some ponds near the river, having observed the smoke of the natives' fires in the immediate vicinity. At this place many trees bore recent marks of their stone tomahawks, and the soft banks of the river were much imprinted with their feet; nevertheless, to our disappointment, none of the natives appeared; for a sight of our fellow-men, the inhabitants of these deserts idle, had at length become a subject of considerable curiosity.
OWLS AND RATS.
Owls were numerous in these desolate regions and I noticed many varieties. I observed two in particular, of a very small description, not much larger than a thrush. It was not unusual to find them half asleep sitting on branches from which they seldom stirred until nearly caught by the men. Rats and mice occurred in many parts under the surface in small holes, which appeared filled with seeds of grass and plants; and the scarcity of the former in some places seemed partly owing to the provident instinct of these little animals.
February 5.
Proceeding on a bearing of 36 degrees East of North we made the line of marked trees at a distance of about twelve miles from the camp, where Mr. White remained with the party. The weather being excessively hot, and our horses tired, I halted at the ponds which had formerly enabled the party to quench their two days' thirst.
NATIVE DOGS.
Some fires of the natives were burning, and three of their dogs, which were very tame, hung about our camp and would not be driven away.
NATIVES AT THE CAMP DURING MY ABSENCE.
February 6.
We reached the camp by nine A.M. and I learnt that the natives had visited it during my absence. Burnett, having shot a duck, was swimming for it to the middle of the river when a party of them suddenly appeared on the high bank opposite. The white figure in the water, so novel to them, continued nevertheless to swim towards the duck until he seized it, apparently to their great amusement, and they were afterwards prevailed on to cross the river. They sat down, insisting that our men should sit also; they talked very much, and laughed at many things. They had taken their seats in a place exposed to the sun's rays; and from this they did not stir until they had by signs expressed their wish to remove, which they then did, under the shade of a tree. At length they ventured to walk about the tents, and they then insisted on presenting their clubs and woomeras to our men. None of the names which we had written down from Barber's statements seemed at all familiar to their ears; but Mr. White obtained a vocabulary which showed that their language was nearly the same as that of the aborigines at Wallamoul; the only difference being the addition of na to each noun, as namil for mil, the eye, etc.
THEIR ATTEMPTS TO STEAL.
They were much disposed to steal. Mr. White observed one to purloin a teacup from his canteen and conceal it very cleverly in his kangaroo cloak. Another, notwithstanding the vigilance of our men, had nearly got off with the carpenter's axe. They looked rather foolish when Mr. White managed to shake his teacup from the cloak. The number of our party seemed an object of their attention, and they explained, by pointing in the direction in which I had gone, and by holding up seven fingers, our number, that we had not gone down the river unobserved by them. They did not appear to be acquainted with the use of bread; but they well understood the purpose of the boat; and when Callide (the sea) was pronounced to them, they pointed in the direction of Moreton Bay, repeating very frequently the word Wallingall. They immediately recognised Whiting, the top-sawyer at the pit, as was obvious by their imitating, as soon as he appeared, the motion of sawing, and pointing at the same time to him. They seemed rather struck with the thickness of his wrists; indeed, they took some interest in comparing their limbs with those of the party. One man had hair and features very different from those of his companions, the hair being parted on the forehead, long, and not curled. A sailor of our party thought he resembled a Malay. On the discharge of a double barrel they seemed much terrified, and soon after retired, making signs that they should return, and, by gestures, invited some of the men to cross the river with them. Two tomahawks were presented to them, and one of their number was dressed out with old clothes. Their name for the river was understood to be Karaula. This interview took place on the day previous to my return to the camp.
TENTS STRUCK TO CROSS. ARRIVAL OF MR. FINCH.
The boat was already in the water, and everything packed up for the purpose of crossing the river, when Mr. Finch approached the camp, and I hastened to congratulate him on his opportune arrival.
MURDER OF HIS MEN.
But he told a dismal tale--two of his men having been killed, and all the supplies, cattle and equipment, having fallen into the hands of the natives. This catastrophe occurred at the ponds of Gorolei, beyond Mount Frazer, which Mr. Finch had reached after having been distressed, even more than our party had been in the same place, for want of water.
LOSS OF HIS HORSE.
This privation had first occasioned the loss of his horse and several other animals, so that his party had been able to convey the supplies to these ponds, by carrying forward from the dry camp, only a portion at a time, on the two remaining bullocks. Mr. Finch at length succeeded in thus lodging all the stores at the ponds, but being unable to move them further without the assistance of my cattle he left them there, and proceeded forward on foot along our track with one man, in expectation of falling in with my party, at no great distance in advance.
AND SEIZURE OF HIS STORES BY THE NATIVES. MURDER OF HIS MEN.
After ascertaining that we were not so near as he hoped, and having reached the Gwydir and traced our route along its banks until he again recognised Mount Frazer, he returned at the end of the second day, when he found neither his tents nor his men to receive him, but a heap of various articles such as bags, trunks, harness, tea and sugar canisters, etc. piled over the dead bodies of his men, whose legs he, at length, perceived projecting. The tents had been cut in pieces; tobacco and other articles lay about; and most of the flour had been carried off, although some bags still remained on the cart. The two bullocks continued feeding near. This spectacle must have appeared most appalling to Mr. Finch, uncertain, as he must have been, whether the eyes of the natives were not then upon him, while neither he nor his man possessed any means of defence! Taking a piece of pork and some flour in a haversack, he hastened from the dismal scene; and by travelling all day, and passing the nights without fire, he most providentially escaped the natives, and had at length reached our camp.
DESTROY THE BOAT AND RETIRE FROM THE KARAULA.
Thus terminated my hopes of exploring the country beyond the Karaula, and I could not but feel thankful for the providential circumstance of Mr. Finch's arrival, at the very moment I was about to proceed on that undertaking, trusting that I should find, in returning to this depot, the supplies which I expected him to bring. We had now, on the contrary, an additional demand on our much exhausted stock of provisions. The season when rain might be expected was approaching, and we had behind us two hundred miles of country subject to inundation, without a hill to which we could in such a case repair. The soil was likely to become impassable after two days rain, and our cartwheels were represented by the carpenters to be almost unserviceable. These considerations, and the hostile disposition of the natives in our rear, not only deterred me from crossing the Karaula, but seemed to require my particular attention to the journey homewards. We had at least accomplished the main object of the expedition by ascertaining that there was no truth in The Bushranger's report respecting the great river.
February 7.
The wheels of the carts requiring repair before we could commence our retreat, the carpenters were employed on this work until three P.M. Our boat (emblem of our hopes!) was sunk in the deepest part of the Karaula. The natives were heard approaching during the morning; and crows and hawks, hovering in the air, marked their place in the woods. At length, I perceived them peeping at us from behind trees; but our feelings towards the aborigines were very different then from what they had been before we received the news brought by Mr. Finch, however innocent these people might be of the murder of his men. I did not therefore invite their approach, and they were too cautious to be intrusive. The wheels being repaired at three P.M. we turned our faces homewards, and exactly at sunset we reached the ponds where I had twice previously encamped.
FORCED MARCH TO THE GWYDIR.
February 8.
In our line of route back to the Gwydir we knew by experience that no water was to be found. The distance to that river from our present camp was twenty-three miles; but I considered it better to cross this dry tract by a forced march in one day than to pass a night without water. By this arrangement we could halt on the river during the day following to recover and refresh the cattle after so long a journey. We were accordingly in motion at half-past 5 A.M., and the early part of the morning being rather cool we got forward very well. After midday the weather was very hot. At four P.M. the bush of one of the wheels became so loose that the cart fell down, and it was necessary to repair the wheel before it could proceed. Mr. White undertook this with the aid of some of the men, while I continued the journey with the rest; and it may be imagined how cleverly the work was done from the fact that my zealous assistant overtook us with the cart before we reached the end of the day's journey.
We perceived smoke arising before us when we had arrived within six miles of our old encampment on the Gwydir, and soon after we found the grass burning on both sides of our line of route, which, it should be observed, had been marked by us throughout on advancing into this country, not only by the wheel tracks in the soft soil, but also by chipping the trees on both sides with an axe.
NUMEROUS TRIBES SURROUND THE PARTY.
We now found the track of wheels almost obliterated by the prints of naked feet, as if a great number had followed us, or rather Mr. Finch. A long-continued cooey was at length heard at a distance, apparently the signal of our arrival, and from the confused sounds which followed, and smoke ascending in various places, it was evident that a numerous tribe was awaiting us. The wearied cattle reached the river just after the sun had gone down. The crossing place was extremely bad, and the poor cattle had accomplished a wonderful day's work; nevertheless I considered it necessary, whatever efforts it might cost us, to encamp on the other side. That bank afforded an admirable position on which I could with safety halt the next day and guard our cattle within a fine turn of the river; whereas the side on which we were was particularly exposed to annoyance if the natives became troublesome; and it did not command any favourable run for the cattle which might thus have strayed back towards the Karaula. Our lightest cart, which was the first, stuck fast in the bed of the river, the tired bullocks being unable to draw it further. The moon was about five days old, and with the assistance of its light everything was carried across by the men, so that by nine o'clock we had established our camp where I wished, the empty carts alone remaining on the bank which we had left. The party had been travelling and working hard without intermission during 16 hours, some men not having even breakfasted: but the next morning unveiled to them more clearly the advantages gained by these exertions.
February 9.
I was awoke by the shouts of a numerous tribe of natives, and on going out of my tent I found that they covered the opposite bank to the water's edge. They stood on our empty carts in scores like so many sparrows, and on every old tree or stump likely to afford them a better view of my camp. But I overlooked them completely, and as they became more and more vehement in their language and gestures the greater was our satisfaction in being on the right side of the river. What they did say we could not guess; but by their loud clamour and gestures all the leading men seemed to be in a most violent passion. One word only they knew of the language spoken by our stockmen, and that was budgery, or good; and this I concluded they had learnt at some interview with Dawkins, who used it ever and anon in addressing them. They were handling everything attached to our empty carts, but some of our men went over to prevent any serious injury being done. All the clamour seemed directed at me, and being apparently invited by signs to cross to them, I went to the water's edge, curious to know their meaning. They then assumed the attitudes of the corrobory dance, and pointed to the woods behind them. "Come and be merry with us," was thus plainly enough said, but as their dance is warlike and exciting, being practised by them most when tribes are about to fight, they must either have thought me very simple, or, as seems most likely, the invitation might be a kind of challenge, which perhaps even a hostile tribe dared not, in honour, decline, whatever the consequences might be. These natives were the finest looking men of their race which I had seen. The peculiar colour of their bodies, covered with pipe-clay, gave them an appearance of being dressed. They were in number about 100, all men or boys, the strongest carrying spears. None of the words of The Barber seemed at all intelligible to them, but on mentioning the Namoi they pointed to the south-west, which I knew was the direction in which that river was nearest to the camp. I recognised the gigantic pipe-clayed man who had presented his spear at me when we first reached the Gwydir much higher up. That he was the man I then met he clearly explained to me by assuming the same attitude and pointing eastward to the place. A good deal of laughter (partly feigned I believe on both sides) seemed to soften the violence of their speech and action; but when I brought down a tomahawk, and was about to present it to the man whom I had formerly met, and who was the first to venture across, their voices arose with tenfold fury. All directed my attention to a dirty-looking old man who accordingly waded through the water to me, and received my present. Several other stout fellows soon surrounded us, and with the most overbearing kind of noise began to make free with my person and pockets. I was about to draw a pistol and fire it in the air when White, mistaking my intention, observed that their vehemence probably arose from their impatience at our not understanding them, which I thought very likely. They repeated so incessantly the words einer, einer, that I ran up the bank for my book, remembering to have seen the word, and I then found that einer meant a gin, or female, as will appear on referring to the vocabulary I obtained at Wallamoul.* The translation of this word produced a hearty laugh among our men, and Finch drily observed that some would then be very serviceable. I was in doubt whether they meant to inquire, by frequently pointing up to our tents, if we had any, or whether they wished to accommodate us with wives. At length they rather suddenly drew together on the bank, again making signs of the corrobory dance, beckoning to some of the men to go with them, and expressing their intention to depart, but to return again to sleep there, by saying nangary, and pointing to the ground. This I understood clearly, and very soon they all disappeared. Fortunately none ascended the bank to our tents, as it was not desirable they should know our numbers exactly. It did not appear that they understood the nature and effect of firearms. Meanwhile our wheels had been found so frail that we must have halted here under any circumstances in order to strengthen them for the tough work they were to encounter. The carpenters therefore worked hard at them this forenoon. In thus returning, I gathered for my friend, Mr. Brown, a hortus siccus of such plants as appeared new to me; the field of research being obviously, at this time, confined to our line of route.
(*Footnote. See Appendix 2.1 volume 2.)
PASSAGE OF THE RIVER.
As soon as the natives were gone I set all hands except the carpenters to extricate the cart, still in the bed of the river; and it was at length brought up the bank. We next yoked the bullocks to the empty drays and cart on the opposite side, and all were soon brought safely through the river. I preferred doing this work when the natives were absent because I did not wish them to see the difficulties which the passage of a river occasioned to us.
When the sun was near setting the voices of our unwelcome visitors were again heard, and they soon appeared gaily painted white for the corrobory; but foreseeing this return I had forbidden the men from looking towards them, and in order to discourage their approaches still more, I directed The Doctor to pace backward and forward on the bank before our tents, with a firelock on his shoulder and the calm air of a sentinel, but without noticing the natives opposite. They accordingly also kept back, although one of them crossed to the bullock-driver who was alone, watching the cattle on our left, and endeavoured to persuade him to go over the river with him. The whole at length disappeared without further parley. Under any other circumstances I should certainly have been willing to have met their civilities at least halfway, but recent events had weakened our confidence in the natives.
GOOD EFFECTS OF SKYROCKETS.
When night came on we saw their fires behind the trees at a little distance from the river, and we also heard their voices; but to complete the effect of our coolness in the evening, which certainly must have puzzled them, considering our kindness in the morning, I sent up a rocket, after which their very fires disappeared, and we heard their voices no more.
February 10.
From this camp the first day's journey homeward along our old track was parallel to the river; the second left its banks and led in a south-east direction to Rodrigo Ponds, where we had encamped on the 17th of January. On emerging from the wooded margin of the river this morning, I struck into a new direction, leaving the natives to believe that we still followed the beaten track towards our old camp on the Gwydir; where they would no doubt await us that evening, while we pursued the bearing of 64 degrees East of South, in hopes to pass a quiet night at Rodrigo Ponds, thus stealing a march upon them--a manoeuvre which we successfully accomplished.
After proceeding some miles in the new direction we found some very bad swampy ground before us. It was covered with holes brim full of water; and we at length arrived where long reeds grew in extensive patches. The inequalities of the surface owing to these holes required the nicest care in conducting the carts between them, but after frequent halts I was glad to back out of this swamp, and only regained the firm ground by considerable turnings and windings. We were not far probably from the Namoi in that reedy region, but it might have been very extensive. On regaining its eastern skirts I resumed the course pursued in the morning, and passed through a tract where the grass and trees were to a considerable extent on fire. At length however we recognised the park-like scenery which we had formerly crossed; and with no small pleasure again we fell in with our former track, at a distance of about three miles short of our old camp at Rodrigo Ponds.
FUNERAL DIRGE BY A NATIVE FEMALE.
While I stood near this spot, awaiting the arrival of the party which was still at some distance, I overheard a female singing. The notes were pleasing and very different from the monotonous strains of the natives in general. Just then I had been admiring the calm repose of the surrounding landscape, gilded by the beams of a splendid setting sun, and anticipating a quiet night for the party. The soft sounds, so expressive of tranquillity and peace, were in perfect unison with the scene around. Nothing could have been more romantic, nevertheless I could most willingly have dispensed with the accompaniment at that time, so associated were all our ideas of the natives, with murder and pillage. When my men came up I directed them to give a hurra, in hopes that it would put the party, whoever they might be, to flight. Yet after a cheer about as rough as English throats could well utter, the sweet strain, to my surprise, continued,
And bade the lovely scenes at distance hail.
But this was not the song of hope, but of despair, at least so it sounded to me under the circumstances, and so it really proved to be, as I afterwards ascertained.
Men's voices were also heard, as we proceeded quietly to our old ground, and I could not help regretting that after having given the natives on the Gwydir the slip, and seen no others the whole day, we should again find the very spot on which we were to pass the night, pre-occupied by natives. Our party set up their tents, and the song ceased, but I proceeded with Mr. White towards the place whence the voices came. We there saw several persons amid smoke, and apparently regardless of our presence; indeed, their apathy, as compared with the active vigilance of the natives in general, was surprising. A young man continued to beat out a skin against a tree without caring to look at us, and as they made no advance we did not go up to them. Mr. White, on visiting their fires however at ten P.M. found that they had decamped.
All this seemed rather mysterious until the nature of the song I had heard was explained to me afterwards at Sydney by The Bushranger when I visited him in the hulk on my return. He then imitated the notes, and informed me that they were sung by females when mourning for the dead; and he added that on such occasions it was usual for the relatives of the deceased to seem inattentive or insensible to whatever people might be doing around them.*
(*Footnote. This custom is not peculiar to Australia, it prevailed also in the East:"A melancholy choir attend around,
With plaintive sighs, and music's solemn sound:
Alternately they sing, alternate flow
The obedient tears, melodious in their woe." Pope's Iliad, Book 24 verse 900.The note here is: "This was a custom generally received, and which passed from the Hebrews to the Greeks, Romans, and Asiatics. There were weepers by profession, of both sexes, who sung doleful tunes round the dead." Harmer Volume 3 page 31.
It is admitted by all that this last practice obtained, and the following passages are proofs of it. Jeremiah 9:17, 18. "Call for the mourning women that they may come, and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters." Idem. pages 33 to 36.)
At the time however this behaviour of the natives only made us more on our guard, and impressed the men with a sense of the necessity for vigilance, especially during the night when a watch was set on the cattle, and two men guarded the camp, while all the rest slept with their arms at hand.
This day two of the dogs fell behind, and as the whole were miserably poor we at first supposed that these had died from exhaustion; but as the weaker of the two came up to us in the evening it appeared then more probable that the dogs had been detained by the natives, who might be following our track, and that this one had escaped from them.
DOG KILLED BY A SNAKE.
February 11.
On the march this morning we lost an excellent little watch-dog, named Captain, by the bite of a snake. While the other dogs with the party grew mere skeletons, Captain continued in good case, having fared very well on the rats, mice, bandicoots, etc. which he, under the direction of The Doctor, who shared the prey, had the sagacity to scrape out of the earth. Captain was also a formidable enemy to lizards, et hoc genus omne; but this morning his owner found him engaged with that venomous reptile known in the colony by the name of deaf-adder, and although compelled instantly to let it go, it was too late, for poor Captain stretched out his legs and expired on the spot, having been already bitten by the poisonous reptile.
BIRDS NESTS.
We repassed this day the place where only I had seen that bush of the interior, the Stenochilus maculatus. It grew to the height of about four or five feet, and we found the fruit and flower on the same twig. Numerous small birds with red bills flew about these bushes, and we found, slightly attached to the tender top-twigs, their tiny nests in great numbers, some containing eggs. No instinctive sagacity, such as we perceive in birds elsewhere, to conceal their nests, was here apparent, nor was it required; but such nests must have fallen an easy prize even to very little boys, had there been any; so that the security these birds enjoyed seemed truly characteristic of the desert and absence of birds of prey.
The party arrived at the old camp by Pelican Ponds early in the day. Here, as the men were growing weak, I found it necessary to restore to them the full allowance of rations, especially as they could no longer derive any support from the hope of making great discoveries, for no travellers could have felt more zealous in the cause than these poor fellows had done throughout the journey.
February 12.
Our way to the next encampment was long, and great part of the ground full of holes, and unfavourable for travelling. Indeed, I considered it the worst portion of country intervening between us and the Liverpool range. This was precisely where the effect of rainy weather on the soil was to be most dreaded, and, after having been so long exposed to be cut off in these low levels from any higher ground by floods; the lowering character of the sky, now that we were about to emerge, only rendered me more impatient to see the hills again. We accordingly set off at a very early hour, and after travelling seven miles we halted for ten minutes to water the cattle at some ponds, where, as the weather was uncommonly warm, the men were also refreshed with some limejuice mixed with the water. The cattle came on very steadily afterwards, notwithstanding the heat.
NUNDEWAR RANGE.
The blue summit of Mount Riddell at length arose above the horizon, and was as welcome as the sight of land after a long voyage.
NUMEROUS TRIBES FOLLOW.
When we had proceeded about halfway to the next camp we discovered that we were followed closely by a numerous tribe of natives. One of our men having dropped behind fell in with them, and was nearly detained by a fellow who flourished a large iron tomahawk over his head. Another of our party who came in contact with a native, and who requested him by signs to come to me, understood him to express by similar means his intention to go northward. The main body however amounting to one hundred or upwards, continued to move parallel to our route, and in lines of twos and threes. Fortunately we were approaching the open plains where I knew we should be comparatively secure from any treacherous assaults, and it was therefore probable that they would not follow us so far. We were advancing however towards those who were feasting on my supplies, not far from the base of the mountain cone, which was then our landmark. The natives there were not unlikely to be formidable enemies, encouraged by their late success; and, with such prospects before us it was by no means agreeable to be thus followed in rear by others. I was accordingly much inclined to question the intentions of these if they continued to accompany our party beyond the woods. As we approached the plains we perceived fire and smoke before us, on the banks of the large lagoon, where we were to encamp, and on an angle of ground where our passage was confined between the lagoon and a narrow muddy channel from the east we saw seven new but deserted huts, which had been erected on our track, as if to watch our approach. On reaching them we found one large hut in the centre, and the others arranged in a semicircle round it, the whole being of a very substantial construction, and neatly thatched with dry grass and reeds.
THE PARTY REGAINS THE PLAINS.
We arrived at our old ground after a journey of nine hours, which was the time exactly in which we had before traversed the same distance.
Our tents now commanded a view of the open plains between us and the woods from which we had at length emerged. The bold outline of the Nundewar range in the opposite direction was a comfortable prospect for us; although we were still to investigate the particulars of the tragedy which had been acted at their base. A very hot wind blew strongly in the afternoon, and I was prepared to advance towards the natives had they followed us into the plain. Mr. White in the meantime kept a sharp lookout; but the natives prudently remained within their woods.
At the lagoon we again found the beautiful crested pigeon which seemed peculiar to these parts, as on both occasions we had seen it here, and only in this vicinity. The remarkable tree on which the fruit had been before abundant bore now, with the exception of a young crop, one solitary specimen; the rest having been pulled and eaten by the natives, as appeared from the stones which lay about. That single specimen could only be preserved in a drawing; and this I made as well as a very high hot-wind and our critical situation with respect to the natives permitted.
Proposed movements.
Hot wind.
Heavy rains set in.
Country impassable for several days.
Excursion to the plundered camp of Mr. Finch.
Recover the cart and trunks.
Bury the bodies.
Columns of smoke.
Signals of the natives.
Courage and humanity of one of the men.
Homeward journey continued.
Difficult travelling.
Civility of the tribe first met.
Mosquitoes troublesome.
Regain the Namoi.
Ascend Mount Warroga.
Re-cross the Peel.
Conclusion.
PROPOSED MOVEMENTS.
We had arrived at the point where I considered it necessary to quit our former route, and cross the open country towards the range that we might thus fall into our old track within a few days' journey of our last camp on the Namoi. This direction would cut off ten days' journey of the route outward, and extended across open plains where the party would be much more secure than in the woods, at a time when the natives had given us so much cause to be vigilant. But these plains, however favourable, afforded only an accidental advantage, for had the situations of wood and plain been reversed, we must still have endeavoured to penetrate by the route which was the most direct.
February 13.
Keeping the lagoon on our right we travelled as its winding shores permitted, towards the hills, and we thus made a good journey of ten miles in the direction of Mount Frazer. In our way we crossed a chain of ponds which entered the lagoon from the east, and was doubtless a branch from some of the channels crossed by us in our outward journey; but it was difficult to say which, from the winding course and number, of those which thus intersect the country.
When we had proceeded a few miles a loud cooey was heard from the banks of the lagoon, and on perceiving smoke ascending also I rode across to ascertain what natives were there; but although I found newly-burnt grass and a tree still on fire, also many trees from which the bark had been newly stripped, I could discover no inhabitants.
These ponds coming from the eastward at length lay in our way so much that it was necessary to cross them; and having effected this at a dry part of the hollow channel we encamped on the banks, as it was unlikely that any water might be found beyond for some distance. It now appeared very probable, from their general direction, that these were a continuation of Bombelli's Ponds, named after my unfortunate courier whose bones still lay there. That point, our present camp and Meadow Ponds, where I intended to strike again into our former track, formed an equilateral triangle, the length of each side being about twenty-two miles. I could therefore, during the next twenty-two miles of our route, make an excursion to the scene of pillage from any point which might be most convenient. I preferred the earliest opportunity, in hopes of surprising the natives; and I accordingly prepared to set out the next morning, accompanied by Mr. Finch and seven men on horseback, leaving Mr. White with eight men, equally well armed, to guard the camp. By this arrangement the bullocks, which had been rather hard wrought, would enjoy a day's rest. I availed myself of every precaution, as far as prudence could suggest, in selecting a position for our camp and arranging the carts for defence. A better one against surprise could not have been found as it overlooked an open country for several miles on all sides.
HOT WIND.
A hot wind, which had been blown during the day from the south, brought a very gloomy sky in the evening, when the wind veered to the south-east. The sun set amid clouds of a very uncommon appearance, too plainly indicating that the rain was at length coming. We had now however left those low levels and dense scrubs where the natives began to hang about us like hungry wolves; and I could not reflect on what might have been the consequence had we been delayed only one week longer there, without feeling grateful for our providential escape. It was obvious that had we got fast in the mud, or been hemmed in by inundations, we might have been harassed on one side by the natives of the Gwydir, and on the other by the plunderers of Mr. Finch's party, until we shared a similar fate. We had now fortunately arrived within sight of the hills, the country around us was open, and with these advantages, the nature of our position was so different that I could OCCUPY the country, divide my party, visit the camp of Mr. Finch, and recover what we could from that scene of plunder.
HEAVY RAINS SET IN.
February 14.
This morning it rained heavily, and the dark sky promised no better weather during the day. I therefore gave up at once my intention of dividing the party here, and moved the whole forward at an early hour, being desirous to push the carts as near the hills as possible before the plains became too soft; and with this view I deferred my intended visit to the plundered camp until after the termination of another day's journey. The soil, as from experience we had reason to expect, had become very soft, and the rain pouring in torrents it became so more and more. The wheels however did go round, and the party followed me over a plain which scarcely supported even a tuft of grass on which I could fix my eye in steering by compass through the heavy rain. At length I distinguished half a dozen trees, towards which we toiled for several hours, and which grew, as we found when we at length got to them, beside a pond of water; the only one to be seen on these plains. There was also some grass beside it, and we encamped on its bank, placing the carts in a line at rightangles to the trees, thus taking possession of all the cover from an attack that could be found. We had travelled eight miles over the open plain in a straight line, and considering the state of the earth I was surprised that the cattle had made any progress through it. When the clouds drew up a little I was not sorry to discover that the plain was clear of wood to a considerable distance on all sides, nor to recognise some of the hills overlooking our old route.
COUNTRY IMPASSABLE FOR SEVERAL DAYS.
According to the bearings of several of these I found that the plundered camp was only seventeen miles distant; and as the ground was so soft that we could not move farther with the carts until fair weather had again rendered it passable, I resolved to halt the party here until after my intended excursion to Bombelli's Ponds.
February 15.
The rain continued but not without some intermission. At one time the wind came from the north, and in the evening the moon made her appearance amid fleecy clouds, which raised our hopes.
February 16.
The rain poured down from a sky that might have alarmed Noah. The ground became a sea of mud; even within our tents we sank to the knees, no one could move about with shoes--the men accordingly waded bare-footed. The water in the pond was also converted into mud. Ground-crickets of an undescribed species--which perhaps may be called Gryllotalpa australis--came out of the earth in great numbers.
At three P.M. the blue sky appeared in the west, and the nimbus clouds subsided. Towards night the wind died away, and the full moon rising in a most serene sky encouraged us once more to indulge in the hope of getting home.
February 17.
A beautiful clear morning, but this was nevertheless a dies non to us, owing to the impassable state of the surface of the earth. An emu came very near our tents, and by carrying a bush a la Birnam we got several shots without however having the good fortune to hit it. We had the satisfaction to find that the ground was drying very fast. In the evening the mountains to the eastward were seen clearly for the first time. They appeared to be very rocky and steep, much resembling the outline of Teneriffe or Madeira; and no trees appeared on the highest pinnacles.
EXCURSION TO THE PLUNDERED CAMP OF MR. FINCH.
February 18.
The weather continuing fine it was now in my power to visit the unfortunate camp of Mr. Finch. Leaving Mr. White therefore in charge of ours, I proceeded this morning towards that spot, accompanied by Mr. Finch and a party mounted on packhorses. We pursued a direct line, traversing every scrub in the way, in expectation of surprising some of the natives. After riding six miles we passed one of their encampments where they appeared to have recently been, as the fire was still burning. In the scrubs we saw several flocks of kangaroos, eight or ten in each; and on the plains we this day saw a greater number of emus than we had before fallen in with during the whole journey.
Reaching at length the open plains beyond Brush Hill, I once more traced the line of that watercourse which may truly be said to have saved our lives when we first providentially fell in with it, just as the men were beginning to sink, overcome by extreme and long-continued thirst. To us it had afforded then the happiest of camps after such a deliverance; and now we were to witness in the same spot a scene of death. Having struck into the old track of the carts as we approached the place we found the pistol of Bombelli within a foot of the track. This was surprising, for although Mr. Finch had informed me that Bombelli lost it in the grass after adjusting some harness (a fatal loss, poor fellow, to him) it is seldom that any article so dropped escapes the quick-sighted natives, to whom the surface of the earth is, in fact, as legible as a newspaper, so accustomed are they to read in any traces left thereon the events of the day. For the lost pistol, Burnett, who had charge of the arms, carefully sought, as he felt a commendable and soldier-like desire to carry back to Sydney, in good order, our full complement of firearms.
RECOVER THE CART AND TRUNKS.
A lonely cart and two dead bodies covered by the remains of Mr. Finch's equipment now marked the spot where we had formerly encamped. The two bullocks were no longer to be seen. The natives had revisited the spot since Mr. Finch last quitted it, and had carried off the remainder of the flour, and great part of the canvas of the tent. The bodies were covered by a pile of various articles such as saddles, bows and yokes, harness, packsaddles, trunks, canisters, etc. The savages appeared to have been ignorant of the use of sugar, tea, and tobacco, articles which the aborigines nearer to our colony prefer to all other things. A large canister of tea had been emptied on the ground, a similar canister, more than half full of sugar, lay on its side, so that its contents were still good, the lids of both canisters having been carried off. The whole stock of tobacco lay scattered about the ground and destroyed by the late rains. A spade, a steel-yard, and a hammer were left; although iron had been so desirable that one of the iron pins of the cart was carried away. The two hair trunks belonging to Mr. Finch and which contained his clothes, papers, etc. remained on the heap, uninjured and unopened, while the truly savage plunderers had carried off, apparently as stuff for clothing, the canvas of the tent. From these circumstances it was obvious that the murderous were quite unacquainted with the colonists or their habits.
BURY THE BODIES.
The bodies were now in the most offensive state of putrefaction, and already so much decayed that we could not even distinguish the persons, except by the smaller frame of Bombelli. The body of the bullock-driver lay under the cart, where he had been accustomed to sleep; that of Bombelli about four feet from it. No dress appeared to have been on either besides the shirts, and one side of each skull was so shattered that fragments lay about on removing the remains into a grave. It seemed most probable that the natives had stolen upon them when asleep.
I ought to state here that Mr. Finch, on first leaving the settled districts, had five men, two of whom, having behaved ill, he had been obliged to send back to the colony.
COLUMNS OF SMOKE.
Having interred the bodies we loaded the cart with such articles as still remained serviceable, and yoking it to three of the horses which the men had brought, we returned towards the camp. By the smoke which arose from various parts we perceived that the aborigines were watching our proceedings, and I considered it desirable, under all circumstances, to return to the camp that night, although the distance was seventeen miles.
On approaching these remains of Mr. Finch's party in the morning, I had proceeded under cover of the scrubs, that the natives might be as little as possible aware of our movement or intentions. We now returned towards our camp along the original track, as being a direction not only more favourable for the cart, but more expeditious; for as the route was already marked, no further care respecting the line was necessary, and I could thus devote my whole attention to the natives, who were about.
SIGNALS OF THE NATIVES.
When we reached the head of the highest slope, near the place whence I first saw these ponds, a dense column of smoke ascended from Mount Frazer, and subsequently other smokes arose,* extending in telegraphic line far to the south, along the base of the mountains; and thus communicating to the natives who might be upon our route homewards the tidings of our return. These signals were distinctly seen by Mr. White at the camp, as well as by us.
(*Footnote. This mode of communicating intelligence of sudden danger, so invariably practised by the natives of Australia, seems quite in conformity with the customs of early ages as mentioned in Scripture. "O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and set up a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem: for evil appears out of the north, and great destruction." Jeremiah 6:1.)
The sun set soon after we passed Mount Frazer, but fortunately not until the woods no longer intervened between us and the camp. On that naked horizon we might hope at length to see our fires, although they were then nine miles distant, and I knew the bearing sufficiently well to be able to travel by compass nearly in their direction. A few bushes on the outline of the horizon were long useful as precluding the necessity for repeated references to the compass, but a dark cloud arose beyond and obscured the western horizon.
COURAGE AND HUMANITY OF ONE OF THE MEN.
Just then a good old packhorse, named Rattler, knocked up, and I reluctantly gave orders to leave him behind, when Whiting, the old guardsman, volunteered to remain with him, and bring him on after he had rested: this in the face of both hunger and danger I duly appreciated, and long remembered, to his advantage. We soon after came upon some surface water and refreshed the tired animals. Precisely at eight o'clock, as I had arranged with Mr. White, a rocket ascended from the camp, and to us was just perceptible, like a needle in the remote distance. That little column of fire however was enough to assure the fatigued men; and it enabled me to mark two stars in the same direction, which guided me on towards the camp. At length we could distinguish the large fires made there for the same purpose; and by ten o'clock we had terminated the arduous labours of the day, and I had the satisfaction to find that the party under Mr. White had remained undisturbed. Two more rockets were afterwards sent up for the guidance of Whiting, and a huge fire was also kept burning until, at three A.M. the old soldier arrived safe, bringing up the old horse which, after resting a while and drinking at the water (found by Whiting as well as by us) had come on tolerably well.
HOMEWARD JOURNEY CONTINUED.
February 19.
Notwithstanding the fatigues undergone by a portion of the party we were all glad to quit the muddy camp this morning; and we continued to travel towards the old route, on the same bearing by which we had approached it.
DIFFICULT TRAVELLING.
The ground was still soft, rendering the draught heavy, and our homeward progress was accordingly very slow. At length however we reached the ponds, which we recognised as the same we had formerly crossed about a mile and a half more to the eastward, and I now named them Welcome Ponds. To these salutary waters Mr. Finch had fallen back when unable to find any at Mount Frazer. We this day traversed an open plain extending the whole way between the two camps. I observed, as we proceeded, a hill to the southward, the summit of which was equally clear of timber as the plains, above which its height was 80 or 100 feet. The sides were grassy and smooth. I named it Mount Mud, in commemoration of the difficulties with which we had contended in its neighbourhood. Welcome Ponds, on which we now encamped, had been converted by the late rain into a running brook. The slopes of the ground on its banks were so anomalous that but for the actual current of the water to the westward, and the situation of the hills on the eastward, whence alone it could come, I must have remained in doubt as to the direction of the fall of the waters in that channel. The banks of these watercourses on the plains, as I have elsewhere observed, are the highest parts of the ground. This higher ground appeared here to rise towards the west, along the banks of the brook which, flowing also westward, seemed to run up hill.
ROCKS OF NUNDEWAR.
The soil was mixed with pebbles of vesicular trap, probably amygdaloid with the kernels decomposed, and containing particles of olivine. There were also pebbles of a quartzose conglomerate, and others of decomposed porphyry, the base consisting of granular felspar, with crystals of common felspar. It is not improbable that good millstones might be obtained from the range of Nundewar. The grass was fortunately much better here than at the last camp.
February 20.
During the night a heavy thunderstorm broke over us, and was accompanied by so much rain that the ground was too soft in the morning for us to proceed. I accordingly halted till one o'clock. We then succeeded in crossing the brook immediately above our encampment, and continued, first southward to avoid a scrub, and then almost east. On a portion of open ground the progress of the party was slow enough, but in an open kind of scrub, where I hoped to have got on better, the ground proved to be still less favourable, for water lay in hollows which at any season might have been soft and were then impassable. The cattle at length could draw no longer, the carts sinking to the axles; by attaching a double team however and drawing each cart successively forward to our intended camp, we effected the transit of the whole by sunset, and fixed our home for the night on a hard bank of gravel beside Meadow Ponds, and to my no small satisfaction, on the line of our former track. We had travelled five miles only, but to hit this point, which was exactly at an angle of that route, was a desideratum with me, and we had now before us a line of marked trees leading homewards, and relieving me from all further anxiety as to the line to be pursued.